With the 2022 postseason set to begin, some clubs are healthier than others, though we could see a number of injured stars emerge from the trainer’s room to make their presence felt at some point this October.
Here’s a breakdown of the injury situation for each of this year’s 12 postseason teams, starting with the eight clubs that will play in one of the opening-round Wild Card Series.
Day to day: RHP Kevin Gausman (cut on right middle finger)
Gausman exited his final start of the regular season with a cut on his right middle finger, but he doesn’t expect it to keep him from making his first postseason start. The right-hander went 12-10 with a 3.35 ERA and 205 strikeouts in the first season of a five-year, $110 million deal with Toronto.
Return TBD: OF Lourdes Gurriel Jr. (left hamstring strain), INF Santiago Espinal (left oblique strain), RHP Nate Pearson (right lat strain)
The Blue Jays hope to have Gurriel and Espinal back for the Wild Card Series. Toronto was trying to prepare Pearson to handle a multi-inning relief role during the playoffs, but it’s unclear if the team will activate the former top prospect, who has dealt with a myriad of ailments since his 2020 debut.
Out for postseason: LHP Hyun Jin Ryu (Tommy John surgery), LHP Tayler Saucedo (right hip discomfort, left shoulder fatigue)
In the third season of a four-year, $80 million contract, Ryu made six starts and posted a 5.67 ERA before undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Available: RHP Jordan Hicks (right arm fatigue, neck spasms)
Hicks went on the 15-day injured list on Sept. 17, but the flame-throwing righty was activated Wednesday and is available for the Wild Card Series.
Return TBD: OF Tyler O’Neill (left hamstring strain)
Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said it wouldn’t be necessary for O’Neill to play in a regular season game to be on the roster for the start of the postseason, so there’s a chance he could be activated for the Wild Card Series even though he’s been sidelined since Sept. 17. O’Neill has taken a step back with the bat after a breakout 2021 season, but even when he’s struggling at the plate, the speedy 26-year-old can make a difference on the bases and in the field.
Out for postseason: RHP Alex Reyes (right shoulder soreness), RHP Drew VerHagen (right hip impingement)
Reyes made the All-Star team in 2021 and finished the year with 29 saves, but he hasn’t been heard from this season after going down with a shoulder issue during Spring Training.
Out for postseason: LHP Anthony Gose (Tommy John surgery)
An outfielder turned pitcher, Gose is sidelined after undergoing Tommy John surgery, but Cleveland’s youthful roster is otherwise healthy.
Available: OF Julio Rodríguez (lower back)
Rodríguez, the Mariners’ rookie sensation, went on the IL with a lower back strain on Sept. 23, but he returned to action on Oct. 3 and is good to go for Seattle’s first playoff appearance since 2001.
Return TBD: OF Jesse Winker (cervical disc bulge)
Winker was placed on the 10-day IL on Wednesday and will likely miss at least the first two rounds of the postseason.
Out for postseason: C Tom Murphy (dislocated left shoulder), RHP Casey Sadler (right shoulder surgery), LHP Ryan Borucki (left forearm strain), UTIL Sam Haggerty (left groin strain)
The Mariners opened the season with a catching platoon, at times carrying three backstops on the roster. But after Murphy went down in May, Cal Raleigh asserted himself as the clear starter behind the plate. Haggerty announced on the final day of the regular season that an MRI revealed a Grade 2 adductor strain, meaning he will be out for the entire postseason.
Day to day: RHP Jacob deGrom (blister on right middle finger)
deGrom exited his start on Sept. 30 after 86 pitches due to a blister, though both he and manager Buck Showalter said the move was precautionary. The Mets’ biggest advantage in October will be having deGrom and Max Scherzer both healthy.
Return TBD: OF Starling Marte (non-displaced fracture of right middle finger),**INF/OF** Darin Ruf (neck strain), RHP Tommy Hunter (lower back tightness), RHP Bryce Montes de Oca (left hamstring tightness), 3B Brett Baty (recovery from right thumb surgery), LHP Joey Lucchesi (Tommy John surgery)
Marte, a 2022 All-Star, has been on the injured list with a fractured finger since Sept. 10. The outfielder had to cut short two previous attempts at hitting and throwing due to soreness, and his status for the start of the playoffs is up in the air. With Marte and Ruf out, Tyler Naquin has been drawing more playing time of late.
Out for postseason: RHP Sean Reid-Foley (Tommy John surgery), RHP John Curtiss (Tommy John surgery)
Curtiss has been sidelined all season after undergoing Tommy John surgery last year, and Reid-Foley underwent the same procedure this May.
Return TBD: RHP Mike Clevinger (illness)
Clevinger was scheduled to start San Diego’s regular-season finale Wednesday, but was scratched due to an illness and placed on the 15-day injured list.
Out for postseason: SS Fernando Tatis Jr. (left wrist fracture, left shoulder surgery), RHP Austin Adams (right flexor tendon surgery), LHP Drew Pomeranz (left flexor tendon surgery)
After finishing third in the NL MVP race in 2021, Tatis has missed all of this season. The shortstop had surgery to repair a fracture in his left wrist in March, and when he was nearly ready to return, he was suspended 80 games for a performance-enhancing drug violation. Tatis later underwent surgery on his left shoulder, which he has dislocated multiple times in the past.
Return TBD: LHP Brad Hand (left elbow tendinitis), INF Edmundo Sosa (right hamstring strain)
Hand and Sosa are making progress and are expected to be ready for the Wild Card Series if they avoid setbacks. With a 2.80 ERA over 45 innings this season, Hand is a key left-handed component of Philadelphia’s bullpen.
Out for postseason: RHP Corey Knebel (torn capsule in right shoulder, injured, right lat), RHP Mark Appel (right elbow inflammation), RHP Hans Crouse (right biceps tendinitis), LHP Kent Emanuel (left shoulder strain), LHP Damon Jones (left shoulder impingement), RHP James McArthur (right elbow stress reaction), OF Símon Muzziotti (partial tear of right patellar tendon)
The most notable name here is Knebel, who signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Phillies in December and took on the closer role at the beginning of 2022. The right-hander had some ups and downs in the first half but was unscored upon in 17 of his last 18 games before his injury.
Available: RHP Tyler Glasnow (Tommy John surgery), 3B Yandy Díaz (left shoulder)
A torn UCL stalled what was a Cy Young-caliber start for Glasnow in 2021. However, he returned from Tommy John surgery to make two appearances totaling 6 2/3 innings for Tampa Bay down the stretch, positioning the right-hander to contribute in the playoffs. Díaz, the Rays’ leader with a 144 OPS+, only started two of the club’s final 10 games in September, but he is expected to be available for the postseason.
Day to day: OF David Peralta (right hip tightness)
Peralta, who was acquired from the D-backs prior to the Trade Deadline, exited Tampa Bay’s matchup with the Astros on Oct. 2.
Return TBD: LHP Jalen Beeks (right lower leg tightness), OF Roman Quinn (left knee contusion)
Beeks is likely to be part of the Rays’ bullpen during the postseason, but it’s uncertain if the team will end up needing Quinn, who appeared in 21 games with the Rays after signing with Tampa Bay on July 21.
Out for postseason: Brandon Lowe (lower back discomfort), OF Kevin Kiermaier (left hip surgery), C Mike Zunino (thoracic outlet syndrome), RHP Andrew Kittredge (Tommy John surgery), LHP Ryan Yarbrough (right oblique strain), RHP Nick Anderson (plantar fasciitis), RHP Shane Baz (Tommy John surgery), RHP J.P. Feyereisen (right shoulder impingement), LHP Brendan McKay (Tommy John surgery), RHP Ryan Thompson (stress reaction in right elbow), LHP Colin Poche (right oblique strain)
The Rays are without three members of their Opening Day lineup — Lowe, Kiermaier and Zunino — as well as Kittredge, who led the team in saves before he got hurt.
Out for postseason: OF Michael Brantley (right shoulder surgery), C Jason Castro (left knee surgery), RHP Josh James (right flexor tendon surgery)
The Astros have been without Brantley since June. The veteran hit .314 with a .376 on-base percentage over 47 postseason games with Houston from 2019-21, so Houston may miss his bat this October. After losing Castro to a left knee injury, the Astros acquired Christian Vázquez from the Red Sox at the Trade Deadline to split time behind the plate with Martín Maldonado.
Return TBD: RHP Spencer Strider (left oblique soreness), 2B Ozzie Albies (fractured right pinkie), RHP Kirby Yates (right elbow inflammation), RHP Darren O’Day (strained right big toe), C Chadwick Tromp (strained left quad)
If Strider can’t make it back for the NLDS, his absence could prove huge for the Braves. The overpowering rookie posted a 2.67 ERA with 202 strikeouts and only 86 hits allowed in 131 2/3 innings before suffering an oblique injury. Albies played just 64 games in 2022, fracturing his left foot in June and then fracturing his right pinkie in his second game after coming off the injured list.
Out for postseason: OF Adam Duvall (torn tendon sheath in left wrist), RHP Luke Jackson (Tommy John surgery), C Manny Piña (left wrist surgery), RHP Huascar Ynoa (Tommy John surgery)
Duvall, who had 38 homers with an NL-leading 113 RBIs and won a Gold Glove Award in 2021, produced -0.2 bWAR and an 86 OPS+ for the Braves before his season-ending injury. Jackson was an important reliever during the Braves’ run to a World Series title last year, but he will be sidelined until 2023 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in April.
Available: RHP Tony Gonsolin (right forearm strain)
Gonsolin came off the injured list and threw two innings on Oct. 3 in his first appearance since Aug. 23, putting him on track to be available for the postseason. The right-hander went 16-1 with a 2.14 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP over 24 starts in 2022.
Day-to-day: INF/OF Chris Taylor (neck tightness)
A neck issue has put Taylor’s playoff status in question. The utility man has recorded an .842 OPS with nine homers — including a walk-off blast in last year’s NL Wild Card Game against the Cardinals — over 62 postseason games for the Dodgers
Return TBD: RHP Dustin May (low back tightness), RHP Blake Treinen (right shoulder soreness), RHP Phil Bickford (right shoulder fatigue), OF Kevin Pillar (left shoulder fracture), LHP Victor González (left elbow inflammation), RHP Michael Grove (left knee contusion)
Even if May is healthy for the playoffs, his role is uncertain. The hard-throwing righty had a 4.50 ERA and a 4.2 BB/9 over 30 innings after returning from Tommy John surgery in August. The Dodgers remain optimistic Treinen will be back at some point in October, but he’s unlikely for the NLDS.
Out for postseason: RHP Walker Buehler (Tommy John surgery), RHP Daniel Hudson (torn ACL in left knee), RHP Jimmy Nelson (Tommy John surgery), LHP Danny Duffy (left elbow)
For the first time since 2017, the Dodgers’ postseason rotation will not include Buehler, a two-time All-Star who has delivered a 2.94 ERA with 101 K’s over 79 2/3 innings in his playoff career.
Return TBD: RHP Frankie Montas (right shoulder inflammation), OF Andrew Benintendi (broken bone in right hand), DH Matt Carpenter (left foot fracture), RHP Clay Holmes (right shoulder strain), LHP Wandy Peralta (left thoracic spine tightness), RHP Ron Marinaccio (stress reaction in right shin), RHP Albert Abreu (right elbow inflammation)
The Yankees are hoping to have Carpenter back for the ALDS. The 36-year-old was one of this season’s biggest surprises, signing with New York after being released by the Rangers in May and putting up 15 homers with a 1.138 OPS in 47 games with the Bronx Bombers. The Yanks acquired Montas and Benintendi at the Trade Deadline, but it’s uncertain if either will contribute this October. New York’s bullpen is a major question mark, too, with Holmes, Peralta and Marinaccio all going down recently and the relievers below all out for the playoffs.
Out for postseason: RHP Michael King (right elbow fracture), RHP Chad Green (Tommy John surgery), LHP Zack Britton (left shoulder fatigue), RHP Stephen Ridings (right shoulder impingement)
King took on a more important role and stepped up in a big way after Green had to undergo Tommy John surgery, but he too suffered a season-ending injury in July. The Yanks were hoping to get a boost from the late-season return of Britton from Tommy John surgery, but the left-hander was shelved for the year with shoulder fatigue after just three appearances.