Brantley's May - August 2016 DL Stint Updates & Rehab Game Details

originally, i had a very happy introduction planned for this blog that was fixated on Michael Brantley's activation from the disabled list. unfortunately, Michael will not be returning to game action this year because he just had season-ending surgery. thus, my lede had to change.

Michael has had a rough time this year, to say the least. he began the regular season late because he was on the 15-Day DL, still recovering and rehabbing from his offseason right shoulder surgery for a torn labrum. he played seven games on a minor league rehab assignment before being activated on April 25. between his activation date and May 9, he appeared in 11 total Indians games over 15 days. it came to light on May 10 that he was feeling soreness and his shoulder was not bouncing back like they'd hoped. after a few days off, Michael was re-evaluated on May 13, but we didn't get any news until May 14. that's when it was announced that Michael was placed on the 15-Day DL with right shoulder inflammation and would be visiting with his surgeon, Dr. Craig Morgan, in Wilmington, Delaware on May 17 for a checkup.

that was your little season summation through May 14. next are all the Michael updates from this most recent stay on the DL.

Brantley To Have Season-Ending Right Shoulder Surgery

i wish i had better news to report. let me just cut to the chase and give it to you like i'm ripping off a band-aid--quick and painful. Michael Brantley's rehab attempts are officially over now because today, on August 13, Terry Francona announced that he will need to have another surgery on his right shoulder, which will ultimately end his 2016 season. it's scheduled for Monday, August 15 at TMI Sports Medicine in Dallas, Texas. Dr. Keith Meister and Dr. Mark Shickendantz will both perform the operation of which the specifics were not yet released.

8/13/16, photo courtesy of Chuck Crow via The Plain Dealer

Brantley Transferred to 60-Day DL (w/ DL Updates) (My 200th Blog!)

this morning, on July 3, it was announced in a press release on indians.com that Michael Brantley was transferred from the 15-Day DL to the 60-Day DL in order to make room for Abraham Almonte--who was just reinstated from the restricted list--on the 40-man roster. this was only a paper move and does not change anything per a tweet from Jordan Bastian. Terry Francona also commented, "there's no hidden flags there." Michael's new placement on the disabled list is still retroactive to May 9, and he's eligible for activation on July 9 according to Bastian's indians.com article. however, Michael is still a ways away from returning.

this all originated from the offseason right shoulder surgery Michael had on November 9, 2015 for a torn labrum. he's been doing everything he can to recover, rehab, and make a comeback, but has faced some obstacles along the way. he played two games in spring training with the Tribe before experiencing some shoulder soreness and was shut down for the rest of Cactus League play. he was later placed on the 15-Day DL prior to the start of the season. soon after the season opened, Michael was able to go out on a minor league rehab assignment with both the Columbus Clippers and Akron RubberDucks and was activated from the DL on April 25.

Michael played in a total of 11 games with the Indians before he began

Brantley's 2016 #s Through June (w/ All Star Voting Updates)

this blog is going to be very similar to the "#s Through May" blog. why is that? because Michael hasn't played a game since May 9!

Michael has never missed an entire month of a season as long as i've been documenting and blogging about his numbers, so i've never faced this conundrum before. while it might seem pointless to you for me to list out all his numbers again, i came to the conclusion that it was necessary because despite him not having any June statistics, most of the sections in this blog did still change slightly and were updated accordingly.


so far in 2016, Michael has 43 plate appearances and 39 at bats in 11 games (89.1 innings). in total, he has 9 hits, 2 extra base hits, 7 singles, 2 doubles, 7 RBI, 1 sac fly, 5 runs, 3 walks, 1 intentional walk, 1 stolen base (3rd), 1 GIDP, 6 strikeouts (3 swinging, 3 looking), 1 first at bat hit, 11 total bases, 14 left on base, 18 putouts, and 1 assist.

2016 batting average through June:

Brantley's 2016 #s Through May

this blog contains Michael's 2016 season numbers through the month of May. it follows the same format as my monthly blogs, except the sections have been rearranged and some have been omitted. also, due to Michael's lack of play through May, this blog has less information in it than usual.


so far in 2016, Michael has 43 plate appearances and 39 at bats in 11 games (89.1 innings). in total, he has 9 hits, 2 extra base hits, 7 singles, 2 doubles, 7 RBI, 1 sac fly, 5 runs, 3 walks, 1 intentional walk, 1 stolen base (3rd), 1 GIDP, 6 strikeouts (3 swinging, 3 looking), 1 first at bat hit, 11 total bases, 14 left on base, 18 putouts, and 1 assist.

2016 batting average through May:

Brantley's May 2016 #s + DL Updates

hello, Brantley fans! i want to take a minute to thank all the people who read my Brantley's April 2016 #s blog. i'm also happy to welcome my new readers in the Philippines, Bahrain, and Antigua & Barbuda! i greatly appreciate you coming here and taking time out of your day to view my blog!

just a reminder: from here on out, you will be getting two blogs from me after every month ends. the first will contain Michael's numbers and other information from the month that just wrapped. the second is going to detail his cumulative stats in 2016 and will be linked at the end of my monthly post.

now without further ado, let's get into Michael's May, because, even though he didn't play many games, there's still a lot to cover.


May Overview

May did not turn out how anybody had hoped for Michael. while i think we were all aware that he wouldn't be able to play a "full" month, no one was prepared for the

Brantley Placed on 15-Day DL with Right Shoulder Inflammation

i'm afraid i have some disheartening news for Michael Brantley fans. this afternoon, on May 14, the Indians announced that Michael was placed on the 15-Day DL with right shoulder inflammation. the move is retroactive to May 10, meaning he can potentially be activated on May 25. this marks Michael's second time on the disabled list this season, as he opened the year on the 15-Day DL while still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery, and it's his third DL stint overall in his MLB career.

screenshot cropped from indians.com

i am stunned about this considering just yesterday Terry Francona said that any talk of putting Michael on the DL was