Cleveland Indians: How close to a return are Tribe’s injured stars?

Franmil Reyes, DH, Cleveland Indians

It was May 23 that the Tribe’s designated hitter in Franmil Reyes hit the 10-day injured list with an oblique injury and since then there really hasn’t been a clear DH for the club. The position has turned into a rotating door to give players somewhat of an off-day while keeping them in the batting order. While that’s been helpful in one way, the loss of production from the position has been felt.

At the time of the injury, Reyes was one of the best players on the team and was statistically among the best in the league. Now, that bat coming back to the lineup could be huge. With the emergence of Bobby Bradley, the core of the Tribe’s lineup could quickly become a dangerous group.

The top of the order has been solid with Cesar Hernandez, Amed Rosario and Jose Ramirez. Now you slot in Reyes as the clean-up hitter followed by Bradley and Harold Ramirez and this lineup will be a challenge to face.

The heart of the order would be a switch-hitter, right-handed power, left-handed power, right-handed. That’s hard to face for any team to plan for, but how close are we?

Reyes is already taking batting practice and is on the brink of a rehab assignment. Chris Antonetti said that could begin as soon as next week, meaning Reyes returning before the end of the month is a real possibility.