Cleveland Indians: The fallout from Tyler Naquin’s knee injury

The Cleveland Indians lost yet another player to a bad injury when Tyler Naquin collapsed to the ground after colliding with the wall Friday night.

The Cleveland Indians had a bad Friday night get even worse when Tyler Naquin went down in pain after making an amazing catch, but colliding with the left field wall.

Naquin leapt for the ball and came down with it. Then his knee buckled and a split second later he slammed into the wall.

It was clear he was in a great deal of pain and a bad injury was confirmed earlier today.

That is just terrible news for Naquin after he put together his first solid season since 2016. He was slashing .288/.325/.467 in 89 games after only appearing in 80 games combined during the past two seasons.

He was getting regular playing time and figured to be a member of the playoff roster if the team indeed advances to October. Now he will spend the better part of the following year trying to return to normal health. I truly do feel for him.

For the Indians as a whole this injury won’t disrupt things too much. Jordan Luplow should be working toward a return soon and Bradley Zimmer could return and make an impact as well. Though I would put more hope in Luplow helping the most.

The additions of both Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes helped boost the lineup and won’t make Naquin’s absence a glaring one. The success of Oscar Mercado helps shore up the outfield as well.

This injury doesn’t hurt the team that much in 2019. But it is still awful to see and let’s hope Naquin is able to make a full recovery. He has given Indians fans plenty to cheer about since 2016 and is responsible for one of the most iconic moments of the past decade.

Horns up.