The 2026 MLB season could be defined by one word: Injury.
Numerous teams have seen stars hit the injury list mid-way through May — and as a Mets website, you readers don’t need to be reminded of that.
The Tigers have seen players such as Tarik Skubal, Javier Baez, Kerry Carpenter, and Gleyber Torres go down, the Yankees have seen Max Fried, Jasson Dominguez, and José Caballero join Gerrit Cole on the IL, and then of course, we all know the Mets’ injuries.
But that’s just a small sample size. Every team’s injury list is loaded with major league talent. Ronald Acuña Jr. for the Braves. Jordan Westburg for the Orioles. Garrett Crochet for the Red Sox. Matthew Boyd and Cade Horton for the Cubs. Christian Yelich and Jacob Misiorowski for the Brewers. Really, it’s been bad. And if you have some extra time this weekend, click this link to get the entire list.
It’s even left its mark early on the standings and run differential. Only 10 teams have positive run differentials. Four of them are in the NL Central. A lot of teams are fighting to win games with B-level talent, and it seems whoever gets healthy first will be heading toward October.
Benny Sieu-Imagn Images
1. Braves
The theme of this week is injuries. And the Braves have been rolling despite some serious names on the shelf.
No Acuña. No Spencer Schwellenbach, Sean Murphy, Hurston Waldrep, and AJ Smith-Shawver either. Yet this team continues to roll through the majors with ease.
They entered Saturday as the only team to reach the 30-win mark, and have the best run differential in the league at +92. Last week also saw the Braves dominate two top-10 teams in the majors in the Dodgers and Cubs. They went 4-2 against their most potent threats for a pennant. The offense has been powered by Drake Baldwin and Matt Olson, but let’s give some flowers to Dominic Smith. It’s mid-May and the former Met is slashing .349/.376/.523 with four homers in 94 plate appearances.
2. Yankees
The Yanks got an injury scare on their road trip last week.
Fried was removed in a start in Baltimore, and it looked initially to be a serious injury to his elbow. Fortunately for the club, Fried’s injury was a bone bruise, and the lefty won’t miss serious time.
It’s a sigh of relief for the Yankees, who are getting Carlos Rodon back for a Saturday start against the Mets and Gerrit Cole back sooner than later.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned road trip has been nightmarish for the Yankees. They went 1-5 against the Brewers and struggling Orioles, but had a bounce-back win against the Mets Friday behind Cam Schlittler.
3. Dodgers
Last week was polarizing for the Dodgers.
First, they suffered a four-game losing streak in two series to the Braves and Giants. Then, they recovered and split the series with San Francisco en route to their current three-game winning streak.
The losing streak was the first real dip for the Dodgers, who enter Saturday 27-18 and are top-three in the majors in both OPS and ERA. Mookie Betts also returned Wednesday and promptly homered, offering the Dodgers some hope that Betts has recovered from his oblique injury.
Also yes, we all saw the Edwin Díaz news. Let’s carry on.
4. Cubs
Chicago was another top team that struggled last week.
They were shut out back-to-back games by the Rangers, featuring one game on the opposite side of a dominant Jacob deGrom start.
Then after dropping a series to the Braves, they salvaged the last game of the series and defeated the White Sox Friday 10-5 to get back in the win column.
This team looks like the dominant force in the NL Central and they’re starting to pull away. The offense continues to roll, and the rotation of Shota Imanaga, Edward Cabrera, and Jameson Taillon has been good enough to win them games. This rotation however is missing an ace.
5. Brewers
Remember when the Red Sox received Kyle Harrison from the Giants for Rafael Devers and we all laughed? We’ll, now he’s a Cy Young candidate for the Brewers.
The lefty is carving batters up, pitching to a 2.09 ERA with an 11.2 K/9 and 2.86 FIP through 38 2/3 innings. His 196 ERA+ is better than his teammate Misiorowski, and is a driving force for a Brewers rotation that fuels wins.
Brice Turang has also taken a step forward for the offense this season, posting a .418 OBP and .922 OPS entering Saturday. He’s been the big bopper in the lineup, which is missing Yelich due to injury. Also Gary Sánchez has a .796 OPS. I find that cool.
6. Rays
What a heater Tampa is on.
The Rays are 11-2 in the month of May, propelling them to first in the AL East behind stellar pitching. Nick Martinez and Shane McClanahan lead the roster in bWAR, and are two main factors in the team’s success.
The offense hasn’t produced much, but Jonathan Aranda, Junior Caminero, and Yandy Díaz have provided just enough to win games. It’s early, but with June approaching, this team could push some chips to acquire a bat for an October push. The AL’s weak and they could easily pitch their way to a World Series.
7. Pirates
You know what’s ironic? The Pirates finally put together a top-10 team OPS (7th) in the league and now their pitching has faltered. Yeah, funny.
The lineup has functioned fluidly to start the season and has led Pittsburgh to a 24-21 record. Brandon Lowe and Oneil Cruz have eclipsed double-digit homers before Memorial Day, Ryan O’Hearn has a .832 OPS, and Nick Gonzales is batting .313 with a 109 OPS+.
It should be more than enough to have the Pirates among the best in the NL. But outside Paul Skenes, the rest of the rotation has been average. Bubba Chandler entered Saturday with a 4.62 ERA before being blown up by the Phillies, Carmen Mlodzinski has posted a 4.40 ERA, and Mitch Keller and Braxton Ashcraft‘s ERAs are in the threes. Those last two are good, but not the extravagant numbers we expected from this crew.
8. Cardinals
We’ve highlighted Jordan Walker in previous rankings. But his coming-out party is official.
It’s mid-May and Walker is still dominating. He’s slashing .309/.382/.606 with 13 homers and an NL-leading 188 OPS+. The former first-round pick has charged an offense full of young talent, and has the Cardinals 26-18 entering Saturday.
This is another team that has the offense to roll, but not the rotation to cruise. Outside Michael McGreevy, the entire rotation has ERAs that start with four, and the bullpen has three arms that have already passed the 20-innings-pitched plateau. They need more arms before it collapses in the second half.
9. Mariners
Don’t think I forgot about our injury theme tonight. I was just waiting till we got to the Mariners to resume.
Seattle has had two brutal blows to their lineup this week. Cal Raleigh hit the IL with an oblique injury, leading to the team missing one of the biggest power threats in the game. Brendan Donovan was also scratched from the lineup before the Saturday game against the Padres.
Still, this team is one of the few with a positive run differential and is crawling back to .500. The lineup has gotten a jolt from Luke Raley, who has clubbed 10 homers and posted a .920 OPS through 40 games.
10. Guardians
Cleveland used last week’s series against the Angels to get right.
They swept the Halos, and used the momentum to get above .500 and enter Saturday with a 24-22 record. The pitching is still the winning factor for the Guards, and Parker Messick and Joey Cantillo have been studs in the rotation heading into May.
The offense has been a slog this season, but given enough to have the Guardians in first place. José Ramírez has underperformed to a .727 OPS, but does lead the league with 18 stolen bases. That’s something, right?
Rest of the Field
11. Padres
12. Reds
13. Athletics
14. Rangers
15. Orioles
16. Twins
17. Blue Jays
18. Phillies
19. White Sox
20. Diamondbacks
21. Nationals
22. Marlins
23. Mets
24. Red Sox
25. Royals
26. Tigers
27. Astros
28. Giants
29. Rockies
30. Angels
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