Last time I put together this list, I was able to stop at 40.
But to play baseball now is to be injured at some point. Teams are less inclined than ever to let players play through it, certainly since the 10-day option became available for hitters a few years ago. So the standard response to injuries now is to deactivate first and ask questions later. The Astros don’t even really know what’s going on with Yordan Alvarez’s hand yet — he’s scheduled for imaging in the next couple days — but they figured that giving him 10 days off couldn’t hurt. The Angels made a similar choice with Mike Trout and his knee. Same for the Dodgers and Tommy Edman’s ankle.
None of those injuries seems like a long-term concern, but since those players are now on the IL, they only add to the IL clutter. With more going on than are coming off, the list will just keep expanding. It’s up to 50 names now.
Granted, not all are worth stashing in all leagues, but I want to go a little deeper than is necessary just in case you have some free IL spots to fill. (Lucky you!)
As always, the order is less about how soon the player is returning that how impactful he’ll be when he does, but it’s not exclusively one or the other. I’m weighing both factors when gauging how stashable a player is.
Too valuable to drop, period
Also really difficult to drop
Still a priority on some level
Stashing is purely a luxury