Cleveland Indians: Carlos Santana nearing a return to the lineup

The Cleveland Indians have been without Carlos Santana for several days, but he appears to be heading back to the starting lineup soon.

Staring at the sun during the solar eclipse would have been a better alternative than looking at the current lot of Cleveland Indians players on the disabled list.

One player who is hurt but not on the list is Carlos Santana, which seems to point at a return sooner than later.

Santana left Monday’s game with a back issue and has missed the past two games, both horrible losses for the Indians. Perhaps he is the good luck charm.

This back issue keeps him out of tonight’s starting lineup as well, but a tweet from Jordan Bastian offers some hopeful news.

This situation wouldn’t be such a big deal if not for all the other injuries in the lineup and all over the roster. Right now, the Indians are desperate to get any injured starter back in the lineup as soon as possible.

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Back problems can linger for quite some time and fans aren’t sure if this was just some tightness, or something Santana has been dealing with for a long time. Our faith must now be placed in the training staff.

Getting Santana back is crucial when seeing the bottom half of the order. In tonight’s game, the bottom three lines up as Yandy Diaz, Roberto Perez and Giovanny Urshela. Not exactly the dream scenario this late in the season.

But if Terry Francona‘s update is correct, we could see Santana back as soon as Friday.

Lonnie Chisenhall may also be back this weekend, so these weak lineups should fade away as fast they became a thing.

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The key is to not rush a player back too soon, but it is also up to the individual to be honest about how they are feeling. Let’s hope Santana doesn’t stretch the truth in order to get back when he isn’t fully healthy.