Shouldn’t this be obvious enough? First off, not all injuries are preventable; freak accidents like Rendon’s foul ball off his shin, Ward’s HBP are bad luck. Also age plays a part (Trout) or the intensity of stuff you’re dishing out (Ohtani).

But we see young players like Moniak and Neto go down so frequently with strains, back stiffness etc. Joyce, O’Hoppe too.

Now Rengifo with a left bicep strain.

This is the onus of the training staff. Proper conditioning exercises, training regiments, even diet, goes a long way to prime bodies for high-level activities and minimise injuries.

If your body isn’t primed, you pull muscles with simple motions like taking a swing in the on-deck circle.