MLB Injury Comebacks with Huge Implications This Spring Training
Every year in MLB, we seem to lose a handful of marquee players to significant injury.
2014 was no different, as plenty of high-profile talents were sidelined due to various ailments. Those injuries not only robbed baseball fans of seeing some of the game's greats, but they also happened to greatly affect the standings.
But if there is one beauty of an injury, it's the road back, and spring training will be the first opportunity for a few injury-riddled stars to get back out on the diamond. Although just exhibitions, the spring will provide these players with a chance to ease their way back to their best form.
Stars like Joey Votto, Prince Fielder and Matt Harvey will be hoping for a healthy and productive spring, while the pairs of Manny Machado and Matt Wieters and Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez will be looking to enter the season ahead on the right foot.
Each of the aforementioned players has the ability to completely change the landscape of their respective team's seasons, making their returns to the field critical developments to follow throughout spring training.
Let's take a closer look at each player's injury situation and what exactly we've been missing over the last year.
Joey Votto
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According to a report from MLB.com's Mark Sheldon, Cincinnati Reds manager Bryan Price is confident that star first baseman Joey Votto should be 100 percent to start the season.
In Sheldon's report, Price had this to say regarding Votto's progress with Reds strength and conditioning coach Sean Marohn during the offseason:
"The last report when Sean was up in Toronto earlier this month was very, very good. The strength was outstanding, the stamina was good and the agility. Right now, we're looking to hit the ground running when Joey gets to Goodyear and being able to see with our own eyes where he's at. I'm confident that he's going to be ready to go.
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Votto missed 100 games last season with a quadriceps injury, leaving the Cincinnati lineup with a massive void it was unable to fill. The Reds ranked 28th in runs, 29th in average, 29th in OBP and 18th in home runs in 2014, after ranking 12th, 18th, sixth and 17th in those categories in 2013 with a healthy Votto.
But Votto's absence was felt the most in the only stat that matters, with the Reds going 76-86 in 2014 after winning 90 games with Votto the year before.
Since 2009, Votto has produced at an elite level. The 31-year-old ranks seventh in WAR, fifth in average, first in OBP, ninth in slugging percentage and third in WRC+.
Votto was clearly hampered by his quad in limited playing time last season, ending his season with the worst numbers of his career. Keep in mind that Votto's down year saw him post a .390 OBP and 128 wRC+.
Despite finishing 2014 with a losing record, the Reds still boast a potent lineup. Brandon Phillips, Todd Frazier, Devin Mesoraco, Marlon Byrd and Jay Bruce are more than capable of lighting up scoreboards. With Votto holding down the heart of the order, there is no reason to think that Cincinnati can't return to the postseason.
But the Reds won't do that without a healthy Joey Votto.
Prince Fielder
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Missing time due to injury was uncharted territory for Prince Fielder. The Texas Rangers slugger had played in 157 games or more in every season since 2006, including a five-year stretch where he missed just one measly contest.
But Fielder's good luck on the health front ran out last season, as the first baseman missed the majority of 2014 with a neck injury. Fielder would need surgery to repair two discs in that neck, ending his season in May.
But there's good news for Rangers fans: Fielder is "full steam ahead" for spring training, according to The Associate Press via ESPN Dallas. Texas will hopefully be able to stick Fielder in the middle of a lineup that struggled in 2014. The Rangers ranked 17th in runs, 27th in homers, 22nd in slugging percentage and 24th in wRC+ last season.
A healthy Fielder is as physically imposing a slugger as we have in MLB. He's often only considered a power hitter, but Fielder touts elite plate discipline and solid contact skills. Fielder is a .285 career hitter with career walk and strikeout percentages of 13 and 17.3 percent, respectively.
Those numbers are what distinguish him from other major league power bats, but Fielder still possesses elite pop. From 2009-2013, Fielder's 171 dingers rank third in baseball and his 558 RBI rank second. He also ranks sixth in wRC+ and posted a .234 isolated power mark.
But before 2014, Fielder had never really had a bad year. He's been as consistent as they come, hitting 30-plus homers and driving in over 100 runs in five different seasons from 2007-2013.
The Rangers, much like the Reds and Votto, need a healthy Fielder to truly get the most out of their lineup. Pairing Fielder with Adrian Beltre and Leonys Martin in the middle of the Texas lineup would give the Rangers the offensive punch they lacked last season.
Neck injuries can be tricky, but with a clean bill of health Fielder should be able to return to his once-elite form.
Matt Harvey
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New York Mets fans have been patient for a winner over the past few seasons, and their patience could be rewarded as early as 2015.
The Mets tout one of the better pitching staffs in baseball, with Jacob deGrom, Zack Wheeler, Bartolo Colon and Jon Niese in the rotation. When you add the highly regarded Noah Syndergaard waiting in the fold, there's plenty of reason to be excited in Queens.
But for the Mets to truly reach their potential in the season ahead, the club will need a healthy Matt Harvey to return in 2014.
Harvey blew out his elbow in 2013, undergoing Tommy John surgery that cost him all of 2014 as well. Harvey and the Mets have been patient throughout his rehab process, which could pay dividends down the road.
The Mets are hoping to have Harvey ready to go at the beginning of the season, and recent reports seem to be indicating that the right-hander will be 100 percent by Opening Day.
Harvey participated in his first official throwing session of 2015 on Tuesday, according to Kevin Kernan of the New York Post. According to Kernan, young catcher Tomas Nido, who was catching Harvey, said that "anything he tried to throw, he hit the spot." Kernan also reported that the session consisted only of fastballs and changeups, as Harvey is waiting to unleash his entire arsenal until pitching coach Dan Warthen arrives at camp.
That repertoire was absolutely electric in 2013 when Harvey took the league by storm. The 6'4" hurler posted a 2.27 ERA (2.00 FIP), 6.0 WAR and struck out over nine per nine innings in 26 starts two seasons ago. Harvey also excelled at avoiding walks and keeping the ball in the ballpark.
Harvey used elite velocity with a wipeout slider and curve. His heater consistently reached the upper 90s, while his slider and curve created swinging strikes 17.3 and 12 percent of the time.
The 25-year-old still has a long career ahead of him, and baseball fans around the country are hoping Harvey has a full recovery. If he can reinsert himself into the Mets rotation and revisit his 2013 form, the New York Mets could return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2006 season.
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Manny Machado and Matt Wieters
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Led by one of the best offenses in baseball, the Baltimore Orioles reached the ALCS for the first time since 1997 last season.
The AL East champions led all of MLB in homers, while also ranking eighth in runs, ninth in average, third in slugging, sixth in wRC+ and third in WAR. Seven O's reached double figures in round-trippers in 2014.
But 2015 will have a much different feel for the Baltimore offense, as both Nelson Cruz and Nick Markakis fled Camden Yards for free-agent money. Cruz accounted for 40 dingers and 108 RBI last season, while Markakis hit .276 with 14 homers.
The Orioles did very little in the offseason to replace some of that production, instead hoping the returns of Manny Machado and Matt Wieters will offset the losses of Cruz and Markakis. Both Machado and Wieters are talented enough to do so, but their health remains a big question mark as we enter the season.
At just 22, Machado has endured enough injury problems for a lifetime. The infielder has needed season-ending surgery on each of his knees over the past two seasons. But while Machado has had trouble staying on the field, his recent comments to Eduardo A. Encina of the Baltimore Sun should give the Baltimore faithful plenty of hope entering spring training.
"I feel great," Machado told Encina. "It's been a while since I felt this healthy and good. My body feels great, my mind is clear. I'm excited to get back out there."
When Machado has been able to suit up, he's shown baseball fans what all the fuss is about in regard to his highly touted buzz.
The former first-round pick has hit for both average and power in his young big league career. Machado was on pace to surpass the numbers of his rookie season in 2014 before missing most of the season due to surgery.
Much like Machado, Wieters will be hoping to bounce back with a healthy campaign this season. The catcher was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery last year after some elbow trouble, missing the majority of the 2014 season.
Wieters has expanded his throwing program this winter to 150 feet, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports. Despite the elbow injury, the Baltimore catcher should be ready by Opening Day.
Manager Buck Showalter will be glad to see Wieters back in the lineup, as the 28-year-old has developed into one of the more consistent signal-callers in the AL. Wieters hit over 20 homers in each season from 2011-2013.
The O's are being slightly overlooked in an improving American League, but the club still boasts a solid rotation and has one of the best managers in baseball running the show. If Machado and Wieters can stay healthy and productive in 2015, the Orioles should find themselves right back in the thick of the pennant race.
Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez
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While the Colorado Rockies remain at the bottom of the standings in the National League, we've yet to truly see how prolific its offense can be with a healthy pairing of Troy Tulowitzki and Carlos Gonzalez bolstering the heart of the order.
Despite their abundance of talent, both CarGo and Tulo remain two of the most injury-prone stars in the game. If healthy, the Rockies would never dream of parting with either player. But their ugly injury pasts have general manager Jeff Bridich dealing with trade speculation this offseason. To be fair, Fox Sports' Jon Morosi quoted Bridich as saying a deal for either of his stars would be "highly, highly unlikely."
And who can blame him? When on the field, Tulowitzki and Gonzalez are two of the most feared hitters in baseball.
Tulowitzki remains one of the premier players at one of the premier positions in MLB. The shortstop has slugged over 20 homers in six different seasons, while hitting at just a tick under .300 for his career. Tulo was on pace to post incredible numbers last season before his injury, as he recorded a .603 slugging percentage and 171 wRC+ in an injury-shortened season.
Gonzalez has achieved similar success in his major league career. The outfielder has a career line of .294/.351/.520 and a career isolated power mark of .226. The 29-year-old incorporates speed into his game, as evidenced by four 20-20 seasons in his career.
Strengthening their value further, both players are under team control for at least a few more seasons. Tulowitzki is under contract until 2020 with a team option for 2021, while Gonzalez is under contract through 2017.
But those favorable numbers only paint half the picture.
Tulowitzki has played in more than 140 games just twice since his debut in 2007. Likewise, Gonzalez has played in 140 games in his career just once, while missing nearly a season's worth of games just in the last two years.
Tulowitzki and Gonzalez will be paired with fellow slugger Justin Morneau in the middle of the Colorado lineup this season, giving the Rockies one of the better power trios in baseball. While the club still has its issues on the mound, Colorado should be able to score enough to make some noise in the crowded NL West.
But it's difficult to have confidence that the club's deadly duo can remain healthy and productive together for a whole season. More injury problems in 2015 could see Bridich pull the trigger on a potential deal closer to the deadline.
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