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For the past two years, the Cleveland Indians‘ seasons have seemingly started in the exact same way. First, expectations are typically set quite high for the team, especially last year when SI predicted the Indians would win the World Series. After that, Cleveland proceeds to stumble out of the gate, struggling through the opening month and having to spend the remainder of the season recovering.
Step 1 seems to be taking place yet again this year, as the Tribe are finding themselves to be a trendy pick to contend in the AL Central. However, many fans are anticipating yet another slow start to the season.
If there is any one player who could determine if another early-season slump takes place, it’s Michael Brantley. Whether or not he’ll be available on Opening Day will make a huge difference in how Cleveland performs to start the year.
When healthy, Brantley is one of the most consistent players on the Tribe’s roster, both offensively and defensively. However, he underwent shoulder surgery after last season ended, initially diagnosed with a four-to-six month recovery time. It was assumed, then, that Brantley would be sidelined potentially up to a month into the 2016 campaign.
Despite this, Brantley has continually insisted his target comeback date is the season opener against the Boston Red Sox. While it seemed a bit lofty early on, he recently claimed his rehab was ahead of schedule. This is due mostly to his passing on the opportunity to head home for the offseason, and instead working on his shoulder recovery in Cleveland for most of the winter.
He’s still only hitting a couple balls off a tee for now, and it’s unlikely the Indians are willing to rush him back to the field before he’s 100 percent. That said, if Brantley can be back to full strength by Opening Day, it’ll be an incredible difference-maker for Cleveland.
Quite frankly, looking at the Indians’ outfield as it currently stands leaves a lot to be desired. If Brantley can’t play for a couple weeks into the season, Cleveland will be forced to start Abraham Almonte, Rajai Davis and third-baseman-turned-outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall. For obvious reasons, this isn’t really an inspiring lineup.
While each of the aforementioned players can, at the very least, hold their own in the outfield, neither is comparable to Brantley at the plate.
In Brantley, the Indians have a middle-of-the-order player who’s hit over .300 in each of the past two seasons, including the 2014 campaign in which he was nominated for AL MVP. In Davis, Almonte and Chisenhall, well, you don’t have that.
Davis had the highest average of all three last season with .258. Almonte improved upon being traded to Cleveland midyear, while Chisenhall’s bat really didn’t come around until the move to the outfield. As you can see, removing Brantley from the equation causes a serious dip in outfield offense.
This is crucial because, as we know, offense isn’t exactly the team’s strong suit. The Indians are once again going to lean on a top-tier pitching rotation in hopes this will get them to the postseason. If said pitching rotation has to depend on an offense without one of its best hitters, it’s going to make life difficult.
One player certainly doesn’t determine the overall fate of an entire team. That said, Cleveland desperately needs to make April slumps a thing of the past. This task will be made all the more difficult if Brantley isn’t available right away.
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