Cleveland Indians fans may be nervous at this point about what injury is yet to come.
The team has been hit hard, specifically in the starting rotation.
Losing Zach Plesac was bad enough.
Next up was Shane Bieber, as the team now looks to get creative in terms of a semblance of a rotation.
But one of the earlier injuries this year came when Franmil Reyes yelled out in pain after swinging the bat.
He last played near the end of May and as it turns out, he is progressing well in his rehab.
Franmil Reyes will go to Lake County to hit this weekend while the team is in Pittsburgh. He'll be re-evaluated on Saturday to determine how much more aggressive he can get in his rehab after that. Tito seemed really optimistic about how Franmil has recovered so far. https://t.co/qqkAnsIGgN
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) June 16, 2021
Reyes is now set to head over to Eastlake and get some reps with the High-A club.
That is certainly a great update given the way the injury looked at the time.
Still Some Time Before A Return
Reyes is still looking at a return sometime in July.
The All-Star break begins July 12, so the best-case scenario may be Reyes returning right before then.
However, an extra few days may not hurt if the Indians continue to stay in the playoff hunt without him.
Any news of a return is amazing at this point for fans.
The injuries are piling up and at some point, the team needs people to return instead of constantly shuffling in more and more Triple-A players.
A Hot Start To The Year
Reyes was right up there with Jose Ramirez in terms of carrying this lineup.
Through 40 games he had 11 home runs, 29 RBI, nine doubles, and a .893 OPS.
Tattoo artist, Franmil Reyes, gets to work.#OurCLE pic.twitter.com/jVxEFSONaj
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) April 27, 2021
That has him as one of the most productive batters in the lineup.
Only Amed Rosario has shown some signs of being a proper sidekick to Ramirez in Reyes’ absence.
This is the Reyes fans hoped to see since the moment he arrived in 2019.
He is still only 25 years old, with a birthday coming up in early July, and factors in as a long-term piece in this lineup.
Reyes is under control through the 2024 season.
Other Injuries Of Note
The other big injury on offense is to Jordan Luplow.
Unfortunately, he has a lingering ankle issue and the surplus of talent in the outfield could doom his chances of automatically getting his spot back, given he can also get healthy.
Roberto Perez is also out with a finger injury and his timetable, while set for July, could always change.
After those two all eyes are on Plesac and Bieber.
The hope in the meantime is that Aaron Civale can rise to the level of an interim ace and that guys like Triston McKenzie, Jean Carlos Mejia, Cal Quantrill, and Eli Morgan can step in as well.
The Indians are hanging in there for now, but reinforcements never hurt.
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