Unsurprisingly, Michael Brantley is on an Absolute Tear with the Astros

Former Cleveland Indians outfielder Michael Brantley has been a force to be reckoned with in MLB. Now, with the Houston Astros, he’s ready to take the next step in his career.

Last season, Indians manager Terry Francona called Michael Brantley “the heart and soul of our team.” Now with the Houston Astros, Francona also said of Brantley, “he does everything the way you’re supposed to” and is “an easy guy to bet on.”

Over the course of his career, Michael Brantley has participated in parts of 11 Major League seasons, 10 of which came with the Cleveland Indians. For the last six of those 10, Brantley was managed by Francona. During that stretch, the Indians ventured to the postseason four times: 2013, 2016, 2017 and 2018, the latter three coming in the form of American League Central crowns.

On those teams, Brantley was an integral force in the middle of the lineup, a veteran presence who could lead the team in batting average offensively, put up Gold Glove-caliber numbers defensively, and set a great example for the rest of the team both on the field and off. As soon as the Indians acquired Brantley from Milwaukee in the 2008 CC Sabathia trade as the “player to be named later,” he was nothing short of excellent at doing his job and filling his role with the Indians.

Of course, as is the case with so many athletes rife with talent and potential, the injury bug bit Michael Brantley often during his tenure in Cleveland. He never once played a complete 162 games in a season, and his 2016 and 2017 campaigns were severely shortened due to shoulder surgeries and an ankle issue.

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In fact, in that magical run to Game 7 of the World Series the Indians experienced in 2016, Brantley was not a factor at all, only playing in 11 games that season and missing the playoffs in their entirety.

But then in 2018, now that he was finally healthy again (although he was healthy enough in the first part of the 2017 season to make the All-Star team before getting hurt), Brantley had the kind of year that made Indians fans wonder if they’d be able to keep him after the season ended.

In 143 games, Brantley bounced back in a big way and showed any doubters that, at age 31, he was far from done. With a .309 batting average, .364 OBP, 76 RBI and 17 home runs, Brantley made his third All-Star Game appearance and helped the Indians advance to the American League Division Series, where they were ultimately swept by the Houston Astros.

Following the Tribe’s Game 3 loss in Cleveland to Houston to end the season, questions swirled as to the next step for the Indians and the various free agents on their roster. Along with Brantley, among others, relievers Andrew Miller and Cody Allen, infielder Josh Donaldson and outfielders Lonnie Chisenhall and Melky Cabrera were all set to hit the open market, where the suitors would be more willing and able to pay out larger sums of money than Cleveland could.

What ended up occurring was a flurry of players exiting from Cleveland and departing for greener pastures all over the country through both free agency and trades. None of the previously mentioned candidates to possibly leave the Indians came back for 2019. Additionally, Cleveland shipped away veterans Yan Gomes, Edwin Encarnacion and Yonder Alonso and young up-and-comer Yandy Diaz.

When all of the chaos had finally come to a close, Indians fans rubbed their eyes and saw Michael Brantley wearing a Houston Astros cap. The deal was for two years, $32 million, a contract the Indians could not have matched given their need to slash payroll. Outside of his last year in Cleveland, Brantley had never had a single-season salary exceeding $8.375.

Coming off of two straight years in the All-Star Game, it was time for Brantley to earn his worth. So while it surely caused him heartache to depart from the team with which he’d been for a decade, Brantley decided to move on to the Astros.

And that move is looking very good right about now. Through 47 games with the Astros this season, Brantley’s got a career-high .328 batting average, a career-high .563 slugging percentage, a career-high .940 OPS and a league-leading 60 hits. Granted, those numbers cover less than two months of the season as opposed to the full year, but they’re still awfully impressive.

Behind Brantley’s stellar start and similar hot streaks from guys like George Springer and Alex Bregman, Houston is out to a 32-16 record and has a tight grip on the division lead in the AL West. Other than the Astros, everyone in the West has a losing record, including Texas, who currently sits in second place in the division at 22-23, 8.5 games behind Houston.

For as long as Michael Brantley was in Cleveland and for as much as he was beloved by the fans there, it was a shame that he wasn’t able to participate in the Indians’ 2016 World Series run.

Perhaps, just like was the case with Justin Verlander two years ago, with the Astros, Michael Brantley will finally get a taste of the postseason glory he so clearly deserves.