MLB Injuries

New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Hicks underwent successful Tommy John surgery Wednesday, the team announced. 

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman told reporters there is an eight-to-10-month timeframe for Hicks' recovery. 

Hicks originally hurt his elbow in August and missed two months of action before returning for the Yankees' ALCS loss to the Houston Astros. He previously told reporters he did not expect to have Tommy John surgery, but an examination after the Yankees' postseason elimination determined it was necessary.

The Yankees were without shortstop Didi Gregorius for the first half of the 2019 season after he underwent Tommy John surgery last October. Gregorius returned to the lineup in June, putting him in the eight-month recovery window.

Hicks signed a six-year contract extension with the Yankees earlier this year that will keep him with the club through at least 2025. The Yankees should have enough lineup depth to survive without Hicks for most of next season, and they're expected to be major players in the free-agent pitching market after having rotation issues throughout 2019.

Hicks is very clearly part of their long-term plans, so don't be surprised if they are cautious with his recovery time. 

Atlanta Braves outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr. will miss out on achieving a 40-40 campaign as he will sit for the remainder of the regular season after suffering a hip injury during Tuesday's 9-6 loss to the Kansas City Royals.

Braves manager Brian Snitker told reporters Wednesday the outfielder will be held out of the final four games of the regular season, according to MLB.com's Mark Bowman. 

Bowman added that Snitker is "confident" Acuna will be ready for the National League Division Series. That's positive news for the Braves as they prepare for the postseason, which starts next week.

Atlanta's superstar didn't sound concerned that the injury could be a long-term issue: "If it's up to me, I'm playing. But if it was up to me, I'd have stayed in the game."

Acuna took home the National League Rookie of the Year Award last year, hitting .293/.366/.552 with 26 home runs, 26 doubles, four triples, 64 RBI and 16 stolen bases in 111 games. That performance helped Atlanta snap a four-year playoff drought.

It also earned Acuna a record-setting eight-year, $100 million extension in April. He has followed that up by hitting .280/.365/.518 with 41 home runs, 101 RBI and 37 stolen bases in 156 games.

Acuna could have become the fifth player in MLB history with a 40-40 season had he stolen three more bases. 

Atlanta (96-62) has won the NL East for the second consecutive season and will play the winner of the NL Central in the Division Series.

With Acuna temporarily on the shelf, the Braves could turn to five-time Gold Glove finalist Billy Hamilton in center. Acuna is just the latest Atlanta outfielder to be banged up, as Ender Inciarte (hamstring) is currently on the injured list.

Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis is expected to miss the remainder of the season after fracturing the hook of the hamate bone in his right wrist, according to Mandy Bell of MLB.com. 

Bell noted the injury will likely require surgery and that the typical recovery timetable is four to six weeks.

Kipnis left Sunday's game against the Minnesota Twins due to right wrist discomfort and underwent an MRI on Monday.

Kipnis' career has veered off track since the start of 2017 when he was limited to just 90 games, and his .705 OPS was the second-worst mark of his career. He remained healthy last season, but only managed a .704 OPS in 140 games. 

The start of 2019 once again saw Kipnis battling injuries. The 32-year-old started the season on the injury list with an ailing calf. He's had a modest comeback with a .245/.304/.410 slash line in 121 games. 

At his best, he was one of the most valuable second basemen in the American League. His 9.7 FanGraphs wins above replacement in 2015-16 trailed only Jose Altuve (11.7) and Ian Kinsler (9.8) in the AL. 

The Indians' offense has rebounded after a slow start this season with Jose Ramirez getting back on track and the acquisition of Yasiel Puig in a July 30 trade with the Cincinnati Reds.

Meanwhile, utility man Andrew Velazquez was recalled and will start at second base during Tuesday night's game against the Detroit Tigers.

Los Angeles Angels star Shohei Ohtani's season has come to an early end due to a knee injury. 

The team announced Ohtani will undergo surgery Friday for a bipartite patella in his left knee. The general timetable for full recovery is eight to 12 weeks. 

Ohtani won the 2018 American League Rookie of the Year with a .285/.361/.564 slash line along with 22 home runs and 61 RBI. He also posted a 3.31 ERA in 10 starts, but he's been used exclusively as a position player in 2019 after undergoing Tommy John surgery last October.

In 106 games this season, Ohtani has been solid with a .286/.343/.505 slash line and 18 homers. Only Mike Trout's .645 slugging percentage is higher than the Japanese star among Angels players. 

The Angels' decision to have Ohtani undergo surgery now comes two days after they were officially eliminated from playoff contention. Trout missed their three-game series this week against the Cleveland Indians after having a procedure to address a nerve issue in his foot.

If Ohtani's recovery follows the expected timetable, he would be back to 100 percent no later than mid-December. That will put him on track to be ready for spring training next February. 

Milwaukee Brewers star Christian Yelich's season is over at the worst possible time for the team's playoff hopes, as the Brewers announced the outfielder suffered a fractured kneecap during Tuesday's game against the Miami Marlins. 

Per Fox Sports Wisconsin's Sophia Minnaert, Yelich was replaced by Trent Grisham in the first inning when he fouled a ball off his knee. 

An extended injury is the worst-case scenario for Milwaukee, especially with the team fighting for a playoff spot.

Yelich is once again in the National League MVP race with a .330/.430/.672 slash line, 44 homers and 97 RBI in 129 games. 

The Brewers entered Tuesday's game with a 75-68 record, two games behind the Chicago Cubs for the second wild-card spot in the NL. 

While Yelich carries the Brewers offense when he is on the field, his injury now creates a significant hole.

Grisham has appeared in only 32 games this season. He's looked solid with a .260/.324/.448 slash line, but there's no way for the 22-year-old to replace what Yelich offers.

Chicago Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel is dealing with another injury that has landed him on the 10-day injured list. 

Cubs president Theo Epstein told reporters Thursday Kimbrel has been diagnosed with inflammation in his right elbow after his MRI came back clean. He will be eligible to return Sept. 12. 

Previously, Chicago had placed Kimbrel on the 10-day injured list with right knee inflammation on Aug. 5 (retroactive to Aug. 4). 

"Instead of making it a bigger problem than it is, we'll just let it calm down and get back out there," the 31-year-old closer said at the time, according to MLB.com's Jeff Arnold, who also reported the team would use a bullpen committee to close games out in Kimbrel's absence as Pedro Strop was also on the IL with neck tightness.

Kimbrel returned to the active roster on Aug. 18, and it was none too soon. The Cubs' bullpen struggled in his absence—illustrated best by allowing six runs in the bottom of the ninth against Philadelphia to lose 7-5 on Aug. 15.

As for past injuries, Kimbrel had to surgically repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and missed three weeks during the 2016 season. 

Kimbrel signed a three-year, $43 million contract with the Cubs on June 7. The seven-time All-Star saw his free agency bleed into the 2019 regular season after helping the Boston Red Sox capture the 2018 World Series.

Since arriving in Chicago, Kimbrel has appeared in 21 games with 13 saves and 26 strikeouts as well as a disappointing 5.68 ERA. 

In general, Kimbrel's production has been shakier of late dating back to last season when his FIP was a career-high 3.13. As a member of the Atlanta Braves to begin his career, Kimbrel led the National League in saves from 2011-14 including an MLB-leading 50 saves in 2013. 

In the meantime, the Cubs can look to Pedro Strop as their closer. They currently trail the St. Louis Cardinals by three games in the National League Central race, but have a three-game lead for the second wild-card spot. 

Already boasting one of Major League Baseball's best lineups, the New York Yankees could add Giancarlo Stanton to the mix before the end of the regular season.

Per The Athletic's Lindsey Adler, Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Stanton is showing "momentum" in his recovery from a knee injury as he travels to Tampa Bay to face live pitching this weekend. 

Stanton sprained his MCL sliding into third base during a June 25 game against the Toronto Blue Jays. He was placed on the injured list the following day. 

The Yankees transferred Stanton to the 60-day IL on Aug. 11, though that was just to create roster space and not an indication the former National League MVP suffered a setback. 

Speaking to reporters last month, Stanton said he hoped to get "a few weeks of at-bats" before the postseason begins. 

One potential option for the Yankees after this weekend is to send Stanton out for a rehab assignment with one of their minor league affiliates. Both their Triple-A and Double-A could be playing for up to two more weeks, depending on how far they advance. 

Stanton has only appeared in nine games this season due to knee and biceps injuries. The four-time All-Star has hit .290/.421/.419 with one homer over 31 at-bats in 2019. 

The Yankees own a 9.5 game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League East. Their magic number to clinch the division is 13. 

Atlanta Braves catcher Brian McCann suffered a knee injury that will keep him out for at least the next 10 days. 

Per 680 The Fan, McCann was placed on the injured list with a sprained left knee. Alex Jackson, who is hitting .224/.310/.511 with 25 homers in Triple-A, was recalled. 

The move comes after he left Tuesday's win over the Miami Marlins with knee discomfort following the third inning. 

McCann, 35, returned to the Braves this offseason, where he spent the first nine seasons of his career before stints with the New York Yankees (2014-16) and Houston Astros (2017-18).

"This is as special a day for me as any I've had in my career," McCann said when he re-signed with the team in November, per Paul Newberry of the Associated Press. "To put this uniform back on, with the love I have for this organization, the love I have for everybody from top to bottom, people I've known since I was 18 years old, that's why I'm here."

The seven-time All-Star seems to be in the twilight of his career—injuries limited him to just 63 games last year. And when healthy last season, he hit just .212 with seven homer and 23 RBI. 

For the Braves, however, McCann offered the team a veteran bat to pair in a platoon with Tyler Flowers. And he did hit 18 homers in 97 games for the Astros in 2017, so there's still some pop left in his bat.

This season, he's hitting .264 with 10 homers and 39 RBI in 73 games.

The injuries are a prevailing concern, however, given how often he was banged up in Houston and given Atlanta's aspirations to secure a second straight postseason berth. With McCann on the shelf, Flowers will hold down the everyday catching gig.

The Boston Red Sox received good news Monday, as pitcher Chris Sale will not require Tommy John surgery to fix his current elbow injury, team president Dave Dombrowski announced in a press release.

"Sale was evaluated by Dr. James Andrews this morning in Pensacola, Florida. Dr. Andrews confirmed that Sale has inflammation in his left elbow and treated it with a platelet-rich plasma injection. Dr. Andrews also recommended a period of shutdown from throwing. Sale will be re-evaluated in six weeks by Dr. Andrews."

Jeff Passan of ESPN first reported the news. 

Sale was placed on the injured list Saturday due to elbow inflammation after an MRI couldn't determine the extent of the damage to his elbow. 

The 30-year-old struck out 12 batters in his latest start on Aug. 13, although he struggled as the game wore on and eventually allowed five runs (three earned) in 6.2 innings.

Sale has allowed at least five earned runs in five of his last nine starts. However, he can still be dominant, as he demonstrated with his eight innings of shutout ball against the Los Angeles Angels on Aug. 8. He totaled 13 strikeouts and no walks in that gem.

Unfortunately, inconsistency has remained an issue for a player who is usually as reliable as they come.

Sale's current 4.40 ERA is more than double his mark from last season, when he finished 12-4 with a 2.11 ERA. He landed in the top six of Cy Young voting for the seventh year in a row.

Although he might not need Tommy John surgery, something was clearly off with the veteran pitcher lately.

Considering he is signed through at least 2024 at more than $27 million each year, the Red Sox will hope he can get healthy and back on track.

Meanwhile, Boston has major question marks in its rotation with David Price also on the injured list. The Red Sox have already used 11 different starters, and they could need even more to hold things down until Sale can return.

Chicago Cubs closer Craig Kimbrel has been placed on the 10-day injured list with right knee inflammation, according to Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic. 

Sharma noted the initial hope is that Kimbrel will not be sidelined for "much more than the 10 days required."

Catcher Willson Contreras was also placed on the IL because of a right hamstring strain suffered during Saturday's game and is expected to miss four weeks. The two-time All-Star is hitting .275/.365/.525 with 19 home runs and 57 RBI in 87 games.

After going unsigned for months, Kimbrel finally put pen to paper on a three-year, $43 million deal with the Cubs in June. The seven-time All-Star gave Chicago the elite late-inning reliever it had lacked to start the 2019 season.

Kimbrel's performance from 2018 did raise the question as to whether he was the right choice to address that concern. His FIP ballooned to a career-worst 3.13—up from 1.42 in 2017—and he averaged 4.48 walks per nine innings.

Equally concerning, Kimbrel's fastball averaged 97.63 mph, one full mph lower than the season before and his lowest since 2011, per Brooks Baseball.

Through 14 appearances for the Cubs, Kimbrel has 17 strikeouts and a 6.77 FIP while allowing eight walks.

Relief pitchers tend to age worse than starters. Andrew Miller is an example how quickly things can take a turn for previously dominant relievers.

Kimbrel was by far the best closer in the 2019 free-agent market and seemed to represent an upgrade for the Cubs. This injury, however, shows Chicago took some level of risk when it brought the right-handed fireballer aboard.

Stats are courtesy of FanGraphs.