The Best Reinforcement Coming for Every AL Playoff Contender

Everyone knows the Major League Baseball schedule is a grind. 162 games in 186 days (for most teams) is no small feat.

Plenty, if not most, teams have suffered key injuries by the time they get to the end of the season. Now, with the playoffs creeping up, several contenders are looking to get back some key contributors in time for the postseason.

Here is a look at every playoff contender in the American League and the best player that each of them should get back from injury in the coming weeks.

To clarify, these are players who are more likely than not to return this season. For example, Félix Bautista of the Orioles is not in consideration even though he threw a bullpen recently because Baltimore’s front office has never wavered from the decision that he will be out for the entire 2024 season.

Stats updated prior to games on September 9.

Baltimore Orioles

Jordan Westburg – 3B (Out since August 1st)

Season Stats: .269/.317/.497, 129 wRC+, 18 HR, 58 RBI, 2.8 fWAR

Prior to landing on the injured list, Jordan Westburg was second on the Orioles in fWAR behind only Gunnar Henderson. He was also third on the team in wRC+ and fourth in RBIs.

Other than Henderson and Anthony Santander, he was the most productive bat in the lineup while providing excellent defense at third base.

Before losing Westburg, the Orioles had one of the best offenses in baseball. They were third in runs scored, and first in wRC+ and OPS. It has been a different story for Baltimore since the injury.

Since August 1st, they rank 11th in runs scored, 17th in wRC+, and 21st in OPS. Not all of this is due to Westburg going down, but you can clearly see the stark contrast in performance.

One of my personal favorite notes about Westburg is his win probability added figure. He led the Orioles before going down with a 2.33 WPA on the season. That was also good for 12th in the majors.

Westburg was ahead of players like Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Rafael Devers, and Yordan Alvarez. He was directly impacting winning in Baltimore as much as anyone on the team.

Since Westburg’s injury, third base in Baltimore has been a carousel of Coby Mayo and Ramón Urías. While Urías has been good, he is not Jordan Westburg.

Westburg’s return can hopefully give the Orioles the offensive spark that they have been missing.

Honorable Mention

Grayson Rodriguez – RHP (Out since August 4th)

Season Stats: 116.2 IP, 10.03 K/9, 2.78 BB/9, 3.86 ERA, 3.68 FIP

The Orioles rotation has been decimated by injuries, and they desperately need Rodriguez back.

With his return, Baltimore can put out a playoff rotation of Corbin Burnes, Zach Eflin, Grayson Rodriguez, and Albert Suarez, which would be solid. Rodriguez replacing Dean Kremer in a playoff rotation helps the Orioles significantly.

New York Yankees

Jasson Domínguez – OF

Season Stats (Triple-A): 40 G, .302/.358/.472, 6 HR, 15 SB, 116 wRC+

This is a bit of a cop-out answer, and I am okay with that. Domínguez is no longer injured, but he was waiting in Triple-A until the Yankees called him up on Monday.

The truth of the matter is that Alex Verdugo is the greatest hindrance to this Yankees squad. While Yankees fans have been driven crazy by a handful of players this season, Verdugo is public enemy number one. He has provided very little value or production. Since June 1st, Verdugo is hitting .223/.279/.313 with a 67 wRC+.

Verdugo ranks 41st out of 48 qualified outfielders with 0.7 fWAR. He ranks 45th in wRC+. The one saving grace with Verdugo has been his decent defense in LF. Regardless, getting his bat out of the starting lineup will help this team immensely.

Domínguez offers the Yankees much more offensive upside. They also would not give up any defensive value as Domínguez plays a strong center field and Aaron Judge can move to left, where he can be one of the best defenders at the position.

With Domínguez around to play center field, the Yankees can also give Aaron Judge more reps at DH, allowing him to get some extra rest as the postseason nears.

Honorable Mention

None

The Yankees are one of the more healthy teams in the playoff hunt. They just got Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt back from brief stints on the IL. The Yankees are in a pretty good position health-wise for their playoff push.

Cleveland Guardians

None

I know this is a bit of a cop-out answer again, but there is not a single player the Guardians will return off the IL who will make them meaningfully better. Shane Bieber is out for the year. Carlos Carrasco has been largely ineffective when he plays.

The one player who could deserve this spot is James Karinchak, who just made a rehab appearance in Columbus. The one issue is I do not know if he even makes it up to Cleveland, and if he does, there is not a clear-cut name for him to replace on the roster.

Cleveland has the best bullpen in all of baseball. None of their arms make sense to leave off the playoff roster in favor of Karinchak, who has yet to throw in the majors this season due to injury.

The Guardians look set to contend for the best record in the American League as they are very healthy for this final stretch.

Kansas City Royals

Michael Lorenzen – RHP (Out since August 28th)

Season Stats: 126 IP, 3.43 ERA, 6.57 K/9, 4.14 BB/9

Michael Lorenzen was looking like one of the best trade deadline acquisitions. In five starts with Kansas City, including the one in which he got injured, Lorenzen had thrown 24.1 innings to a 1.85 ERA.

This Royals team was desperately looking for pitching reinforcements, and they had found one in Lorenzen.

Lorenzen will most likely be left out of the postseason rotation, but he will be a huge help to a struggling bullpen. The Royals bullpen ranks 25th in ERA this season, which could make it difficult for Kansas City to win in October.

While teams with bad bullpens have won the World Series before, it certainly doesn’t make things easier.

The Rangers last season and the Nationals in 2019 both had quite bad bullpens. However, both teams saw their bullpens step up in the postseason. The Rangers went from a 4.77 bullpen ERA in the regular season to a 4.08 in the postseason. Similarly, the 2019 Nationals went from a 5.68 bullpen ERA in the regular season to a 4.44 in the postseason.

One of the reasons for each bullpen’s improvement was the moves each team’s front office made at the trade deadline. The Nationals acquired Daniel Hudson, and the Rangers added, most notably, Aroldis Chapman.

Michael Lorenzen may not be at the same level as a Hudson or Chapman, but he can certainly be a difference-maker for the Royals in the postseason.

Honorable Mention

Vinnie Pasquantino – 1B (Out since August 30th)

Season Stats: .262/.315/.446, 106 wRC+, 19 HR, 97 RBI

Pasquantino is the most important player currently on the IL for the Royals, but he lands as the honorable mention due to an unclear timetable.

Lorenzen is expected to be back about three or four weeks post-injury, while Pasquantino is looking at a six-week minimum with a broken thumb.

What makes Pasquantino so important is that he was the Royals’ number-one run producer before getting hurt with 97 RBIs. He also provided protection for Bobby Witt Jr. in a fairly average lineup. Outside of Witt, Pasquantino, and Salvador Perez, there is not a lot to fear in this lineup.

You might see a 106 wRC+ and think that isn’t great for the third-best bat on a playoff team. However, Pasquantino was really finding his stride with a 125 wRC+ in the second half. His best-case scenario looks like a return for the divisional round of the playoffs.

Minnesota Twins

Carlos Correa – SS (Out since July 16th)

Season Stats: .308/.377/.520, 152 wRC+, 3.6 fWAR

If there are sports gods out there somewhere, it feels like they just hate the state of Minnesota. Carlos Correa was on pace for the best season of his career before suffering a flare-up of the plantar fasciitis injury that had plagued him previously.

While Correa developed an injury-prone reputation early in his career, he averaged 140 games per season from 2021-23. This season he has only played 75 games, having been on the IL since the All-Star break.

Before getting hurt, Correa was on pace to match or pass his 2017 season offensively, a season in which he finished with a 152 wRC+. He was also on pace to surpass his 6.3 fWAR from 2021, which is his career best. If he made it to 140 games, he was on pace for 6.7 fWAR.

Prior to Correa going down, the Twins offense ranked sixth in runs, fourth in wRC+, and fifth in OPS. Since the injury, the Twins offense ranks 19th in runs, 17th in wRC+, and 18th in OPS.

The Twins offense has not been the same since losing Correa. Despite being within one game of the division a couple of weeks ago, it now looks like the Twins could now be trying to fend off Boston, Detroit and Seattle for the last Wild Card spot.

Correa has said that he will return this season, and the Twins need him as soon as possible.

Honorable Mention

Byron Buxton – OF/DH (Out since August 13th)

Season Stats: .275/.344/.528, 141 wRC+, 3.3 fWAR

Similar to Correa, Byron Buxton was on pace for the best season of his career. It seemed that he was also going to reach 100 games played in a season for the first time since his third MLB season.

His 141 wRC+ is the highest of his career if you exclude 2021 (when he only played 61 games). His 3.3 fWAR also put him on pace for 4.2 fWAR over 115 games. This would be the highest fWAR total for Buxton since his third season when he played 140 games.

The other option for this honorable mention is Joe Ryan. Joe Ryan has been the Twins’ best pitcher this season and one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball.

The reason I lean Buxton over Ryan is that the Twins rotation has largely held up in his absence. Rookies Zebby Matthews and David Festa have been solid despite a couple of blowups. This Twins offense, however, really needs a boost.

Houston Astros

None

The Astros find themselves in the Guardians category with no injured players who will return this year. It is always helpful to enter the playoffs with a healthy team. Houston recently got Justin Verlander back; he has not been great, but hopefully, he can find his footing soon.

The Astros have stated that neither Luis Garcia nor Lance McCullers Jr. will return this season. It is unfortunate, but this team will have a strong playoff rotation regardless.

Playoff Hopefuls

These three teams all have less than an eight percent chance of making the playoffs according to FanGraphs.

Detroit Tigers

Wenceel Perez – OF (Out since August 10th)

Season Stats: .242/.298/.386, 94 wRC+, 0.9 fWAR

While Perez is not a starter, he is a valuable bench piece for the Tigers. He has spent almost all of his time defensively in center and right field. He is a below-average defender in center but plays solid defense in right.

While the Tigers are on the outside looking in, it does appear that they will get Perez back before the end of the regular season. He likely does not increase their playoff odds, but he will help round out their bench.

Seattle Mariners

Gregory Santos – RP (Out since August 1st)

Season Stats: 5.1 IP, 6.75 ERA, 2.43 FIP, 8.44 K/9

Gregory Santos’s ERA is obviously higher than desired, but it comes in a very small sample size. His 2.43 FIP indicates some bad luck in those five innings. Santos started a rehab assignment on September 6th, which is a positive indication.

The Mariners have a top-10 bullpen by ERA, so there is no telling if adding Santos will be enough for Seattle to make a late push. Should this team find a way to stumble into the playoffs, Santos will be an asset.

Boston Red Sox

Liam Hendriks – RP (Out since 2023)

As he continues his rehab from Tommy John surgery, Hendriks recently stated that he still plans on returning this season. As the Red Sox have one of the worst bullpens in baseball, I am sure they would love to have the veteran closer return for a playoff push.

Should Hendricks return, he could form a solid back-end duo with Kenley Jansen. The two of them should make Red Sox fans feel a lot better about retaining leads in the postseason.