Fantasy Baseball Today - 🚨Corbin Carroll & Francisco Lindor Need Hamate Bone Surgery! (2/11 Fantasy Baseball Podcast)

Episode Date: February 11, 2026

Corbin Carroll is also dealing with a hamate bone injury and needs surgery! We learned that Francisco Lindor will also have surgery. On top of that, Jackson Holliday is having it, too! Josh Hader is dealing with biceps inflammation. We wrap up with updates on Jordan Westburg, Anthony Santander, Shane Bieber, Reese Olson and Spencer Schwellenbach. Subscribe to our YouTube channel: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠youtube.com/FantasyBaseballToday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Download and Follow Fantasy Baseball Today on Spotify: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://sptfy.com/QiKv⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow our FBT team on Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@FBTPod⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@CPTowers⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@CBSScottWhite⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@Roto_Frank⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Join our Facebook group at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/groups/fantasybaseballtoday⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Sign up for the FBT Newsletter at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/newsletters/fantasy-baseball-today/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ For more fantasy baseball coverage from CBS Sports, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/fantasy/baseball/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To hear more from the CBS Sports Podcast Network, visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.cbssports.com/podcasts/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Now here's Frank Scott and Chris. Another day, more broken hamate bones. What is going on? Welcome into a bonus emergency edition of fantasy baseball today on Wednesday, February 11th. Frank Stamphle joined by Chris Towers. And honestly, I don't want to make this a daily recurrence, Chris, going live with these injuries. But man, they are some big names. We have injury updates on, wait for it.

Corbyn Carroll, Francisco Lindor, Jackson Holiday, Josh Hater, Jordan Westberg, Shane Beaver, Anthony Santander and Reese Olson With Spencer Schwellenbach too With more to come, I'm sure Yeah Let's start with Corby Carroll He will undergo surgery on the hammy bone Apparently

Yesterday Walked past his manager Tori Lavulo and said I think I just broke my hand And Tori was like Ah you know He's probably just messing around right No he was not messing around

I did see Dr. David Chow Pro football doc For those who play fantasy football I'm sure you're well aware of his existence talking about the ham-eight bone injury, he says players return in six to eight weeks, but it could take three to four months to feel 100%. That's just his outside analysis. He is a professional doctor, so take that for what it's worth.

Chris, how far did you lower Corby-Carrel in your overall rankings? Yeah, I mean, I guess we'll go turn by turn with all three of these guys, but I think the analysis is going to be largely the same for Corby-Carrul, Francisco Lindor, and Jackson Holiday, which is that you have to downgrade them some amount, even if you buy the idea that they'll be back in six weeks and ready for opening day. Well, you know, if you actually look at the calendar, one, two, three, four, five, six gets us to March 25th. And March 26 is opening day. So you basically need to hit the best case scenario timetable to be ready for opening day.

even if all three of them do that, though, you're still talking about a situation where they're missing all of spring training, potentially, not getting into any games until the start of the season. Maybe that doesn't matter. Zach Netto missed most of spring training last year, if not all, and he had a career year. You know, that happens.

But I think the bigger concern for me is not the idea that hamate bone injuries are just like death knell for players. I think we've kind of moved past that. I think there was a, you know, I think a lot of fantasy players, including myself, used to look at Hemate Bones and say, well, kind of a lost season after that. I think the data doesn't necessarily back that up.

But what I don't like to see is players getting their spring training disrupted. And so with Carol, I've moved him out of the first round for sure. I think it'll be after Jackson Churio, so I'm moving him down to 18 or 19 right now. But then I look at like, well, you know, Corbyn Carroll versus Jazz Chisholm at 20. Kind of think I'd just rather have Jazz. I know he has injury risk of his own, but they're pretty similar players. You know, Jazz since getting to the Yankees has been close to a 40-40 guy on a per 60-162 basis.

Carroll's not exactly a standout and batting average. I think at this point he's probably a little below average in terms of batting average. So, yeah, I think 20. And Carol was nine for me to begin with. So definitely a little downgrade out of the first round, but I don't think you want to let him go too far because it shouldn't be an injury that wrecks his season. But that risk is there now.

You know, the risk that you're going to go into the season with your first round or second round pick being out for the first couple of weeks and then needing some time to ramp up is very real. Yeah, I don't want to overreact, but I think it's appropriate to react to something like this. And it could just be, this is the first couple of weeks, maybe gets off to a slow start, by the time we get to May 1st, boom, hit the ground running,

and you get first round production from that point forward from Corby and Carroll. And, you know, when he's on his game, he's clearly a better player than someone like Jazz Chisholm, I think, you know, maybe batting average a little bit better. And, you know, you do have some of that injury risk with Jazz. So I had Carroll at 7. I dropped him down to 16, so that puts him right behind Tautis, Gunner Henderson, Jackson Trio.

And again, maybe that is a bit of an overreaction. Like maybe he's, maybe he just misses a week or two and he comes back and he's mostly himself. But again, it's like, I don't want to use my first round pick on a guy that's going to miss any time and have that fear of a slow start just because, again, he's not getting those spring training reps and things like that. Like April is basically going to be spring training. meaning for Corbyn Carroll and Francisco Lindor and Jackson Holiday. We'll talk about those guys as well. So I think the way and look at it a little bit here is things will go wrong from here.

Things will go wrong for Kyle Tucker or Gunner Henderson or Junior Common Era, right? Like it's just natural. That's like I'm picking three names at random, but anyone in that range, something is going to go wrong for someone in that range. given how high end these players are, I just don't think you need to take the risk with guys who have already had something go wrong because then you're not just talking about,

yeah, what if the performance isn't there? What if, you know, sure, he might only miss a week and then come back and be Cor McCarroll and it's a great pick. But it's also possible that he suffers a setback while recovering. That happens sometimes. It's possible that, like we've said, He just gets off to a slow start and you're kind of wasting a month waiting for Corbyn Carroll to get to look like himself or Francis Gilles Indora or Jackson Holiday. It just adds an unnecessary layer of unknown, which you don't typically want for your first round pick, right?

Corby and Carroll is not so much better than Jazz Chisholm that I think it's worth taking on that risk. Or Trey Turner or Cattel Marte or whoever you want to put Jackson Churio, like these are really high-end players already. why take on the additional risk of a guy who's already hurt, you know? Yeah. I'm not saying don't draft them. It's just I think you need to reach a point where the upside is clearly worth it. And for me, that's right around 20. Like, I think I'd still rather have Corby and Carroll than Nick Kurtz, you know?

Yeah, I agree with that as well. And this doesn't affect us at all for fantasy. But for those who are into the World Baseball Classic, Corbyn Carroll was on the team USA. So he will not play in the WBC, obviously, and some possible replacements per John Marosi, James Wood, Wyalgford, Roman Anthony, Kyle Stowers, Tyler Soderstrom, Stephen Kwan, Riley Green. So obviously, we're all excited about the WBC and Team USA, Japan, defending champions, DR looks amazing as well.

So we'll be interesting to see who fills in there for Corbyn Carroll. Let's talk about, I mean, go ahead. I mean, Peker Armstrong looked like he was going to be a fourth outfielder on this team. So they are so stat. They're going to be good. Yeah, no, there was a piece on the ringer about the, just looking at the stats for this year's WBC versus years past. And this is by far the best American team. Like this is the first time the American team is actually like trying.

Yeah. It's the Michael Jordan meme. I took that personally, them losing to Japan in the previous World Baseball Classic final. So now they've got Judge and Bobby Wood Jr. and Gutter Henderson and actual pitchers. Paul Skeen's, Terrick's Google, Logan Webb at the top of the rotation. That is pretty good. Insane stuff. Let's talk about Francisco Lindor.

We learned yesterday he was dealing with the handmade bone. Now we get confirmation that he will have surgery. So very similar timeline and discussion that we just had with Corby and Carol. There were quotes from manager Carlos Mendoza where he said, you know, Lindor is a gamer and he's going to try to be ready for opening day. Yada, yada, yada. I get it. I would just rather than play it safe and give him all the time. he needs, let him return. If it's mid-April, whatever. I get that he wants to be out there for

opening day. I'm sure every star player wants to do that, but, you know, let's think about the long haul here, the longevity of the season and things like that. So I think we both kind of officially landed on Lindor around the two-three turn, right? Yep, that's where I, I've moved him, 25th overall. So I would take Vladimir Guerrero and Catel Marte and Trey Turner ahead of him, but I would still take Lindor over. For me, that's where I'm going to be. For me, it's like that second crop of pitchers. Logan Gilbert, Yoshinovi Yamamoto, Christopher Sanchez, those guys.

And then, you know, I'm higher on Yordon Alvarez. I would take Lindor over him. I would take him over Pekar Armstrong and James Wood, but that's the range. Yep. And we have one more handmade bone injury. Jackson Holiday, who we learned as well. So we just did our second base preview.

So that's already a little bit outdated talking about Jackson Holiday on that one. And polarizing player to talk about already the way that he, look, he had a fine season last year. He continues to improve. He's still young enough where he can get better. But, you know, for someone who doesn't elevate the ball all that well and doesn't have, you know, incredible raw power so far in his career,

it's not exactly what you want to see for Jackson Holiday. So how far did you lower him down the rankings? Yeah, he's not nearly as bankable as Lindor and Carol. You know, we already had questions about how good Jackson Holiday actually is. So it's a lot easier to be aggressive with moving him down. I think it's going to be right around 170 for me. He was right around 125 before. So, you know, about a four-round drop for Jackson Holiday.

And I think I feel a little better about taking the chance on him there because, well, yes. Now we're getting that discount we were hoping for, right? Yeah, now there's that, you know, obviously the risk of the handmade bone, but there was always risk here. in Jackson Holiday's profile. He hasn't shown actual high-end MLB upside. The best argument for him is he's 22 and has held his own as a major leaguer. And usually that means that that player has a big ceiling. But it's a lot easier for me to make that case with Jackson Holiday if he's a 15th round

pick than if he's a 10th round pick. So I'm probably more likely to buy Jackson Holiday as a result of this injury. than I was beforehand. Yeah, the ADP for Jackson Holiday, according to Fantasy Pro's 126.4. I lowered him to 175th overall. Doesn't actually drop him that much further in the second base rankings

just because there are not too many great options as we talked about on that preview just the other day. But pulling up my second base rankings, that got Jackson Holiday down to 10th at the position. So still ahead of Xavier Edwards, Bryson Stott, But Jorge Polanco, I mean, that's a preference. If you want to take Polanco, I have no problem with it, but it's just a completely different skill set.

You're getting batting average and power and probably RBI, but obviously no steel. So just a completely different player than someone like Jackson Holiday. Yeah, sorry, who was that again? I was just talking about Jackson Holiday, like where he ranks at second base now. It looks like you have him 10th at the position as well. You mentioned Polanco. I did move him right below Polanco.

I have him between Jorge Polanco and Saddam-Refiela. right ahead of Marcus Simeon as well. Again, I feel more comfortable with that than I did with where I had Jackson Holiday ranked beforehand. So it might depend, you know, Polanco versus Holiday might depend on what skill set you're looking for. Polanco, I think, is going to be much better in power and RBI. And a better points league player for sure.

Yeah, much better points league player. Holiday, you know, him and St. Elfayela, it's very similar cases. I think Holiday just has more upside, so I'll take holiday over him even after the injury. All right, let's take a quick break when we return. We'll talk about Josh Hader. We got an injury update on him.

We'll do that right after this. Welcome back in little bonus emergency edition of Fantasy Baseball today, two days in a row talking about a lot of injury updates here as players and teams report to spring training. We learned that Josh Hader was recently dealing with bicep inflammation. He took 10 days off from throwing. He's now back to throwing. on flat ground, so not off of a mound just yet.

But Chris, this is concerning because his season ended with a shoulder strain last year. And you worry about compensatory injuries and just the more things add up on that arm. It just causes a little bit of concern here. And there's a really good reliever on the roster with him in Brian Abraeu. So they could slow play this if they want to. They haven't said, you know, he's in danger of missing opening day or anything like that. but we kind of have this compounding thing with the shoulder to end last year

and now biceps to start spring training for Josh Hater. Yeah, I mean, you look at the timetable for Josh Hater since the end of last season. You've got just looking at the Roto World player updates. Josh Hader threw off a mound three times in November. That was the update. And then in a few days later in November, he's on course to come back and be there for opening day.

That was their belief he's going to get ramped up sometime early to mid-February uh you have later november he's not throwing at full intensity but he was feeling good and then as soon as he starts ramping up for the season we got a setback that feels pretty ominous um i i'm not going to say that josh hater's definitely going to to lose the entire 2026 season again or anything like that but we are going back to what August where he hasn't thrown at full intensity. And the one attempt that he's had to throw at full intensity or anything close to it required a basically two-week shutdown to deal with a separate injury. So I think was pretty optimistic about Hater coming in.

But I think you have to lower him a lot. I'm still going to rank him as a top 12 closer. But, you know, he was number three for me before this injury, before this setback. I'm moving him down to ninth. So behind Devin Williams, behind Oroldus Chapman, behind David Bednar, but ahead of Ryan Helsley and Reisel Eglacius, who have very much have their own concerns for sure. Very similar spot for me. I dropped him down to RP 10, 1004th overall, right after Raisal Ecclesias and Devin Williams,

ahead of Ryan Helsley, just because I think Ryan Helsley has concerns of his own, but much so, much more. performance related based on what we saw late last season with the New York Mets. He struggled to stay healthy for a while in St. Louis before finally figuring it out. So yeah, so definitely have to drop Josh Hader down a little bit here. What about raising up somebody like Brian Abrayu? I mean, he basically ended the season as their closer last year. And he has been one of the best relievers in baseball over the past couple of seasons. Amazing strikeout stuff there.

I moved him up to RP 29 which might not sound all that high there's like sparks mixed in there and things like that but if we're looking just at closers and relievers

we expect to get saves I have him just behind Riley O'Brien with the Cardinals and then the raise guys Edwin Useda Griffin Jacks I also have Sir Anthony Dominguez

ahead of him now he's expected to be the White Sox closer so just behind the raise guys I think he is the Brian Obrayu, this is, the highest priority non-closer that should be drafted now? I guess it depends on how you define non-closer, right?

Because not the raise guys, but, you know. Yeah, that's specifically what I was saying. Edwin Yuseda and Griffin-Jack both have, I think, top five closer potential if they ran away with that job. But neither is actually the closer. So it's hard to know how to, but like. I guess handcuff types, right? like Roberts Juarez, who is a high-end handcuff as well. Yeah.

But like Daniel Palencia got the vote of confidence from the Cubs manager earlier today. Yeah. That if the season started today, he would get the first save. So I think you'd rather have him than Brian Abraeu. Same thing with Jeff Hoffman and the Blue Jays. Yep. But I definitely think in any Roto League, Brian Abraeu becomes a pretty high priority late round target, which try to stay with me there.

I think he is someone that you don't need to draft in the middle rounds, but once you're down to your last pitcher spot or a bench spot, I think there's a real chance that we end up getting 20 saves out of Brian and Brayu. And what's nice about him is even if you don't get that, Brian and Brayu is still a real standout pitcher. Oh, yeah. You know, especially I want to say he's been like a real standout and whip at times. about 104 in 2023.

Last two seasons not quite as good. A lot of strikeouts. He does walk quite a bit. Yeah. But, you know, low twos to low three ZRAs pretty consistently. The last four years, his worst ERA is 3.10. Would definitely, I think, be the closer if anything happens to hater. So I think a brayu has to be someone that's on all radars, at least in categories leagues.

And head to head points, I don't think it really matters. that much. And a high priority if you draft Josh Hader, just make sure you get Brian to pray you, right? It's much easier for a situation like this to lock up both of those names instead of the Brewer's bullpen for example, where you would have to use

two of your top 13 round picks to get Trevor McGill and Abner-Aribe on your team, which is another situation that's just kind of up in the air, unless we get votes of confidence there, but Trevor McGill dealt with the injuries late last season. Abner-Reebe was the closer down the stretch,

seemed more like the closer in the postseason, so we don't exactly know, and they're both really talented. So what do you think about the, like, would you take Abrae U over either of the Brewers guys? I don't think I would, but. I think I would take Abrae U ahead of both of them. Actually, no, no.

I'll take the chance on the Brewers guys, but, you know, given the likely difference in price, I think Abrae is still the better pick. Yeah. I'm still holding out hope that the brewers trade Trevor McGill. I know they were fueling offers for him this offseason. It just would make so many other situations much better, man. The debacks, the Giants, like, why have you guys not traded for Trevor McGill?

We would get a closer on another team, and then we would clearly have Abner-Aribe as the closer for the Brewers. I think part of it is teams really like having multiple closer caliber relievers. But the debacks and Giants have none. Well, yeah, that's a problem. I think especially for the Giants who fancy themselves a contender, this year. I don't know if the diamond backs are really, you know, I know holding on to Cattal Marte, they're not punting the season, certainly, but. I mean, they trade for Nolan Aeronado. I mean, it's, it's kind of a, hey, we're trying,ish to compete. They're trying to, but I think the Giants are much more invested in competing this year. And so it is weird that they haven't tried to upgrade their bullpen. Maybe they just still really like Ryan Walker, which I think is reasonable enough. But yeah, it would be nice to see the brewer. trade one of those guys for sure.

Jordan Westberg strain his oblique and will be slow play to start spring training. Mike Elias said he doesn't expect Westberg to play in Grapefruit League games right away, but opening day is not in jeopardy as of now. Chris, did you do anything with Jordan Westberg in the rankings? I dropped him down a little bit, but I don't think it was, you know, even changing his ranking at third base for me. So he's still, you know, probably more like 110, one-10, one-fif, but I'd still, I think, rather have him than Bregman right now.

So I'll leave him at number nine at third base for now. I have Westberg behind Bregman, but ahead of Nelvie Marte, Matt Chapman, ESOC parade, is that group. I think Westberg is a talented player, but he has not showed the ability to stay healthy on the Major League roster. I mean, it's not that it's been the same injury over and over, but it's just been different stuff. All different kind of nagging things so far for Jordan Westberg in his career.

A couple of other things that we learned yesterday, and we mentioned some of these on our third base preview, but Anthony Santander is having shoulder surgery. He's out five to six months, and he dealt with back and shoulder stuff last year. And it sucks. I don't know the timeline of when this happened, because as of December,

it sounded like he was healthy, he was a full go. They gave him a vote of confidence. They said, you know, he's going to be a big contributor here in 2026. So something must have happened between December and the start of spring training to cause this, but he is undraftable, obviously, out five to six months. Maybe he's somebody we've, pick up late in the season.

I do think there's, you know, it's possible that he had a setback. It's also possible that, like, they thought surgery was always going to be a possibility, but it's reasonable. We get kind of, you know, from our perspective, upset when players delay surgery. And, you know, you could have been rehabbing in the offseason. Instead, you're rehabbing from the surgery when the season starts. And that's frustrating. But it's like, I do think if you can avoid the risk of going under the nuts.

it's it's totally reasonable yeah most of players don't want to do that yeah and and I mean it's really sad but like look at Terrence Gore who passed away a few days ago that was from complications to a from from what I was reading at least a relatively routine surgical procedure like that that's there's real risk that we we don't talk about when when this happens because it's pretty rare but I understand why players try to avoid surgery if they can and that might be what Anthony Santander just was trying to see if he could rehab it instead. And now it's, you know, unfortunately going to cost him a big chunk of this upcoming season.

Yeah, so the fallout with Santander, it looks like Nathan Lucas will kind of check into a at least strong side platoon role in the outfield for the Blue Jays. And I do think this gives a little bit more runway to someone like Addison Barger. He might still be a platoon player, but the fact that Santander isn't there, they need a little bit more punch in that lineup. I think it opens up the possibility of Barger being in every day. player for the Blue Jays this upcoming season. He's been bad against lefties.

I totally get that, but I think, at least for me, I'm back on with Barger as a potential breakout candidate. Shane Bieber is still dealing with forearm fatigue. He will not be ready for the start of the season. So they kept Jose Barrios around. It seems like he just kind of slots into the Blue Jays rotation there. I lowered Bieber outside of my top 200 overall. It was SP 66.

I think he's someone that you could still draft, but. there is risk here. I mean, he had Tommy John surgery a couple years ago, and he's still dealing with this. He last pitched in, you know, late October, early November, and you would think something like this would, you know, not be an issue at this point. So there's always a chance that this continues to linger

and maybe even leads to a bigger injury for Shane Bieber. Yeah, he came back from Tommy John surgery, and it was kind of weird, his return from Tommy John surgery. He had some setbacks along the way. Was it a bicep or something? He had some kind of setback while doing his rehab assignment last year. And then now we have this. So I just...

It's weird because he pitched well too when he was on the mound. Yeah. And, you know, he's not a guy who has ever needed overwhelming stuff. You know, we got excited because he was averaging 92 miles per hour with his fastball before the injury in 2024, just because that's how low the bar is for Shane Bieber to be effective. but, you know, he comes back from Tommy John's surgery. It's rocky. He gets through, what, 68 combined innings between the major, the playoffs and regular season.

And we're still dealing with forearm soreness from October. And it's February now that really does not bode well for this guy's ability to stay on the mound and make a contribution. So I'm not entirely out, but yeah, I'm pretty, I'm not excited about Shane Bieber. And I don't really have interest in Jose Burrios. Maybe he's a streamer in some spots and good matchups. Yeah. Do you disagree? No.

No, we know who Jose Barius is. And Reese Olson, we learned, will have shoulder surgery and miss all of 2026, which makes more sense now why they went out and signed Justin Verlander. Maybe they would have done that all along, the homecoming and maybe wrapping up his career here with the team that it started with, with the Detroit Tigers. But if there is an injury to somebody else and that, the rotation. Troy Melton is probably the next name up there. I would think so. There's also Sawyer Gripson Long, who's still around and has some

appeal. But yeah, it seems like none of the young guys are going to get the chance for Detroit. I also want to mention Spencer Schwellabach did confirm that he's going to have surgery on his elbow. I think the typical return to play timeline for bone spur removal is 10 to 12 weeks. I know Carlos Redon's timetable is much longer than that. in the offseason, but that's the research I've seen. But the problem is, man, you start to look at it. And there's a lot of guys who had bone spur issues. And they either tried to rest it or had surgery and then ended up meeting Tommy John surgery shortly after. That's like Walker Bueller in 2022. I was looking at up. He had bone spur surgery in June, was expected to miss 10 to 12 weeks. By August, he has a setback needs Tommy John surgery. So I just given everything we know about Spencer Schwellenbaum,

He's had Tommy John surgery, fractured elbow. Now this in the past four and a half years. He's made it through one healthy season as a starter. I don't want to say I'm entirely out on Spencer Sweldenbach, but my expectations are basically zero at this point for him in 2026, unfortunately. Now I'm just hoping we don't get the worst case scenario and it lingers into 2027. Yeah. And in leagues where you do not have an IL spot,

I think Schwellenbach is undraftable, obviously. So for those who play in NFBC leagues, draft and hold is different if you want to take a stab late. But I dropped him to around 300th overall. It's outside my top 80 starting pitchers. Again, that's Spencer Schwellenbach. And we haven't learned anything about the Braves signing a starting pitcher yet. It feels like they will have to sign at least one.

Maybe two. I mean, there are some names out there. Zach Allen, Gellito, Chris Bassett. They're not the most exciting names. but definitely pitchers that it feels like the Braves could use this upcoming season. We are going to wrap there for Chris. I am Frank. Thanks as always for tuning into fantasy baseball today.

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