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The past week brought its usual onslaught of injuries, from the short-term (Anthony Rendon, Juan Soto, David Price) to the kind that will likely extend beyond a month (James Paxton, Jameson Taillon, A.J. Pollock).
And then there's those players on the verge of coming off the IL. Rendon (already?) and Matt Olson, yes, but there's one particular long-term stash who may be on the verge of paying off.
Emphasis on the "may."
We really don't know what to expect from Shohei Ohtani, do we? It's true he may be activated as early as Tuesday, and it's true that swinging a bat doesn't require as lengthy of a recovery from Tommy John surgery as throwing or certainly pitching does. And swinging the bat is all he's expected to do in 2019, spending all of his time at DH.
But as with every aspect of being a two-way player in the modern game, it's uncharted territory. Ohtani's future is still on the mound, so of course he'll continue to rehabilitate the arm while he's swinging the bat. Might he need to take some occasional time off from swinging the bat to do so? It stands to reason. Back when he was pitching once a week, he needed the day before and after most every start off, severely limiting his impact as a hitter.
Then again, there was that month-long stretch at the end of last season when he knew he needed Tommy John surgery and had already stopped pitching but continued to DH — and did so every day. He hit .310 with seven homers, four steals and a 1.003 OPS during that time.
So we already know he can be an impact hitter when he's in the lineup, bringing top-shelf power and underrated speed, but how often will he be in the lineup and will the bat be impacted in some way by the recovery? Both fair questions for which I don't have an answer.
I'm exercising the same standard for his activation off the IL as I would for a top prospect call-up, though: I want to make sure I'm the one who finds out. Slotting Ohtani ahead of Eloy Jimenez on this list should drive home the point that he needs to be rostered, regardless of whether it's in an IL spot. I'd say the same is true for at least the top 20.
| 1 | 
Anthony Rendon
Washington Nationals 3B
|
| bruised elbow | |
| 2 | 
Juan Soto
Washington Nationals LF
|
| back spasms | |
| 3 | 
Trea Turner
Washington Nationals SS
|
| fractured finger | |
| 4 | 
Giancarlo Stanton
New York Yankees LF
|
| sore shoulder | |
| 5 | 
James Paxton
New York Yankees SP
|
| sore knee | |
| 6 | 
Fernando Tatis
San Diego Padres SS
|
| strained hamstring | |
| 7 | 
Aaron Judge
New York Yankees RF
|
| strained oblique | |
| 8 | 
David Price
Boston Red Sox SP
|
| elbow tendinitis | |
| 9 | 
Chris Archer
Pittsburgh Pirates SP
|
| sprained thumb | |
| 10 | 
Jameson Taillon
Pittsburgh Pirates SP
|
| strained elbow flexor | |
| 11 | 
Austin Meadows
Tampa Bay Rays RF
|
| sprained thumb | |
| 12 | 
Mike Clevinger
Cleveland Indians SP
|
| strained back | |
| 13 | 
Corey Kluber
Cleveland Indians SP
|
| fractured forearm | |
| 14 | 
Aaron Hicks
New York Yankees CF
|
| back spasms | |
| 15 | 
Matt Olson
Oakland Athletics 1B
|
| fractured hand | |
| 16 | 
Luis Severino
New York Yankees SP
|
| strained lat | |
| 17 | 
Shohei Ohtani
Los Angeles Angels SP
|
| Tommy John surgery | |
| 18 | 
Eloy Jimenez
Chicago White Sox LF
|
| sprained ankle | |
| 19 | 
Scooter Gennett
Cincinnati Reds 2B
|
| strained groin | |
| 20 | 
Didi Gregorius
New York Yankees SS
|
| Tommy John surgery | |
| 21 | 
Justin Upton
Los Angeles Angels LF
|
| turf toe | |
| 22 | 
A.J. Pollock
Los Angeles Dodgers CF
|
| elbow surgery | |
| 23 | 
Jimmy Nelson
Milwaukee Brewers SP
|
| torn rotator cuff | |
| 24 | 
Willians Astudillo
Minnesota Twins C
|
| strained hamstring | |
| 25 | 
Cody Allen
Los Angeles Angels RP
|
| strained back | |
| 26 | 
Jed Lowrie
New York Mets 3B
|
| sprained knee | |
| 27 | 
Miguel Sano
Minnesota Twins 3B
|
| heel laceration | |
| 28 | 
Andrew Heaney
Los Angeles Angels SP
|
| elbow discomfort | |
| 29 | 
Alex Wood
Cincinnati Reds SP
|
| back spasms | |
| 30 | 
Hunter Strickland
Seattle Mariners RP
|
| strained lat | |
