Spring Training Injury Report: Severino, Judge, Mikolas, and Haniger

During Spring Training, I will dive into injuries as they come up. I will use my knowledge and what is being reported by the team to give an estimated return date and performance outlook for the rest of the season.

 

Luis Severino – Forearm Soreness 

 

Luis Severino had his Spring Training put on hold due to forearm soreness, that stems back from the 2019 ALCS. The fact that this is an issue that he has been dealing with for four months and it reoccurs every time he throws a change-up is perplexing. Severino will undergo more testing in New York on Monday. We will have an updated timeline and expectations for him afterward. Based on the reports coming out of the Yankees camp, it appears that this isn’t a UCL issue. The loose bodies reported shouldn’t be a long term issue either.

There is a chance that this doesn’t impact his season whatsoever. There is also a chance that this is a lingering issue that he can’t get over. Since he has been dealing with this since the end of last season, and it comes up after he throws, I am going to be very cautious in my drafts with Severino. We should know more after Monday so that I will give an update on next week’s article. But if I’m drafting between now and Monday, I am passing on Severino. Forearm issues are one of my biggest red flags. It is a personal bias that I have, but those can quickly escalate into season-ending injuries that I tend to avoid. But this will all but guarantee a delayed start to his season. Hopefully Monday we will find out how long his delay is.

 

Aaron Judge – Shoulder Soreness

 

Aaron Judge has been dealing with shoulder soreness for the past couple of days. I would consider Judge to be day-to-day, and this will not have any impact on his performance during the season.

Return date: End of next week

 

Miles Mikolas – Flexor Tendon Soreness 

 

Mile Mikolas’ flexor tendon soreness that he dealt with last season has popped up again. He will resume throwing in 3-4 weeks and will start the season on the IL. Since this is an issue that plagued Mikolas last season, I would be cautious when draft time comes around. He has pitched through this issue the past couple of seasons, so it shouldn’t have an impact on his performance. But like I’ve said before, forearm injuries are a huge red flag for me and I tend to try to avoid them. If all goes well Mikolas could return around the end of April, but this has been an issue that is sticking around. That timeline could easily be pushed back towards June.

Return date: Mid/Late April

 

Mitch Haniger – Lumbar Discectomy

 

Mitch Haniger underwent back surgery early last week to have a microdiscectomy performed on his lower back. Haniger also had a sports hernia repaired in early February. This new surgery will push the 6-8 week timeline following the hernia surgery into question. Given the two surgeries within the same month, it is going to be hard to try to pin down a return date for Haniger. The one thing that Haniger has going for him is that both surgeries will require the same type of rehab. My best guess is that this will push Haniger back towards the end of April/Early May.
Return date: Late April/Early May

 

If there is a player you would like information on, leave a comment, and I will reply as I’m able!

Graphic by Michael Haas (@digitalHaas on Twitter)