MLB harm report: Updates for Pete Alonso, Freddie Freeman, Nestor Cortes, extra on Monday, June 19

Sunday’s MLB action started with a bang when Pete Alonso made a surprise return to the Mets lineup about two weeks early after suffering a wrist injury. That was the injury headliner of the day, but there’s still a lot more to come after 15 games.

MLB Injury Report: Monday, June 19

Pete Alonso (wrist), New York Mets — Well, that was quick. When Alonso was brought to the IL last week with a bruised bone and a sprained wrist, he was expected to be out for at least three weeks. But just 11 days later, the first baseman was back in the Mets’ lineup as of Sunday afternoon. He went 0-4 with three strikeouts, so there’s clearly some rust, but Alonso seems good enough to swing the racquet normally:

Julio Urias (thigh)/Daniel Hudson (knee), Los Angeles Dodgers – Finally, some good news for the Dodgers’ pitching team, who have been struggling lately, particularly during this weekend’s win over the San Francisco Giants. Urias, who has been out since last month with a thigh strain, and Hudson, who has not played at all this year while in rehab after knee surgery, are expected to rejoin the team before the end of the month:

Evan Phillips probably holds the most leverage spots, but given how much manager Dave Roberts loves to shuffle and combine based on matchups, Hudson should still have a lot of work to do in the ninth inning.

Sean Murphy (hamstring), Atlanta Braves – As expected, Murphy was absent from Sunday’s squad after leaving Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury, but there was good news nonetheless: an MRI showed only an irritation and no actual strain. The backstop may need a few more days off, but the team is hoping, at least for now, that it won’t need to be deployed to the IL.

Casey Schmitt (forearm)/Alex Cobb (oblique), San Francisco Giants – It was a bad day for batters, who were plunked when Schmitt took a pitch off his arm at Dodger Stadium. The rookie was forced to leave the game but it appears that was just a precaution – his x-rays were negative and he should be back in the line-up soon.

Cobb, meanwhile, was placed on the IL with an oblique strain. While we’ve watched this type of injury ambush pitchers for several weeks, the Giants don’t seem overly concerned. Manager Gabe Kapler told reporters the righty felt some tightness throwing a bullpen over the weekend, which the team wanted to do to ensure he had more time to get things right. It’s possible that Cobb just missed a start or two.

Ian Hamilton (groin)/Nestor Cortes (rotator cuff), New York Yankees – Not much was going well for the Yankees this weekend in Boston, but at least there was some movement on the injury front. Hamilton, who had emerged as a key midfielder, scored twice in a clean inning in his first rehab appearance at Double-A Somerset. The right-winger later told reporters he expects to need at least two more sorties but could be ready by next weekend.

As for Cortes, he’s throwing for the first time since he was sidelined with a rotator cuff tear earlier this month:

There’s still a long way to go for the left-hander — he probably won’t return to the New York rotation before the All-Star break — but it’s a start.

Tanner Houck (face), Boston Red Sox – The Red Sox issued an update on Houck a day after the right-hander was hit in the face by a line drive.

Houck did suffer some sort of facial fracture — and not just the contusion he was originally diagnosed with — and was placed on the injured list, but all things considered, the outcome could have been a lot worse. Thankfully, it looks like the right will be fine, although there’s no timeline for his return to the mound just yet. The team hasn’t revealed who might fill Houck’s place in the rotation; Nick Pivetta and Corey Kluber would be obvious candidates.

jonathan india, Cincinnati Reds – India equalized early in the eighth inning with a home run on backfield, but were forced out of the game two innings later after being knocked out by a double play. Good news for Cincy: The Reds clinched the win in their 10th game for the eighth consecutive year and their second baseman appears to be doing well.

Lars Nootbaar (back), St Louis Cardinals — We’d say Nootbaar seems ready to return to St. Louis:

Reports surfaced early Sunday afternoon that the outfielder — who started a rehab stint at Triple-A Memphis this week — could leave the IL as early as Monday, and he responded by hitting a home run a few hours later. The team won’t make a decision until they see how his sore back is reacting, but it certainly sounds like he’ll be back in the next few days.

Alejandro Kirk (Hand), Toronto Blue Jays — Kirk was another pitch hit victim on Sunday. Toronto’s loss to the Texas Rangers left hand lacerated and bruised. X-rays were thankfully negative, but it remains to be seen how long it will be before the backing can swing a racquet comfortably again. Danny Jansen has had the most starts behind the plate lately anyway.

Miguel Amaya (Wrist), Chicago Cubs – We told you that there were a lot of batters plunked on Sunday. Amayas was one of the scariest, a 96mph fastball right off his wrist that left him prone in pain for quite a while, but manager David Ross said his catcher seemed to avoid anything too serious:

The rookie has been swinging a hot racquet since his debut last month, earning more and more playing time off the record.

Jeimer Candelario (thumb), Washington Nationals — Candelario was left out of the Nats’ lineup late on Sunday, and manager Davey Martinez told reporters after the game that his third baseman suffered a bruised thumb bone during Saturday’s game. He’s under consideration on a day-to-day basis for now, but the team will likely wait until Monday or Tuesday to see how they react before making a decision on a return.

Michael A Taylor (Head), Minnesota Twins — If Amaya didn’t have the scariest HBP of the day, then Taylor certainly did. The midfielder was hit in the back of the head by a mistaken curveball by Tigers substitute Alex Lange in the eighth inning, catching him just under his batting helmet as he tried to duck out of the way. Taylor left the game with a so-called head bruise and eventually went to the coaching bench under his own steam. Manager Rocco Baldelli said initial tests showed no concussion-like symptoms. He’s already been ruled out of Monday’s game but it’s too early to tell if he’ll need a call-up for IL.

Matt Vierling (rear), Detroit Tigers — Vierling was also late and missed Sunday’s game with back spasms just days after returning from an IL stay with back pain. That doesn’t bode well, of course, although the team hasn’t offered an update yet. The outfielder has .529 hits so far this month – and even got endorsed by the Oakland Athletics Twitter account at the All-Star Game – so it would be a huge loss to be forced to miss any more time.