When Will Jeffrey Springs Return and Be Back? Fantasy Baseball Injury Update

Last season, Jeffrey Springs started the year out looking like a potential Cy Young Award candidate.

Springs, who was coming off a breakout campaign in 2022 (2.46 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 144 strikeouts in 135 innings) made just three starts before suffering a season-ending elbow injury.

He looked even more impressive in 2023 before the injury, whiffing 24 batters over 16 innings with a 0.56 ERA and 0.50 WHIP. The Rays and fantasy managers will always wonder what could have been if Springs had not been hurt last year. For now, let's focus on how soon we can see Springs back on the mound for Tampa Bay.

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Jeffrey Springs Injury Update for Fantasy Baseball

Springs began his rehab assignment in the minors on May 20. He's been brought along slowly, throwing only 1-2 innings in his first five appearances.

I assume that's going to be it for Jeffrey Springs in Durham tonight.

3 IP
5 H
3 ER (1 HR below)
5 K (12 whiffs)
0 BB
48 pitches#RaysUp pic.twitter.com/QQWHcuQTX8

— Evan Closky (@ECloskyWTSP) June 28, 2024

In his most recent outing, he made it through three innings and built up to 48 pitches. This is a great sign that he's getting closer to a return. And his overall numbers in the minors so far have been solid (3.97 ERA, 18 strikeouts in 11 innings pitched).

Jeffrey Springs Fantasy Baseball Outlook

Fantasy managers should continue to monitor Springs' rehab outings and be ready to snag him when his return appears imminent.

Another punchout for Jeffrey Springs, who has fanned 3 and allowed just 1 hit & no walks over 2 frames, needing just 18 pitches (including 16 strikes) pic.twitter.com/8gdFbwIF6G

— Durham Bulls (@DurhamBulls) June 12, 2024

Springs is rostered in just 19% of Yahoo! leagues. So managers in shallower formats can likely wait a bit longer, while those in deeper formats will have to stash him soon. It's pretty clear that he still has to make another handful of starts yet before he's ready to return to the major league rotation -- and even then we could see the Rays keep him on a somewhat strict pitch count to limit his innings the rest of the season.

However, Springs was so good when he was last on the mound that he's well worth stashing for now. Whether or not the now 31-year-old can return to his peak form remains to be seen, but before he got hurt, Springs had one of the most devastating changeups of any left-handed pitcher in baseball.

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