Hidden Injuries, 2024
May 1 2024
July 28, 2023.
Jonah Heim had a .295 batting average with 66 RBI (most among catchers), but left a game with wrist soreness and hit the IL shortly after. It marked a turning point in his season (rolling graph from FanGraphs; red line approximately when the injury occurred):
Heim hit just .189 with 4 HR over his final 185 PA, so while maybe it was just a coincidence, it was fair to speculate that things weren't quite right upon return.
Heim's case isn't uncommon—Tim Anderson said he played through 2023 with a knee injury sustained last April, Manny Machado gutted through an elbow issue that led to September surgery, etc.—but it does illustrate how we're often forced to make roster decisions with incomplete information.
Sometimes the...
Almost!
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