On the latest episode of “Baseball Bar-B-Cast,” the hosts discussed the struggling Houston Astros, and the reality that they are very, very injured, with Taylor Trammell their latest player to land on the injured list.
As Jordan Shusterman noted, teams sometimes like to crown themselves the most injured team in baseball, whether as an excuse or as some kind of badge of honor.
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But you know what no team ever says? “We’re so healthy. We’ve got everyone available. Nobody’s hurt!” Shusterman said.
To fact check the Astros’ claim, the hosts looked at each team’s tally of players on the injured list. Trammell is Houston’s 16th player to land on the IL, 11 of whom are on the 15-day or 10-day IL. As Shusterman noted, that’s 11 players the Astros are essentially missing from their active roster. Of the 16 total, 10 are pitchers and six are position players, which is more than any other team is missing.
The team with the second-most players on the IL is the Dodgers, with 13 (10 pitchers, three position players). “That’s just a bunch of pitchers that I don’t even know are on the Dodgers that they probably signed to rehab,” Jake Mintz interjected.
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Third on the list is the Orioles, with 12 players on the IL after they activated Adley Rutschman. And the Diamondbacks, Giants, Cubs and Blue Jays all have 11 players on the injured list.
On the other end of the spectrum, which teams have the fewest injured players about a month into the regular season? The Phillies, Twins and Nationals have zero position players on the IL. In terms of total players, the Guardians, Pirates and A’s each have only two injured players (one pitcher and one hitter). Most of the league has eight or nine players on the IL at this point, Shusterman noted.
What should we make of this? It’s difficult to say, particularly this early in the season.
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“This is just a snapshot in time, but this is a real thing that certainly impacts certain teams,” Shusterman said. “So if you hear any of the other teams say, ‘Oh man, we’re so injured,’ it’s like, ‘No, you’re not, though.’”
With the Guardians and Astros playing this week, we have both ends of the injury spectrum on display in Cleveland.
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