Five Teams Who Have the Most in Reserve on the Injured List
The injured list has been heavily utilized by teams around the league to kick off 2025. Which ones have the most in reserve on the shelf?
As the month of May is left further in the rearview mirror, the 2025 Major League Baseball season is in full swing! Pun intended.
Things are well underway in baseball, and the unfortunate truth is that injuries are running rampant throughout the league. This has been an issue for years now, but Tommy John surgeries are more prevalent than ever and players going a full season without hitting the shelf is much more surprising than one going down with a long-term injury.
There’s no easy fix to this major issue, at least not yet. All of the big names around the league being bitten by the injury bug got me thinking. Which teams have the most talent taking up spots on the injured list right now?
Now, there are no teams in the league with zero players on the injured list (shoutout to the Philadelphia Phillies who only have one!), so this was not an easy list to assemble. I was able to successfully narrow it down to five teams that have the most on the shelf, but there were a boatload of teams that had their own arguments for making the cut.
Let’s dive in and check out which teams have the most talent on the injured list right now.
Five Teams Who Have the Most Reserves on the Injured List
Honorable mention(s)
Chicago Cubs: The Cubs have a smaller quantity than most other teams, but the quality of the players is what gets them. Three relievers are on the shelf, but the major impacts come from the injuries to starters Javier Assad, Shota Imanaga, and Justin Steele.
New York Mets: The Mets are rolling right now, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a lot of talent that’s hurt. Each of the three position players they have that are injured don’t leave big holes in the lineup, but the pitching is harder to ignore. Frankie Montas and Sean Manaea were supposed to play key roles in the club’s rotation, but they’ve each been out since February. There are also four relievers – highlighted by A.J. Minter and Brooks Raley – out of action.
Baltimore Orioles
Who’s Hurt:
| Gary Sanchez | Catcher, 10-day (wrist) |
| Ryan Mountcastle | Infielder, 10-day (hamstring) |
| Jordan Westburg | Infielder, 10-day (hamstring) |
| Ramon Laureano | Outfielder, 10-day (ankle) |
| Cedric Mullins | Outfielder, 10-day (hamstring) |
| Tyler O’Neill | Outfielder, 10-day (shoulder) |
| Kyle Bradish | Starting pitcher, 60-day (Tommy John) |
| Grayson Rodriguez | Starting pitcher, 60-day (elbow) |
| Tyler Wells | Starting pitcher, 60-day (UCL) |
| Cody Poteet | Relief pitcher, 60-day (shoulder) |
| Albert Suarez | Relief pitcher, 60-day (shoulder) |
The Baltimore Orioles have been playing a broken brand of baseball basically since Opening Day, and they don’t seem primed to change that anytime soon. Sure, they’re on a three-game winning streak right now, but they’ve also got a -93 run differential that’s above only the Athletics and Colorado Rockies.
There’s a lot to digest when looking at which players are hurt, but it’s clear that there’s a ton of talent on the shelf. Having three key starting pitchers all on the long-term injured list isn’t going to help matters, and their absences have forced struggling arms like Charlie Morton, Cade Povich, and Dean Kremer to eat more innings than the team may be comfortable with.
On the offensive side, players like Jordyn Adams, Maverick Handley, Emmanuel Rivera, and Dylan Carlson have started to get big-league plate appearances, which is far less than ideal for a club with playoff hopes. Having multiple All-Stars – including an entire outfield and both corner infielders – on the shelf has kept the Orioles spinning their tires rather than truly making up any ground in the AL East.
Boston Red Sox
Who’s Hurt:
| Alex Bregman | Infielder, 10-day (quad) |
| Tanner Houck | Starting pitcher, 10-day (forearm) |
| Liam Hendricks | Relief pitcher, 10-day (hip) |
| Justin Slaten | Relief pitcher, 10-day (shoulder) |
| Triston Casas | Infielder, 60-day (knee) |
| Masataka Yoshida | Outfielder, 60-day (shoulder) |
| Kutter Crawford | Starting pitcher, 60-day (knee) |
| Chris Murphy | Starting pitcher, 60-day (Tommy John) |
| Patrick Sandoval | Starting pitcher, 60-day (elbow) |
The AL East is well-represented here (spoiler alert, we’re not done with them yet). The Boston Red Sox, just like their rival Orioles, have started to have troubles breaking into the win column with the sheer amount of talent they’ve got taking up spots on the injured list.
The Orioles have Westburg and Mountcastle on the shelf, but Boston missing the production from Bregman and Casas is much more crippling. Bregman was on fire to open the new year, and Casas was supposed to fill a crucial role on a Red Sox team with playoff aspirations. He was off to a slow start through 29 games this year, but a nasty knee injury took him out of action for the rest of the season.
Garrett Crochet and Brayan Bello have both done their jobs in the Red Sox rotation, but each of the other three members of the quintet have an ERA of 4.44 or higher, which makes the absences of Houck and Crawford particularly difficult to work around.
Houston Astros
Who’s Hurt:
| Zach Dezenzo | Infielder, 10-day (hand) |
| Yordan Alvarez | Outfielder, 10-day (hand) |
| Pedro Leon | Outfielder, 10-day (knee) |
| Chas McCormick | Outfielder, 10-day (oblique) |
| Taylor Trammell | Outfielder, 10-day (calf) |
| Spencer Arrighetti | Starting pitcher, 10-day (thumb) |
| Ronel Blanco | Starting pitcher, 60-day (Tommy John) |
| J.P. France | Starting pitcher, 60-day (shoulder) |
| Luis Garcia | Starting pitcher, 60-day (Tommy John) |
| Cristian Javier | Starting pitcher, 60-day (Tommy John) |
| Hayden Wesneski | Starting pitcher, 60-day (Tommy John) |
The Astros basically have an entire starting rotation on the injured list right now, so it’s a miracle they are where they are in the standings. The club is 32-27 and just a half-game behind the Mariners in the standings.
There’s a significant amount of talent on the shelf here, but clearly the biggest missing piece from the current roster is Alvarez, who’s been out for over a month and is one of the best hitters in the game. In his absence, the Astros have had to lean on catchers Victor Caratini and Yainer Diaz, as well as the now-injured Dezenzo.
Unfortunately, the Astros have had some rotten luck with players on the short-term injured list. Alvarez and McCormick got more looks than anyone in the outfield to start the year, but now their replacements – Dezenzo and Trammell – are also hurt. Jose Altuve, Cam Smith, and Jake Meyers form a solid starting outfield right now, but basically every player behind them on the depth chart is unproven.
Los Angeles Dodgers
Who’s Hurt:
| Roki Sasaki | Starting pitcher, 10-day (shoulder) |
| Luis Garcia | Relief pitcher, 10-day (groin) |
| Kirby Yates | Relief pitcher, 10-day (hamstring) |
| Tyler Glasnow | Starting pitcher, 60-day (shoulder) |
| Kyle Hurt | Starting pitcher, 60-day (Tommy John) |
| River Ryan | Starting pitcher, 60-day (Tommy John) |
| Emmet Sheehan | Starting pitcher, 60-day (Tommy John) |
| Blake Snell | Starting pitcher, 60-day (shoulder) |
| Gavin Stone | Starting pitcher, 60-day (shoulder) |
| Brusdar Graterol | Relief pitcher, 60-day (shoulder) |
| Michael Grove | Relief pitcher, 60-day (shoulder) |
| Edgardo Henriquez | Relief pitcher, 60-day (foot) |
| Michael Kopech | Relief pitcher, 60-day (forearm) |
| Evan Phillips | Relief pitcher, 60-day (Tommy John) |
| Blake Treinen | Relief pitcher, 60-day (hamstring) |
With the amount of pitchers on this Dodgers staff going under the knife for Tommy John surgery, you’d think there must be something in the water.
In all seriousness, the Dodgers have a major problem on their hands. However, there’s nothing that can really be done, except tap into their seemingly endless amount of reserves to replace the hurt players however they can.
To their credit, things haven’t been perfect, but this team remains atop the standings in the NL West. Sure, four of their starters have an ERA of 4.09 or higher and some of their relievers are the most “who?!” inducing names you’ll come across around the league, but dammit they’re still winning games.
This team is built to win games now and for the long-term future, and you’ve got to just tip your cap that they are still doing exactly that despite a seemingly endless list of ailments piling up against them.
New York Yankees
Who’s Hurt
| Jazz Chisholm Jr. | Infielder, 10-day (oblique) |
| Oswaldo Cabrera | Infielder, 10-day (ankle) |
| Marcus Stroman | Starting pitcher, 10-day (knee) |
| Fernando Cruz | Relief pitcher, 10-day (shoulder) |
| Giancarlo Stanton | Outfielder, 60-day (elbows) |
| J.T. Brubaker | Starting pitcher, 60-day (ribs) |
| Gerrit Cole | Starting pitcher, 60-day (Tommy John) |
| Luis Gil | Starting pitcher, 60-day (lat) |
| Jake Cousins | Relief pitcher, 60-day (elbow flexor) |
| Luke Weaver* | Relief pitcher, 10-day (hamstring) |
*Weaver has not been officially placed on the injured list as of the time of this writing. ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Monday night that he would be placed on the IL.
The Yankees have been hit hard by the injury bug, but – more than any other team – they’ve been able to rise above. The club has a five-and-a-half game lead in the AL East despite the fact that they’re missing their staff ace, defending Rookie of the Year winner, two (about to be three) relief-pitching studs and multiple positive offensive contributors.
There’s a pretty surprising amount of big names on the shelf for the Bronx Bombers right now, but their depth has been on full display in the face of adversity. Stanton and Chisholm out? How about Trent Grisham and Jasson Dominguez breakouts to help ease that pain? Cole, Stroman, and Gil out? Not to worry, Carlos Rodon, Max Fried, and random ace Ryan Yarbrough will fill that void.
The one place the Yankees could end up hurting is the bullpen. Cruz, Cousins, and Weaver are three of their best arms, and Devin Williams’ start to his Yankees career hasn’t gone as planned. This will leave Mark Leiter Jr., Tim Hill, and Ian Hamilton to try and mend the gap(s). This could easily be an early tip into how the Yankees handle this year’s trade deadline as far as where they’re going to focus their buying efforts.
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Eric Treuden (troy-din) has covered baseball for years for multiple different outlets including FanSided, Yardbarker, and Wisconsin Sports Heroics. He recently was the editor for Jays…