FANTASY FARE: The COVID-19 injured list could become more impactful in the weeks to come

Without intending to play down the potential severity of the situation, these two-week COVID layoffs for players who test positive are truly annoying from a fantasy-baseball perspective. One of your star batters can stay injury-free all season, only to be waylaid because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It just so senseless and preventable. Heading into Saturday, 18 players were on the shelf either because they’d contract COVID-19 or were under its protocol watch. That list currently includes Yankees’ Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rizzo and Gary Sanchez, Keston Hiura and Eric Lauer of the Brewers, along with Dodgers’ Joe Kelly and Ryan Yarbrough. The thing is, it’s likely going to get worse (again) before it gets better with the variant-charged fourth wave now picking up momentum with crowds of predominantly unmasked spectators congregating daily to watch games. And fantasy owners probably will be hard-pressed to field full lineups, especially in September when, in most deeper pools, waiver claims and the ability to replace sidelined players is no longer an option. Read More