FunnellVision - Injured List Numbers
Saturday, March 7, 2026
Today’s piece will just be data. Simply put, when looking at which fantasy baseball player to draft, sometimes it might come down to which team they play for. Why does this matter? It feels like some teams manage injuries better than others do. There are many contributing factors:
Organizational Philosophy
Some teams focus on velocity while others focus on the movement
Some teams incorporate pitchers’ best pitches, while others try to force the issue and have them adopt a new pitch
Some teams go with a six-man rotation, while others refuse to do so
Clientelle
Some teams are constantly rostering young, inexperienced players, and their risk of injury is different from that of those who are older
Some teams are rebuilding or in smaller markets, and they don’t always get the pick of the litter in free agency
Organizational Philosophies
Some teams are better able to help their minor league players prepare for a 162-game season
Some teams are better able to manage the starter and reliever mix by allowing for proper rest
Plain Old Luck
Some injuries are preventable, while others just seem to happen
Some players are more forthcoming with injuries than others
There are a lot of factors to mitigate, but at the end of the day, the data speaks for itself. Here are some interesting numbers to ponder. I used Spotrac as a gauge here to add the numbers together.
Cumulative MLB Injured List Placements (2023–2025)
These are the teams with the most players who have been placed on the Injured List over the past three seasons combined.
L.A. Dodgers - 106
Houston Astros - 100
Cincinnati Reds - 99
N.Y. Yankees - 87
L.A. Angels - 85
N.Y. Mets - 84
Chicago White Sox - 84
Minnesota Twins - 84
Texas Rangers - 83
San Francisco Giants - 82
Baltimore Orioles - 81
Miami Marlins - 79
Boston Red Sox - 78
Arizona D-Backs - 74
Milwaukee Brewers - 73
Oakland Athletics - 72
Detroit Tigers - 72
Colorado Rockies - 71
Kansas City Royals - 69
Toronto Blue Jays - 69
Atlanta Braves - 64
San Diego Padres - 62
Washington Nationals - 59
Tampa Bay Rays - 59
Chicago Cubs - 56
Pittsburgh Pirates - 56
Seattle Mariners - 48
Philadelphia Phillies - 46
St. Louis Cardinals - 46
Cleveland Guardians - 46
Cumulative Total of Man-Games Lost (2023 - 2025)
These are the total number of player days missed due to injury or illness over the past three seasons combined.
Los Angeles Dodgers - 6,817
New York Yankees - 5,369
New York Mets - 5,367
Cincinnati Reds - 5,296
Minnesota Twins - 5,076
Los Angeles Angels - 4,944
Houston Astros - 4,480
Miami Marlins - 4,375
Boston Red Sox - 4,210
Chicago White Sox - 4,097
Detroit Tigers - 3,873
Arizona Diamondbacks - 3,854
Texas Rangers - 3,842
Baltimore Orioles - 3,737
San Francisco Giants - 3,729
Washington Nationals - 3,691
Oakland Athletics - 3,640
Colorado Rockies - 3,629
Milwaukee Brewers - 3,527
Kansas City Royals - 3,437
Tampa Bay Rays - 3,395
Toronto Blue Jays - 3,222
San Diego Padres - 3,154
Chicago Cubs - 3,137
Atlanta Braves - 3,108
Pittsburgh Pirates - 3,010
Cleveland Guardians - 2,861
Seattle Mariners - 2,800
St. Louis Cardinals - 2,374
Philadelphia Phillies - 1,786
Quick Thoughts:
The Phillies have had a ton of success over the past few years, and health has been a huge factor. Look at their rotations, as they are built to sustain almost anything, and their pitchers are workhorses.
The Dodgers are back-to-back World Series Champions, despite having the most man-games lost, by far. That’s beyond impressive.
The Twins feel snakebitten all the time, and one has to wonder what they’re doing wrong when it comes to player development. Even their prospects get injured a lot.
The Braves have had a rough start to the 2026 season. If we were to make this list just of the past two seasons, they would be in 9th overall.
Despite their struggles and reputation as the league’s most dysfunctional medical staff, the Astros still have six teams worse off than them.
The White Sox placed 42 players on the Injured List last season alone. That number is slightly lower than the cumulative number of players three other teams have placed over the past three seasons.