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March 26, 2016Goals, as they say, are dreams with deadlines. In the case of one Michael Brantley, it appears his will not be realized after suffering a setback with his injured shoulder. According to Brantley and Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona, Brantley will not suit up in a game for the next several days and will not be ready for the team’s Opening Day game against the Boston Red Sox on April 4.
From Jordan Bastian at Indians.com:
On Saturday morning, Indians manager Terry Francona noted that Brantley was scheduled to have a followup exam with Dr. Mark Schickendantz for the outfielder’s right shoulder, which was surgically repaired in November. Brantley will be held out of Major League games over the next week, making a stint on the disabled list to open the season a realistic scenario.
“I think it was healthy for him to shoot for [Opening Day],” Francona said. “Anytime you have a goal, I think it’s good. I hope he’s not disappointed. I think maybe he understands probably better than anybody here what he means to this team. But, there’s not one ounce of disappointment in me. I’m proud of him, man.
“He busted his [tail] and he’ll continue to do that. It might be a week later. It might be 10 days. He’s going to be just fine. We’ve just got to do it right. It was easy to do it right, because of our trust with him and his honesty with us.”
Brantley, who had surgery to repair an injured shoulder over the offseason, had originally set a target return date of Opening Day. The MVP candidate left fielder had returned to Spring Training quicker than anticipated, but has experienced increased soreness over the last several days. Not wanting to return to live action until he is 100 percent, it appears that Brantley will be out for at least the first week of the regular season, if not more.
[Related: 25-man roster forecast for the 2016 Cleveland Indians]
Taking his place will be a likely rotation of outfielders with the Indians still having a handful in Major League camp. With rookie Tyler Naquin being guaranteed a spot on the 25-man roster, it would appear that either Rajai Davis or Marlon Byrd could start in left field with Francona using utility infielder Jose Ramirez in dire situations. Others in the mix include the ever intimidating trio of Colin Cowgill, Will Venable and Robbie Grossman.
The name to watch in this mix Naquin, the 24-year-old former first-round draft pick. Heading into Friday’s game against Arizona, Naquin as hitting .447 with a 1.342 OPS in 15 Cactus League games while playing plus defense in center field. In the 7-5 loss to the Diamondbacks, Naquin singled in the first inning and launched a 435-foot home run in the sixth.
https://vine.co/v/iDaObmQZaxA
While it would be a lot to ask a rookie to consistently contribute at the next level, if Naquin can continue this hot streak, it would provide the Indians with a huge safety net while Brantley looks to regain his standard form. If the team had concerns about their outfield depth prior to this news, however, fans can only imagine the elevated amounts of lost sleep given this latest news.
3 Comments
Made Brantley one of my six keepers in my fantasy baseball league just a couple days prior to hearing this. I guess it doesn’t matter if he’s only out a week or two, but I need that guy to be healthy.
Also, Go Tribe! I am excited to see what Naquin can bring. Would be really nice to have a guy drafted in the first round turn into a major contributor for the big league club.
If they still keep 5 outfielders it could now be Butler, Naquin, Chisenhall, Davis, and Byrd.