Brantley's 2016 Spring Training & In-Season Rehab Details

he's baaaaaaaack! yes, it's true. at long last, today, on April 25, Michael Brantley was cleared to come off the DL and has joined his teammates in Minneapolis as an active roster member! despite not being in tonight's starting lineup against the Minnesota Twins, i'm still very excited for him and i know he's gotta be over the moon ecstatic. he'll either make his 2016 regular season debut tomorrow, or perhaps tonight in one of the later innings as a pinch hitter or defensive replacement.

let me begin with a brief recap to explain how he got here. Michael had surgery on November 9, 2015 to repair a slight labral tear in his right shoulder. he suffered this shoulder impairment on September 22 in the game against the Minnesota Twins, and that eventually led to an early 2015 shut down. Michael attempted to resolve the issue without going under the knife, but he soon realized that that could not be avoided. he spent most of his offseason in Cleveland before flying out to Arizona on February 1 to carry on with his rehab there.

Michael tried his best to be ready in time for Indians Opening Day, because that was his goal all along, and he came really close to achieving that feat. he worked very hard in his rehab, so hard that he found himself weeks ahead of his initially projected post-surgery workout schedule. while he was not able to play in spring training games when the Indians first started on March 1, he was