Chances are you’re feeling the crunch right about now. Players seem to be going on the IL faster than they’re coming off, and you only have so much space to work with. If you’re lucky, your commissioner has thrown you an IL spot or two (or, um … five?) so you don’t lose a bench spot every time a player is sidelined, but you may be reaching the point where even those are beginning to overflow.
Juan Soto is the latest to go down, landing on the IL with a shoulder strain. The news came out of left field about an hour before Tuesday’s game, and so far no one on the Nationals beat has been able to offer any details. My guess, given the quiet development, is that it’s fairly minor, but he’ll still have to consume an IL spot for now.
The good news is that some season-long stashes are now being activated. Kyle Lewis, out since late in spring training with a bone bruise in his knee, returned to the lineup Tuesday, and the Padres have finally built up Dinelson Lamet to the point that they’ll turn him loose Wednesday. Ke’Bryan Hayes and Austin Nola are also on the path to returning.
But there’s downside when a player comes off the IL, too. If you had him stashed in an IL spot, you have to cut someone, and sometimes — probably not in the case of those players I mentioned, but sometimes — the right player to cut is the very one you’re activating.
It might make you wonder why you stashed him in the first place. Well, this list is intended to advise you as to which injured players are most worth stashing and which aren’t so much, in case you have to make some tough decisions. The criteria is a combination of how good the player is, how long he’s expected to miss and whether the injury might have a lingering effect on his performance.
Too valuable to drop, period
Maybe in the shallowest leagues
If you have to, you have to
Stashing is purely a luxury
