Cleveland Indians move Michael Brantley to DL
By Nick Fustor
The Cleveland Indians moved outfielder Michael Brantley from the paternity list to the disabled list Monday after he aggravated a right ankle sprain last week.
In the midst of a bounceback season after missing most of 2016, Cleveland Indians outfielder Michael Brantley was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a right ankle sprain. The 30-year-old suffered the injury in May during a series against the Kansas City Royals, but was not immediately placed on the disabled list when he was able to return after a brief absence.
Brantley’s wife, Melissa, gave birth to a baby boy (Maxwell) last Thursday and Brantley was placed on paternity leave and missed the team’s weekend series against the Minnesota Twins. The DL move came as a surprise to some, as it seemed as Brantley had fully recovered from the ankle injury.
“This has been bothering him for a while,” Francona said via Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com. “On Tuesday and Wednesday night he did a ton of running (against the Dodgers).”
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Despite the apparent ankle injury, Brantley hasn’t shown any signs of impacted play this season. He’s currently hitting .296 with a .792 OPS, 13 doubles and five home runs. With seven steals, he’s on a clear pace to match his career averages on the base paths.
Francona noted that with the birth of Brantley’s child, the timing was right to allow the outfielder to fully heal.
"“It was grabbing him. So when his wife had the baby I told him just go and be with her. It wasn’t fun to not have him, but I thought it would be good for him,” Francona said via Hoynes. “Over the weekend it just wasn’t getting better to the point where we liked it. With the 10-day DL, why not give him a chance to get it where he’s not limping around all year? He just need a little bit more time.”"
In Brantley’s absence, Daniel Robertson and Austin Jackson are expected to see a majority of the reps in left field. Jackson has been solid off the bench, while Robertson is a defensive-minded outfielder. It’s unclear if Tyler Naquin will see time in the majors while Brantley is out, but given the injury, it’s unlikely the Indians would call him up unless necessary.