The first weekend of the regular season is in the books and there are already some injuries to talk about. Fantasy owners were devastated to hear about the unfortunate turn of events for Salvador Perez, and Mark Melancon owners are left wondering if he will return any saves on their investment.

In a story that might be told and retold for years to come, Salvador Perez slipped while carrying his luggage and tore his MCL two days before Opening Day. He is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks, so you will need to scrape the best option off the waiver wire for an extended time.

Melancon went on the DL before the season started because he is still feeling discomfort from forearm surgery he had in September. He had injury problems most of last year, so this is a frustrating start to the season. Bruce Bochy seems confident he could be back in a couple of weeks, but doubt is starting to creep into the minds of fantasy owners. Hunter Strickland earned the save in his absence on Thursday and will no doubt be a hot commodity on waivers and in leagues that use an FAAB system.

Here are a few more injuries that we are tracking from the previous week of action.

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Delino DeShields Jr. (OF- TEX)
Delino Deshields Jr. was an exciting riser throughout the last couple of weeks of draft season, and then he hit the DL with a broken hamate bone. He is estimated to miss 4-to-6 weeks.

J.T. Realmuto (C/1B – MIA)
Realmuto didn’t quite make it to Opening Day before having to hit the disabled list with a back contusion. It looks like he will be out at least 2-to-3 weeks.

Nelson Cruz (OF/DH – SEA)
Nelson Cruz jacked his second home run of the season on Saturday and then slipped in the dugout. He sprained his ankle and was out of the lineup on Sunday. The Mariners have a day off on Monday, so it makes sense to give him the extra day of rest. He had an MRI on Sunday, so those results could change this prognosis.

Ian Kinsler (2B – LAA)
Kinsler has a strained groin and was placed on the DL. He thinks that he could be out just the minimum of 10 days. Luis Valbuena will see some time at third base. The positive for Zack Cozart owners is that he will be shifting over to second base in Kinsler’s absence and, depending on your league settings, could be eligible at 3B, 2B, and SS in a couple of weeks.

Mike Zunino (C – SEA)
Zunino was diagnosed with a Grade 1 oblique strain and is eligible to return on April 7. The Mariners are confident that Zunino should return after the minimum of 10 days.

Aaron Hicks (OF – NYY)
Everything went well for Hicks on Opening Day. He opened up the season hitting fifth in a terrific lineup and went 2-for-4 in the Yankees’ 6-1 win over the Blue Jays, then he mysteriously was placed on the DL Friday morning with a right intercostal muscle strain. According to Erik Boland of Newsday, Brian Cashman said Hicks has a Grade 1 strain and did not want to go on the DL. Hicks is eligible to return on April 10. If there are no setbacks, he could be back in the lineup after the minimum trip to the DL.

Josh Donaldson (3B – TOR)
Donaldson is not officially listed on injury reports, but he obviously was not able to throw from third to first on Opening Day without issues. Blue Jays manager John Gibbons has said that Donaldson has dead arm and is not injured, but he was serving as the designated hitter over the weekend. This is something to watch over the next few weeks. If Donaldson has to play more DH, Kendrys Morales could see less playing time as a result.

Updating Previous Injuries

Dinelson Lamet (SP – SD)  Elbow
Lamet was removed from his last spring start. He has a flexor strain and will not require surgery. He could still be out until May.

Steven Souza Jr. (OF – ARI)  Pectoral
Souza is running and taking swings, but his timetable still has not changed. He is expected out until May.

Michael Conforto (OF – NYM) Shoulder
Conforto is playing in minor league games and could be back as early as April 5. If for some reason he was not drafted in your league, he should be picked up immediately.

Jeff Samardzija (SP – SF)  Pectoral
Samardzija has been throwing from 90 feet with no pain. He also had a bullpen session on Saturday where he threw hard and experienced no problems. He is going to have another bullpen session on Tuesday. If that goes well, he could be in a minor league game by the following weekend. There is a possibility that fantasy owners could have Samardzija back by the third week of the season.

Yulieski Gurriel (1B – HOU) Hand
Gurriel was recovering from a hand injury but was never placed on the DL. Instead, he is serving his five-game suspension for the gestures about Yu Darvish in the World Series. He could return to action this Tuesday.

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Shane McDonald is a correspondent at FantasyPros. For more from Shane, check out his archive or follow him @coachshanemac.