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

How close to a return are Cleveland Indians injured stars?

Despite a lot of negatives in the news so far this season, the Cleveland Indians have somehow managed to get to 10 games above .500 to this point in the season with a 38-28 record. The success has not only been a bit surprising for the club, but it’s happened without some of the team’s best players.

Over the last month or so, the Tribe have lost nearly every well known name on the roster, with the exception of only maybe a few who I won’t name in hopes of avoiding a jinx. The players that have hit the Injured List have already included starting pitchers Zach Plesac and Shane Bieber as well as batters in Franmil Reyes, Roberto Perez and Jordan Luplow.

Luckily, the team has been able to keep their head above water in the absence of those players and could get a boost when they return, which could be very soon for some. The Cleveland Indians have a page on their website that updates all injuries and more than one player has a potential return of late-June, which is almost here.

On top of that, the main Twitter voices of the Cleveland Indians are reporting that some players could be on the horizon of a return as well.

It’s rather intriguing to think that Cleveland has been able to play at a decently high level without some of their best players. Now, those players might be on their way back to the starting lineup. What kind of impact will that have on the team? Is there a big boost coming or will there be an adjustment time period?

The players coming back will take time to get back in the swing of things, but what will that do to the rest of the roster? There’s a chance that the team could take a slight step back for a few games. Regardless, these players are close to returning and in the long-run, that’s a big internal upgrade.

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.

Zach Plesac, SP, Cleveland Indians

Odd injuries for starting pitching in Cleveland isn’t something new. First it was a drone, now it was aggressively removing a shirt. Regardless of how it happened, Zach Plesac hit the injured list on May 26, the third blow within about a week to the Tribe’s lineup and the first injury challenge to the starting rotation.

Fast forward to now and Terry Francona has somehow managed to piece together a decent rotation that is still winning games, albeit against some of baseball’s worst teams. Good timing, I guess. Luckily, Plesac might be on track to return as well.

Plesac is set to throw a bullpen today (June 18) and should be able to begin a throwing program to get his arm back in shape. Like Reyes, Antonetti believes a rehab assignment could be a week or two away. For Plesac that will obviously take longer.

Given how long between starts, Plesac’s rehab will take some time. The added factor of his throwing thumb being what was injured could add a layer of uncertainty to his effectiveness.

Right now, his projected return by the team is early July, which means rehab will have to start soon. If that’s true, he could arrive just in time for the Tribe who are in desperate need of starting pitching help, whether it be internally or externally.

Roberto Perez, C, Cleveland Indians

One player that might be a little underappreciated on the roster in Cleveland is Roberto Perez. He’s coming off back-to-back Gold Glove awards and his impact behind the plate is hard to match. The more recent injury to Austin Hedges has only amplified the need for Perez to return. Now, Hedges, Rene Rivera and now Ryan Lavarnway have been able to hold down the fort, but they aren’t Perez.

Perez hit the injured list on May 5 and was quickly moved to the 60-day injured list on May 23 to create space on the 40-man roster. What seems a bit crazy is that those 60 days are almost up and a return could be on the horizon for Perez behind the plate.

Perez, along with Plesac, is scheduled to meet with a hand specialist in Pittsburgh during the road trip this weekend. If the news is good there, Perez might be able to start a rehab assignment as early as next week.

While Perez won’t bring a huge offensive boost, there’s the potential for improvement from him over what the position has been producing. Additionally, his defense will be a huge plus, especially for such a young starting rotation. There’s few in the game that can catch a better game than Perez.

If Perez and Plesac can rejoin the club around the same time, that would be a huge upgrade for the pitching staff and team as a whole.

Shane Bieber, SP, Cleveland Indians

The latest Tribe star to hit the injured list was starting pitcher Shane Bieber, a huge blow to an already struggling starting rotation. Being added on June 14, there’s little known about Bieber’s injury at this point. What we do know is that it’s something to do with a shoulder strain in his throwing arm.

The club has said that Bieber will be shutdown for at least two weeks. Once those two weeks are up he will be re-evaluated and the team will go from there. Cleveland has also said they are “sending around the results from his imaging and tests to different doctors to get as many opinions as possible to best plan his return.”

Maybe I’m reading into this too much, but that doesn’t seem like a great sign. Bieber was one of the most used pitchers in the game at the time of the injury and seeking so many different opinions raises an eyebrow.

Hopefully, this is just a short-lived injury that Bieber will be able to return from. It’ll still be some time before we know his timetable. No throwing for two weeks, easing into a throwing program will bullpen sessions and then a rehab assignment could mean a long road for Bieber to get back to Cleveland.