Injuries are an unfortunate part of baseball, even for some of the best players in the game.
There are plenty of players who could have plaques in Cooperstown right now if they stay healthy throughout their careers. Injuries have also affected some of today’s top talents, including the eight seeds below. All eight had success at the Major League level but were hampered by health issues, preventing them from reaching their potential.
Hope starts at the beginning of every season, however, and 2023 could be the year that each of these players gets the health they need to get back on the road to the top of baseball’s mountain.
Ronald Coinage Jr., WA, Braves
Although Acuña has had some notable brushes in his first five years in the Majors, there is a strong feeling that he has not reached his peak. The outfielder recorded 41 homers and 37 homers as a 21-year-old in 2019, but his 5.1 bWAR is still his career high — 29 players matched or surpassed that last year alone. Acuña was on pace to break that mark while hitting a rare 50/30 innings in 2021, but he tore his ACL in July and wasn’t back to his old self last year, posting a career-low 114 OPS+. 2.8 bWAR in 119 games. As he moves away from his knee surgery, the 25-year-old could have a big year.
Byron Buxton, WA, Twins
What Buxton could do in a full, healthy season remains one of baseball’s mysteries, though his impressive streak over the past three seasons — 51 homers, 14 steals and 8.9 bWAR in 162 games — provides a framework for what could happen. look like. The versatile player has been injury-prone throughout his career, playing in more than 92 games in just one season (140 in 2017). Last year, a right hip problem and a right knee injury that required season-ending surgery derailed his first All-Star campaign. Will Buxton put it all together? Who knows. But we can dream.
Wander Franco, SS, Rays
With an impressive showing as a rookie under his belt and an 11-year, $182 million contract in hand, last season was supposed to be the year Franco officially arrived as a megastar. And for about a month, everything went according to MLB’s No. 1 plan. However, Franco went down in May and spent several trips on the injured list with a strained right quad and a broken hamate bone in his right hand, missing games. 74 included. His final numbers were… good. But he is expected to improve significantly on his .277 average, six homers and 117 OPS+ in 2023, his age-22 season.
Tyler Glasnow, RHP, Rays
Glasnow has power, but has had few opportunities to showcase it over the past four years. The 6-foot-8 righty was a contender for the AL Cy Young in 2019 and 2021, but struggled with arm problems in both seasons, first going down with a right arm and elbow injury that led to Tommy John surgery. Glasnow seemed undaunted by the extended layoff when he returned late last season, allowing one run with 15 K and two walks in 11 2/3 innings, including five shutout frames in Game 2 of the AL Wild Card Series against the Guardians. He averaged 97.3 mph with his four home runs in those outings, slightly better than his average of 97.0 mph in 2021. With Glasnow in full swing and Shane McClanahan coming in sixth place in the AL Cy Young voting, the Rays could have Best AL pitchers 1-2 at the top of their rotation, as long as both pitchers stay on the mound.
Eloy Jiménez, WA, White Sox
The No. 3 prospect in baseball entering 2019, per MLB Pipeline, Jiménez is four years into his career but has not played a full season. The only year the right-hander hasn’t been on the injured list is the shortened 2020 campaign, and he’s missed more games than he has played in the past two years, with a ruptured left hamstring in 2021 and a tear. Hamstring tendon behind his right knee in 2022. When he’s healthy, Jiménez has flashed power, averaging 36 homers and 108 RBIs in 162 games while posting a team 123 OPS+. If he avoids the IL in 2023, we could see a 26-year streak among AL home run leaders.
Dustin May, RHP, Dodgers
May has already appeared in four seasons (and two finals) with the Dodgers, but has thrown fewer than 150 innings, partly because he underwent Tommy John surgery in 2021. , struggling with his control (4.2 BB/9) and delivery 4.50 ERA (94 ERA+) over 30 innings. It’s hard not to be drawn to his stuff, especially his curve ball and mix of high-octane pace. May appears to be on track for a breakout season before going down with his elbow in 2021, registering a 2.74 ERA, 13.7 K/9 and 2.3 BB/9 through five. The 25-year-old could be an X-factor for a Dodgers club that lost several key players in free agency and remains without ace righty Walker Buehler (TJ surgery).
Luis Robert, WA, White Sox
Like his teammate Jiménez, Robert has missed a lot of time in the last two years, he went down with a right hip in 2021 and battled several illnesses last year. Still only 25 years old, he’s not far removed from his days as one of the game’s top prospects, when he was seen as the most versatile, versatile player on the team. While a career .289 average with 36 homers, 26 steals and a 122 OPS+ over 222 games is nothing to sneeze at, he hasn’t lived up to expectations so far, but that could change in 2023.
Fernando Tatis Jr., SS/OF, Parents
Expectations were high for Tatis entering his 23-year-old campaign in 2022, but he missed the rest of the season, as he suffered a broken left hand before Opening Day and was suspended after testing positive for a banned substance over the summer. Tatis led the NL with 42 homers in 2021, twice finished among the top four in NL MVP voting and has a lifetime 160 OPS+, but has never played more than 130 games in a season. Now in a new position for the Padres after signing Xander Bogaerts in December, Tatis has to prove that he can stay on the field, but there’s no denying that his ceiling is among the highest in the game.
