Most of the clubs in the league currently have a full 40-man roster, which means that just about every transaction requires a corresponding move. Some extra roster flexibility is on the way, however. The 60-day injured list goes away five days after the World Series but comes back when pitchers and catchers report to spring training.<\/p>\n
Most clubs have a slightly earlier report date this year due to the World Baseball Classic. Last year, the Cubs and Dodgers had earlier report dates because they were had an earlier Opening Day than everyone else as part of the Tokyo Series. Gavin Stone<\/a> was the first player to land on the 60-day IL in 2025, landing there on February 11th. According to MLB.com<\/a>, every club has a report date from February 10th to 13th this year.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth pointing out that the 60 days don\u2019t start being counted until Opening Day. Although a team can transfer a player to the 60-day IL quite soon, they will likely only do so if they aren\u2019t expecting the player back until late May or beyond. A team also must have a full 40-man roster in order to move a player to the 60-day IL.<\/p>\n There are still plenty of free agents still out there, including big names like Framber Valdez<\/a>, Zac Gallen<\/a>, Justin Verlander<\/a>, Chris Bassitt<\/a>, Lucas Giolito<\/a>, and more. Perhaps the extra roster flexibility will spur some deals to come together. It could also increase the ability of some clubs to make waiver claims or small trades for players who have been designated for assignment. If a team wants to pass a player through waivers, perhaps they will try to do so in the near future before the extra roster flexibility opens up.<\/p>\n Here are some players who are expected to miss some significant time or who have uncertain recovery timelines from 2025 injuries.<\/p>\n Angels: Anthony Rendon<\/a>, Ben Joyce<\/a><\/p>\n Rendon\u2019s situation is unique. He underwent hip surgery a year ago and missed the entire 2025 season. He is still on the roster and signed through 2026. He and the club have agreed to a salary-deferment plan<\/a> and he is not expected to be in spring training with the club. His recovery timeline is unclear, but general manager Perry Minasian said earlier this month that Rendon would be \u201crehabbing at home,\u201d per Alden Gonz\u00e1lez of ESPN<\/a>. If they were going to release him, they likely would have done so by now, so he seems destined for the injured list.<\/p>\n Joyce underwent shoulder surgery in May and missed the remainder of the 2025 season. His current status is unclear. In August, he told Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register<\/a> that he didn\u2019t know if he would be ready for spring training. He would only land on the 60-day IL if the Halos don\u2019t expect him back before the end of May.<\/p>\n Astros: Hayden Wesneski<\/a>, Ronel Blanco<\/a>, Brandon Walter<\/a><\/p>\n All three of these pitchers underwent Tommy John surgery in 2025. Wesneski was first, with his surgery taking place on May 23rd. Blanco followed shortly thereafter in early June. They will likely be targeting returns in the second half. Walter\u2019s procedure was in September, meaning he will likely miss the entire season. All three should be on the 60-day IL as soon as Houston needs roster spots for other transactions.<\/p>\n Athletics: Zack Gelof<\/a><\/p>\n Gelof underwent surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder in September, with the expectation of him potentially being healthy for spring training. At the end of December, general manager David Forst told Mart\u00edn Gallegos of MLB.com<\/a> that Gelof would be \u201ca little bit behind\u201d in spring. He would only land on the 60-day IL if the A\u2019s think he\u2019ll be out through late May.<\/p>\n Blue Jays: Jake Bloss<\/a><\/p>\n Bloss underwent surgery on the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow in May. He was on optional assignment at the time and stayed in the minors for the rest of the season. Going into 2026, the Jays could keep him in the minors but they could also call him up and place him on the major league IL. Doing so would open up a roster spot but would also mean giving Bloss big league pay and service time.<\/p>\n Braves: Ha-Seong Kim<\/a>, AJ Smith-Shawver<\/a>, Danny Young<\/a>, Joe Jim\u00e9nez<\/a><\/p>\n Kim recently fell on some ice and injured his hand. He underwent surgery last week<\/a>, and the expected recovery time is four to five months. The shorter end of that window only goes to mid-May, so perhaps Atlanta will hold off on making a decision until they watch his recovery, especially since they have other guys with clearer injury timelines.<\/p>\n Smith-Shawver underwent Tommy John surgery in June, so he shouldn\u2019t be back until the second half and is therefore a lock for the 60-day IL once Atlanta needs a spot. Young underwent the same procedure in May, so he should also be bound for the IL.<\/p>\n Jimenez is more of a question mark. He missed the 2025 season due to left knee surgery. He required a \u201ccleanup\u201d procedure on that knee towards the end of the season<\/a>. His timeline isn\u2019t currently clear.<\/p>\n Brewers: None.<\/p>\n Cardinals: None.<\/p>\n Cubs: Justin Steele<\/a><\/p>\n Steele will probably be a bit of a borderline case. He underwent UCL surgery in April but it wasn\u2019t a full Tommy John surgery. The Cubs described it as a \u201crevision repair\u201d. Steele had undergone Tommy John in 2017 as a minor leaguer.<\/p>\n Since Steele\u2019s more recent procedure was a bit less serious than a full Tommy John, the club gave an estimated return timeline of about one year, putting him in line to potentially return fairly early in 2026. Given his importance to the Cubs, they would only put him on the 60-day IL if his timeline changes and he\u2019s certain to be out through late May.<\/p>\n Diamondbacks: Corbin Burnes<\/a>, Lourdes Gurriel Jr.<\/a>, A.J. Puk<\/a>, Justin Mart\u00ednez<\/a>, Blake Walston<\/a>, Tyler Locklear<\/a><\/p>\n The Snakes were hit hard by the injury bug in 2025. Burnes, Walston and Mart\u00ednez all underwent Tommy John surgery. Burnes and Mart\u00ednez had their procedures in June, so they should be targeting second-half returns and be easy calls for the 60-day IL. Walston would be a bit more borderline because his surgery was around Opening Day in late March last year. Puk had the slightly less significant internal brace procedure in June, so he could also be a borderline case.<\/p>\n Turning to the position players, Gurriel tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in September. He required surgery which came with a return timeline of nine to ten months, so he should be out until around the All-Star break.<\/p>\n Locklear should be back sooner. He underwent surgery in October to address a ligament tear in his elbow and a labrum injury in his shoulder. The hope at the time of that procedure was that he would be game ready to go on a rehab assignment around Opening Day and would therefore miss only about the first month. He would therefore only hit the 60-day IL if he doesn\u2019t meet that timeline for some reason.<\/p>\n Dodgers: Brock Stewart<\/a><\/p>\n Stewart underwent shoulder debridement surgery in September. His timeline for 2026 isn\u2019t especially clear. He will likely start the season on the IL but it\u2019s unclear if he\u2019ll be out long enough to warrant landing on the 60-day version.<\/p>\n Giants: Randy Rodr\u00edguez<\/a>, Jason Foley<\/a><\/p>\n Rodr\u00edguez underwent Tommy John surgery in September, so he\u2019s a lock for the 60-day IL and might even miss the entire 2026 campaign. Foley\u2019s status is a bit more murky. He underwent shoulder surgery in May while with the Tigers. Detroit non-tendered him at season\u2019s end, which allowed the Giants to sign him. He is expected back at some point mid-season. The Giants may want to get more clarity on his progress during camp before deciding on a move to the IL.<\/p>\n Guardians: Andrew Walters<\/a>, David Fry<\/a><\/p>\n Neither of these guys is a lock for the 60-day IL. Walters had surgery to repair his right lat tendon in June with a recovery estimate of eight to ten months. Fry underwent surgery in October due to a deviated septum and a fractured nose suffered when a Tarik Skubal<\/a> pitch hit him in the face. His timeline is unclear. It\u2019s possible one or both could be healthy by Opening Day, so relevant updates may be forthcoming when camps open.<\/p>\n Mariners: Logan Evans<\/a><\/p>\n Evans required UCL surgery just last week<\/a> and will miss the entire 2026 season. He was on optional assignment at the end of 2025, so the Mariners could keep him in the minors. Calling him up and putting him on the big league 60-day IL would open up a 40-man spot but would also involve Evans receiving big league pay and service time for the year.<\/p>\n Marlins: Ronny Henriquez<\/a><\/p>\n Henriquez underwent internal brace surgery in December<\/a> and will miss the entire 2026 season, so he\u2019s a lock for the 60-day IL.<\/p>\n Mets: Tylor Megill<\/a>, Reed Garrett<\/a>, Dedniel N\u00fa\u00f1ez<\/a><\/p>\n All three of these pitchers underwent Tommy John surgery late in 2025 and are likely to miss the entire 2026 season, making them locks for the 60-day IL. N\u00fa\u00f1ez went under the knife in July, followed by Megill in September and Garrett in October.<\/p>\n Nationals: Trevor Williams<\/a>, DJ Herz<\/a><\/p>\n Williams underwent internal brace surgery in July. That\u2019s a slightly less serious variation of Tommy John but still usually requires about a year of recovery. Herz underwent a full Tommy John procedure in April. Since that surgery usually requires 14 months or longer to come back, both pitchers are likely out until around the All-Star break and therefore bound for the 60-day IL once the Nats need some roster spots.<\/p>\n Orioles: F\u00e9lix Bautista<\/a><\/p>\n Bautista underwent shoulder surgery in August, and the club announced his recovery timeline as 12 months. He\u2019s a lock for the 60-day IL and may miss the entire season if his recovery doesn\u2019t go smoothly.<\/p>\n Padres: Yu Darvish<\/a>, Jhony Brito<\/a>, Jason Adam<\/a><\/p>\n Darvish underwent UCL surgery in November<\/a> and will miss the entire 2026 season. Instead of going on the IL, he may just retire, but it seems there are some contractual complications<\/a> to be ironed out since he is signed through 2028.<\/p>\n Brito and Adam could be borderline cases. Brito underwent internal brace surgery in May of last year. Some pitchers can return from that procedure in about a year. Adam ruptured a tendon in his left quad in early September. In November, he seemed to acknowledge<\/a> that he wouldn\u2019t be ready for Opening Day. As of now, a trip to the 60-day IL seems unlikely unless he suffers a setback.<\/p>\n Pirates: Jared Jones<\/a><\/p>\n Jones required UCL surgery on May 21st of last year. The Bucs announced an expected return timeline of 10 to 12 months. The shorter end of that window would allow Jones to return fairly early in 2026. If it looks like he\u2019ll be on the longer end of that time frame, he could wind up on the 60-day IL.<\/p>\n Phillies: Zack Wheeler<\/a><\/p>\n Wheeler underwent surgery to address thoracic outlet syndrome in September, with a timeline of six to eight months. As of now, it seems unlikely Wheeler would require a trip to the 60-day IL, but it depends on how his ramp-up goes. He\u2019s also approaching his 36th birthday, and the Phils could slow-play his recovery.<\/p>\n Rangers: Cody Bradford<\/a><\/p>\n Bradford required internal brace surgery in late June of last year. He recently said<\/a> he\u2019s targeting a return in May. That\u2019s a pretty aggressive timeline, but perhaps the Rangers will delay moving him to the 60-day IL until that plan is strictly ruled out.<\/p>\n Rays: Manuel Rodr\u00edguez<\/a><\/p>\n Rodriguez underwent flexor tendon surgery in July of last year and is targeting a return in June of this year, so he should be a lock for the 60-day IL.<\/p>\n Reds: Brandon Williamson<\/a>, Julian Aguiar<\/a><\/p>\n Both of these pitchers required Tommy John surgeries late in 2024, Williamson in September and Aguiar in October. They each missed the entire 2025 season. Presumably, they are recovered by now and could be healthy going into 2026, but there haven\u2019t been any recent public updates.<\/p>\n Red Sox: Tanner Houck<\/a>, Triston Casas<\/a><\/p>\n Houck is the most clear-cut case for Boston. He had Tommy John surgery in August of 2025 and will miss most or perhaps all of the 2026 season. Casas is more borderline. He\u2019s still recovering from a ruptured left patellar tendon suffered in May of last year. It doesn\u2019t seem like he will be ready by Opening Day, but his timeline apart from that is murky.<\/p>\n Rockies: Jeff Criswell<\/a>, Kris Bryant<\/a><\/p>\n Criswell required Tommy John surgery in early March of last year. With the normal 14-month recovery timeline, he could be back in May. Anything slightly longer than that would make him a candidate for the 60-day IL. Bryant\u2019s timeline is very difficult to discern. He has hardly played in recent years due to various injuries and is now dealing with chronic symptoms related to lumbar degenerative disc disease. Updates will likely be provided once camp opens.<\/p>\n Royals: Alec Marsh<\/a><\/p>\n Marsh missed 2025 due to shoulder problems and is slated to miss 2026 as well after undergoing labrum surgery in November.<\/p>\n Tigers: Jackson Jobe<\/a><\/p>\n Jobe required Tommy John surgery in June of last year. He will miss most or perhaps even all of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n Twins: None.<\/p>\n White Sox: Ky Bush<\/a>, Drew Thorpe<\/a>, Prelander Berroa<\/a><\/p>\n These three hurlers all required Tommy John surgery about a year ago, Bush in February, followed by Berroa and Thorpe in March. Given the normal 14-month recovery period, any of them could return early in 2026, but they could also end up on the 60-day IL if the timeline pushes slightly beyond that.<\/p>\n Yankees: Clarke Schmidt<\/a>, Gerrit Cole<\/a>, Carlos Rod\u00f3n<\/a>, Anthony Volpe<\/a><\/p>\n Schmidt is the only lock of this group. He required UCL surgery in July of last year and should miss the first half of the 2026 season. Cole is recovering from Tommy John surgery performed in March of last year. His target is expected to be late May\/early June, so he has a decent chance to hit the 60-day. However, given his importance to the club, the Yankees probably won\u2019t put him there until it\u2019s certain he won\u2019t be back by the middle of May.<\/p>\n Rod\u00f3n had surgery in October to remove loose bodies in his elbow. He\u2019s expected to be back with the big league club in late April or early May, so he would only hit the 60-day IL if his timeline is pushed. Volpe required shoulder surgery in October. He\u2019s not expected to be ready by Opening Day, but his timeline beyond that doesn\u2019t seem concrete.<\/p>\n Photo courtesy of Allan Henry, Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most of the clubs in the league currently have a full 40-man roster, which means that just about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":552014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3],"tags":[1118,1266,229,10986,9394,1205,5,942,7905,13576,12054,6440,2004,1216,9391,97,1563,8064,2110,12063,4159,584,2281,633,1432,713,4883,5627,3919,540,7904,2285,10367,12056,651,393,402,4161,630,1447,1095,4,4160,12859,9019,766,7729,4913,4718,1946,12345,1326,1536,3291,117],"class_list":{"0":"post-552013","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-a-j-puk","9":"tag-aj-smith-shawver","10":"tag-alec-marsh","11":"tag-andrew-walters","12":"tag-anthony-rendon","13":"tag-anthony-volpe","14":"tag-baseball","15":"tag-ben-joyce","16":"tag-blake-walston","17":"tag-brandon-walter","18":"tag-brandon-williamson","19":"tag-brock-stewart","20":"tag-carlos-rodon","21":"tag-clarke-schmidt","22":"tag-cody-bradford","23":"tag-corbin-burnes","24":"tag-danny-young","25":"tag-david-fry","26":"tag-dedniel-nunez","27":"tag-dj-herz","28":"tag-drew-thorpe","29":"tag-felix-bautista","30":"tag-gerrit-cole","31":"tag-ha-seong-kim","32":"tag-hayden-wesneski","33":"tag-jackson-jobe","34":"tag-jake-bloss","35":"tag-jared-jones","36":"tag-jason-adam","37":"tag-jason-foley","38":"tag-jeff-criswell","39":"tag-jhony-brito","40":"tag-joe-jimenez","41":"tag-julian-aguiar","42":"tag-justin-martinez","43":"tag-justin-steele","44":"tag-kris-bryant","45":"tag-ky-bush","46":"tag-logan-evans","47":"tag-lourdes-gurriel-jr","48":"tag-manuel-rodriguez","49":"tag-mlb","50":"tag-prelander-berroa","51":"tag-randy-rodriguez","52":"tag-reed-garrett","53":"tag-ronel-blanco","54":"tag-ronny-henriquez","55":"tag-tanner-houck","56":"tag-trevor-williams","57":"tag-triston-casas","58":"tag-tyler-locklear","59":"tag-tylor-megill","60":"tag-yu-darvish","61":"tag-zack-gelof","62":"tag-zack-wheeler"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=552013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/552013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/552014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=552013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=552013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=552013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}