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

Jordan Luplow, OF, Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians placed Jordan Luplow on the 10-day IL back on May 28 and just recently bumped him over to the 60-day list on June 17. That means he can’t return until late July at the earliest and for him that might be far too late and make him the odd man out. The good news for him might be that the Tribe won’t have much time to trade him.

In the absence of Luplow, the Tribe’s outfield has hit their stride a bit. Eddie Rosario is finding his bat with his first home run at Progressive Field this season coming against the Orioles. Harold Ramirez has settled in while Josh Naylor and even Bradley Zimmer have been serviceable.

While Luplow started the season decently well, his numbers plummeted to .173/.331/.439 at the time of his injury. Now, he did have seven home runs but the addition of Bobby Bradley has made up for that power in the lineup.

Meanwhile, Zimmer has been able to fill in well with a slash line of .255/.386/.255 with five RBI and four stolen bases on top of eight runs scored. Hopefully he can begin to hit more than singles, but getting on base is enough right now.

All-in-all, there’s a chance that a spot won’t be available for Luplow when he’s ready to return. He did begin a rehab assignment this past week, but needed another injection in his ankle that will sideline him for at least three days. The move to the 60-day list isn’t a great sign, so don’t be looking for him to come back any time soon.