The Indians have updated the medical situation of key outfielder Michael Brantley in a team announcement (via Jordan Bastian of MLB.com, on Twitter). While the door still seems at least theoretically open to a return at some point in the postseason, it’s now apparent that Brantley won’t make it back before the end of the regular season.
A recent examination revealed that Brantley has both a “deltoid ligament sprain” and “right ankle synovitis” — injuries which have kept him out since early August. He has been running on a specialized treadmill that keeps weight off of the lower extremities, but has yet to run on flat ground. Now, Brantley will rest for seven to ten days before he’s looked at again to see if he can begin to run.
Clearly, there’s no way Brantley will be cleared to play in a baseball game over the next ten days, meaning he’s not going to appear before the postseason. Presumably, he’ll require at least some ramp up time before the club would trust a postseason roster spot to him, too, making it seem quite unlikely that he’d be prepared to appear in the ALDS. Beyond that, should the club advance, it’s anyone’s guess.
The news means that the Indians won’t welcome back a key contributor as soon as had been hoped. Cleveland has played well without him — and that’s quite the understatement — but would no doubt prefer to plug in Brantley’s quality bat in left field. The loss stings all the more with youngster Bradley Zimmer also on the shelf.
That’s 3 consecutive seasons in which he’s missed significant time with injuries. Hey, the guy is a potential batting champion when healthy, but he’s not healthy very often. He’s under contract through 2018 for $12M with a $1M buyout option. I don’t think CLE will buy him out, but the organization needs to figure out exactly how he fits into their future.
Looking like Grady Sizemore 2.0
exactly what i was going to say!!!
Right!!! CLE went through years of Sizemore’s endless litany of injuries before cutting bait. You could argue that Brantley needs to become the full time DH to prevent any more injuries playing LF, but they’ve got Encarnacion occupying that position. They’re considering moving him to 1B if they can’t retain Santana this winter. Bottom line is Tribe brass needs to think long and hard about that $1M buyout. $12M for Brantley at his best is a bargain, but the man can’t stay in the field, and that’s a fact.
Sizemore played balls out and it led to his injuries. He had better seasons and more of them than Brantley. I also see Zimmer play with the same reckless abandon that hopefully won’t lead to him snuffing out a promising career.
Juice!
Perhaps moving him to a corner, he’s a good enough hitter that his bat will still play up in a corner.
He is their everyday LF when healthy.
Eh, more like two – he did play somewhere around 135 games in ’15, but the point is still valid. Not a good two year stretch from him health-wise
Brantley out.
Zimmer out.
Chisenhall has been out for quite some time, and tweaked his calf again.
That’s your entire starting outfield out…..and they’re still battling for the best overall record in the Al/MLB.
Playoff outfield will likely be Austin Jackson in left, Jay Bruce in right, and possibly Kipnis in CF, with Almonte (and either Naquin/Greg Allen) on the bench.
Knocking on wood as I type this. Might have to bring Rick Manning down from the booth to play in the ALDS. 😎
What’s Kenny Lofton doing this fall?
Maybe Willy Mays Hayes?
If they traded for someone, they wouldn’t be available for post season play. Correct?
correct
It looks like Allen is going to make the playoff roster (to me, at least) and Almonte and Naquin would only have an outside chance if Chisenhall or Guyer don’t make it back this week (last I heard they didn’t make the trip to Sea., but I don’t know anything else about their respective statuses). Allen is coming in almost everyday in the Michael Martinez roll when the Indians have a lead after 7. That 7th/8th inning defensive substitution is something that Francona seems to value a lot, so I’m pretty sure he’ll be on the playoff roster. I think if either Guyer or Chis make it back Almonte and Naquin won’t be on the PO roster, especially Naquin, he’s barely sniffed game action since he came back up when the rosters expanded.
I like Dr Smooth, but like Kipnis, he’s injury prone.
Pay the buyout and see if he’ll take less. If not, play Greg Allen.
The next Grady Sizemore
Well they did come ooohhhh so close to being World Champs with a rotation left of only Kluber and spare parts so maybe this year it will be an outfield of misfits and spare parts.
As long as our rotation stays in tact? I’ll take my chances with that. 🙂
If I’m the Tribe, I’m definitely exercising the buyout and seeing if he’ll take a 1 or 2 year heavily incentive laden deal. If not, good luck, and resign Jay Bruce.
Brantley is great to watch when he’s healthy, but unfortunately that’s like two or three series a year now.
Tribe has a ton of good outfielders. No problemo.
I hear Michel Martinez is available 😉
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