One of the pains of MLB roster expansion to 40 players is that teams don’t feel as much an imperative to put players on the disabled list. So for instance, Michael Young of the Texas Rangers won’t be placed on DL in all probability because the team has the room to keep him on the active roster for the two or three weeks he’s out with a strained left hamstring.

Fantasy teams in tight races with few roster spots to spare have to make tough decisions whether to sacrifice bench spots for these players. Every league is different, of course, but with a shallow bench and a reasonable amount of replacements in the waiver wire pool, the appropriate decision may be to drop the player. 

In Young’s case, he could miss 50 to 75 percent of the rest of the season. Is his production in the remaining time worth the spot starts one can get with his roster spot? That’s a question that must be asked.

It’s not just injured players. In some keeper leagues, fantasy competitors may have to make decisions whether to hold a borderline keeper or throw him out in the interests of clearing roster space. The decision becomes even tougher as clubs begin to shut down their young pitchers like Chris Tillman or Mat Latos and injured batters like Grady Sizemore.