More Fantasy Baseball Injury News: Shane Bieber, Eloy Jimenez and Spencer Strider

The MLB regular season is still in its early stages, but injuries continue to pile up. 

Just days after writing a story on some of the early injuries, several more big names have gotten dinged up, so we’re back with another story.

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Shane Bieber Out for Season

Bieber has arguably been the best starting pitcher through two starts, but now is out for the season.

Through two starts, Bieber had struck out 20 batters over 12 scoreless innings. He allowed 10 hits and just one walk while picking up two wins for the Cleveland Guardians.

It’s not only a devastating blow for the team, but for fantasy owners as well. In reality, there’s no replacing a guy like Bieber, especially the numbers he posted in his first two starts. 

Logan Allen, Tanner Bibee, Carlos Carrasco and Triston McKenzie are the remaining members of the team’s starting rotation, and current long reliever Tyler Beede could be in the mix to replace Bieber’s spot in the rotation. Xzavion Curry, Ben Lively and Gavin Williams are all starting pitchers that are currently on the 15-day injured list and could also be options for Cleveland. Joey Cantillo is one of the team’s top pitching prospects and could also be an option.

Bibee is owned in just about every league, but everyone else mentioned here is owned in 75% of leagues or less. If you rostered Bieber, one of the Guardians other SP could be an option.

You can safely drop Bieber in redraft leagues. He’s a guy you’ll want to hang on to in keeper/dynasty leagues as he’s about to turn just 29. Bieber should have a few strong years ahead of him yet if he can avoid any major setbacks or major injuries in upcoming seasons.

Eloy Jimenez Hits IL

Jimenez appeared in just three games this season, and will now spend a few days on the injured list because of a left adductor strain. 

Jimenez had just two hits across his first 11 plate appearances. Both were singles, and he struck out two times while failing to draw a walk.

Jimenez had served as the team’s designated hitter in all three of those games, although he also made 14 starts in the outfield a season ago. Gavin Sheets has assumed the DH role for the time being, although that’s a spot any player could be played at until Jimenez returns. 

Jimenez is one of the better players in the White Sox already weak lineup, so not many players are all that appealing. Andrew Vaughn, Yoan Moncada, Andrew Benintendi and Sheets are all available in a good amount of leagues and batting inside the first five spots of the order, so those are the guys I’d target. Moncada has been the team’s top hitter so far, so he’d be my first choice.

Spencer Strider Dealing with Elbow Injury

As if the news about Bieber and Eury Perez (earlier in the week) wasn’t enough, Atlanta Braves’ Strider is also dealing with a sore elbow. 

He was the top fantasy starting pitcher drafted this spring, especially after Gerrit Cole went down with an injury of his own. While the results of Strider’s MRI aren’t available yet, use this article as a way to plan ahead.

Like in the case with Bieber, there’s no replacing a talent like Strider. He’s arguably the best pitcher in the game, and no single player in the Braves’ organization can fill the void if he’s out for any length of time.

Max Fried, Chris Sale, Charlie Morton and Reynaldo Lopez are the team’s other starting pitchers at the moment. I don’t see any other pitchers on the current 26-man roster that would be inserted into the rotation if Strider is out, so they’ll likely need to call up a prospect.

Luckily, the top two Braves’ prospects are talented young arms, AJ Smith-Shawver and Hurston Waldrep. 

Smith-Shawver appeared in six MLB games (five starts) in 2023, posting a 4.26 earned run average over 25 1/3 innings. He had a rough first start in Triple-A, getting just two outs and leaving with a 40.50 ERA.

Waldrep hasn’t made his MLB debut yet, but pitched at four different minor league levels in 2023 after being drafted in the first round of the 2024 MLB Draft. He has not appeared in a game yet this regular season.

A little further down the team’s top prospect list are Darius Vines and Dylan Dodd. 

Vines appeared in five MLB games (two starts) in 2023, going 1-0 with a 3.98 ERA and 14 strikeouts over 20 1/3 innings. He has a 3.75 ERA across 12 Triple-A innings this season.

Dodd made seven starts for Atlanta in 2023, going 2-2 with a 7.60 ERA over 34 1/3 innings. In two games (one start) at AAA this season, Dodd is 2-0 with a 1.54 ERA across 11 2/3 innings pitched.

Allan Winans is another option after making six starts for the Braves in 2023. He went 1-2 with a 5.29 ERA over 32 1/3 innings. He has a 3.18 ERA over 5 2/3 innings pitched at Triple-A this season.

Hopefully the injury to Strider is minor, and he either doesn’t need to miss any time, or just gets placed on the 15-day IL. If he hits the short-term IL, I’d expect one of Winans, Vines, Dodd or Smith-Shawver to make a few spot starts in Strider’s spot in the rotation. If it turns out to be a long-term injury, the pressure will be on one of the youngsters, and the Braves’ chances of winning it all will take a significant hit.