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's 2016 #s Through July

Michael Brantley has not added to his overall season numbers since May 9, but that very well could [finally!] change in August lol until then, we've got another "#s Through" blog that's vastly similar to the last one i posted a month ago. for your convenience, i have denoted sections that weren't modified in any way with (unchanged) next to them. otherwise, everything else contains new information and was 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 July:

Brantley's June 2016 (w/ DL Updates)

hey there, Brantley fans! i'm gonna start this blog with another thank you to everyone who read my Brantley's May 2016 #s blog and Brantley's 2016 #s Through May blog. and once again, i gained some new viewers in the last month, this time from Kenya and Latvia! welcome!

now let me address the abnormality that is this month's blog. it's going to be very different from all my previous monthlies because Michael did not play any games in June. as a result, the majority of sections you'd expect to find here have been omitted. still, i had plenty to write about. this blog mainly contains Michael's DL updates along with some other information i came across throughout the duration of June. (hence why it's not titled Brantley's June "#s" as per usual.)


June Overview

the Indians played a total of 28 games in June. Michael played zero and the Indians went 22-6 without him. (Michael who? yeah, no kidding. to see the team do THAT well in his absence was quite surprising.) never did i imagine Michael would miss the entire month of June. i truly thought he'd be back by the middle of the month, but that turned out to be not realistic whatsoever.

he started June hitting off a tee and after a week moved on to flip toss. another week passed and Michael had not yet advanced to taking batting practice, though he was building up the intensity and volume of his soft-toss program. shortly after that, it was revealed that Michael had experienced some

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

Brantley Lower Back Strain Timeline

i decided to write this blog to have some place to refer back to, with everything all listed out very clearly, just in case i need it at a later date. we don't know if this lower back strain will cause Michael to be shut down again or put on the DL at any point this season. although, after playing in 6 straight games with no further mention of any issues, things finally look promising. fingers crossed it stays that way.


first it was a sore lower back, then it was a tight lower back, and then it was a stiff lower back. idk if all those are technically the same thing medically, but it was not pleasant news to hear. eventually an MRI confirmed that Michael had a