CBRACKE
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As a lifelong Blue Jays fan and Vernon Wells owner in a couple of my fantasy leagues I admit that I had a grin on my face with yesterday’s news. Wells started a rehab assignment and could return to the lineup by this time next week after being sidelined since May 9 with a broken bone in his left wrist. He was originally supposed to miss at least six weeks and now it looks like it will take a major setback in his rehab to prevent him from returning before that time frame. Wells owners should be giddy right?
Wrong.
I have seen plenty of my players suffer similar wrist injuries over the 16 years I’ve played fantasy baseball and almost ALL of them have dealt with residual effects from the injury over the three to four months that followed. After shagging fly balls a couple weeks ago, Wells told MLB.com, “It just felt a little weak. I’m not used to my hand getting tired from squeezing the glove a few times. That’s the biggest thing.” This is a statement that should be taken seriously. If he is dealing with weakness from simply playing catch, imagine the effect of swinging a bat and connecting on a 90-mph fastball.
I’m cautiously optimistic that Wells won’t be as affected by residual soreness as other past injured players. Why? I point to a post by Disabled List Informer that claims the good news is that his broken wrist is his non-dominant, left wrist. This means he will not have any restriction while throwing, and his top hand while batting (the one that creates a good deal of bat speed) will not be affected.
Fantasy owners who have waited out the injury certainly shouldn’t sell low on him now. Wait until he has a few weeks of at bats under his belt to pass judgment on how well his recovery from the wrist injury is going. Remain patient because he was hitting well (.281, five homers, 24 RBI) in 139 at bats prior to the injury and could provide a boost to your team’s offensive numbers over the remainder of the season.
EDITOR’S NOTE: On another Blue Jays tip, there are well known sources in the fantasy industry calling out closer B.J Ryan and trying to spark fear in fantasy owners in a way most weathermen do when they warn people to stock their shelves with canned goods and board up the windows before a scattered shower rolls through town. Ryan converted 12-of-12 save opportunities before hitting a bump in the road over his last two appearances, blowing save opps against the Angels and Yankees.
Sure, Scott Downs is pitching well, but do the Jays have what’s left of $47 million invested in him over the next three years? Nope. Ryan is their closer and I wouldn’t get too uptight about if he’s blown his arm out again. He hasn’t. He’s been given multiple days off between appearances and just recently past the one year mark from when he blew out his elbow last season. Typically it takes most pitchers a year to make it back, and two years to start showing as much or more strength in the elbow as they had prior to the injury. The fact Ryan has pitched as well as he has should be lauded, not thrown to the wolves the first minute he stumbles.
Photo courtesy of the TimesLeader.com
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