10 Most Critical Injuries Suffered in Spring Training

Spring training is a time for major- and minor-league players to dust off the cobwebs in order to get ready for the season.

However, this practice period also comes with the risk of getting injured and missing Opening Day or possibly the entire 2012 season.

Here are 10 players who have been seriously injured during spring training and could miss some significant time.

Salvador Perez

Injury: Torn Lateral Meniscus

Status: 60-Day DL

After signing a five-year extension with the Kansas City Royals this offseason, the 21-year-old catcher tore his meniscus while warming up Jonathan Sanchez in the bullpen. The injury will require surgery, according to ESPN.

In 2011, Perez appeared in 39 big-league games with the Royals, batting .331/.361/.473 with three home runs and 21 RBI. He also added eight doubles and two triples during his short stint in the majors. 

Chris Carpenter

Injury: Bulging Disk (Neck)

Status: Unknown

It wasn't a pleasant start to the 2012 baseball season after such an exciting and rewarding end to the 2011 season for Chris Carpenter. After playing a major role in bringing a World Series title back to St. Louis, Carpenter is feeling symptoms of a bulging disk in his neck and has returned to St. Louis for further tests, according to ESPN.

The injury means that Carpenter will miss the season-opener for the Cardinals and might be out even longer depending on if it requires surgery or not. After only going 11-9 with a 3.45 ERA during the regular season, Carpenter went 4-0 in six postseason starts.

Joakim Soria

Injury: UCL Damage (right arm)

Status: Possible Tommy John surgery (out for season)

This is definitely an injury that you hate to see happen during spring training, or at all for that matter. Soria left his appearance on Sunday with discomfort in his elbow, and it was later found out that he had elbow damage, according to ESPN.

Soria is seeking options other than Tommy John surgery, which would require him to miss the entire 2012 season. The same ligament required surgery in 2003, and missing any time would be detrimental to the young Royals team. The two-time All-Star had 28 saves in 60 appearances last season.

A.J. Burnett

Injury: Fractured Orbital Bone

Status: Day-to-Day (post-surgery)

Well, A.J. Burnett, you win the award for most embarrassing injury of spring training. During a bunting drill, after being traded from the New York Yankees to the Pittsburgh Pirates, Burnett fouled a ball into his right eye, according to ESPN.

Burnett is now cleared to work out and has thrown a few bullpen sessions, but come on, A.J., you couldn't bunt the ball somewhere other than your face? In three seasons with the Yankees, Burnett finished with a 34-35 record and an ERA of 4.79. 

Miguel Cabrera

Injury: Broken Bone (right eye)

Status: Week-to-Week

Talk about a freak accident. Cabrera, fielding his new position at third base after Detroit signed free-agent slugger Prince Fielder to a huge contract, took a ground ball off of his face after it took a bad hop. Cabrera, whose face was bleeding, will be out a few weeks after receiving some stitches under his eye, according to ESPN.

The MVP candidate hit a league-leading .344 with 30 home runs and 105 RBI. Cabrera played in all but one regular-season game last season.

Derek Jeter

Injury: Strained Calf (Right)

Status: Day-to-Day

Although this is only a day-to-day injury, it is definitely something to look at during the season. It's no secret that the Yankees shortstop had trouble with the same calf last season during his pursuit of his 3,000th career hit. Jeter should be back within the next few days, according to ESPN.

In 2011, Jeter played in 131 games and hit .297/.355/.388 with six home runs, 61 RBI and 24 doubles. The future Hall of Famer looks to stay injury-free in 2012, with hopes of winning yet another World Series championship.

Chase Utley

Injury: Knees

Status: Unknown

This could end up being a huge issue for the Philadelphia Phillies in 2012. According to ESPN, Chase Utley is doubtful for Opening Day due to issues with both of his knees. Since there isn't an exact diagnosis of Utley's issues, it's still unknown how long he'll be out for.

Injuries suffered during 2011 only allowed Utley to appear in 103 games with Phillies, hitting a career-low (excluding his rookie season of 43 games) .259 with 11 home runs and 44 RBI. If this turns out to be an ongoing problem, the Phillies may need to make a big move before the regular season starts.

Arodys Vizcaino

Injury: Tommy John Surgery

Status: Out for Season

Here's another terrible injury you hate to see, especially with such a young pitcher. After projecting to land in the Braves bullpen at the start of the 2012, ESPN reported that Vizcaino will miss the entire 2012 due to Tommy John surgery.

The Braves prospect only appeared in 17 games in the majors last season, going 1-1 with a 4.67 ERA. In 17.1 innings, he struck out 17 batters and only walked nine. Hopefully he can rehab quickly and possibly be ready for a potential postseason run.

Carlos Quentin

Injury: Knee Inflammation (surgery)

Status: Out 4-6 Weeks

In order to avoid future knee injuries, newly acquired Padres outfielder Carlos Quentin decided to have surgery on his knee that will keep him out for around 4-6 weeks, according to ESPN. It was reported that his knee was so bad that it just made sense to have surgery on it and get ready for the beginning of the 2012 season.

Last season with the Chicago White Sox, Quentin played in 118 games, hitting .254/.340/.499 with 27 home runs and 77 RBI. The Padres hope that Quentin goes through a speedy recovery and can help them compete in the NL West.

Skip Schumaker

Injury: Oblique Tear

Status: Possible DL Stint

According to MLB.com, Skip Schumaker has a torn oblique that will most likely put him on the disabled list to start the 2012 season. Skip suffered from a similar injury during the 2011 postseason.

In 117 at-bats with the world champion Cardinals in 2011, Schumaker hit .283/.333/.351 with two home runs and 38 RBI. The Cardinals thought that Schumaker would start playing a bigger role this season, but since oblique injuries tend to linger and don't have a set recovery time, that is still in question.