Starting From Behind: Brantley Likely To Start 2016 On The DL

Even before the first pitch of spring training is thrown, the Indians will start the 2016 campaign “behind the eight ball.”

Michael Brantley injured his right shoulder in mid-September (video below) and now he’s undergoing surgery to repair a “slight”  tear of the labrum, with Jordan Bastian of MLB.com reporting that he faces a recovery timetable of 5-6 months. Brantley and the team initially downplayed the shoulder injury, suggesting he wouldn’t need surgery, but now the Indians are facing a month of next season or maybe more without the superstar.

The shoulder labrum is a piece of fibrocartilage (rubbery tissue) attached to the rim of the shoulder socket that helps keep the ball of the joint in place. When this cartilage is torn, it is called a labral tear.

Essentially, tendons attach muscles to bones and muscles move the bones by pulling on the tendons. The rotator cuff helps raise and rotate the arm. As the arm is raised, the rotator cuff also keeps the humerus tightly in the glenoid of the scapula. The soft labral tissue can be caught between the glenoid and the humerus. When this happens, the labrum may start to tear. If the tear gets worse, it may become a flap of tissue that can move in and out of the joint, getting caught between the head of the humerus and the glenoid. The flap can cause pain and catching when you move your shoulder. Several tendons and ligaments attach to the labrum that help maintain the stability of the shoulder. So when the labrum tears, the shoulder often becomes much less stable.

Brantley injured his shoulder trying to make a diving catch in Minnesota on September 22nd. He received a cortisone shot and tried to play down the stretch as the Indians battled for a wild-card berth. But they eventually shut him down in the final week after they were eliminated from the playoff chase.

While the Indians knew of this diagnoses before they elected not to re-sign Ryan Raburn, it might heighten the urgency to bring him back for outfield depth. It will certainly, at the very least, put an emphasis on finding a marginal replacement for Brantley until he returns.

It’s easy to say that it won’t be one of the top outfield prospects such as Bradley Zimmer or Clint Frazier, as the club will not want to use up any service time.

A possibility and viable option will be to keep Abraham Almonte in center until Brantley makes his return. Almonte performed admirably after he was acquired from the San Diego Padres and would hold his own. Fact is, the Indians will not lose much production with Brantley being out only a few weeks, maybe even less with today’s advanced training and recovery.