GOODYEAR, Ariz: Indians left fielder Michael Brantley has already reached another small milestone in his rehab. Manager Terry Francona said Brantley has begun hitting off a tee.
Brantley is still expected to miss the first month of the season as he works his way back from offseason surgery on his non-throwing (right) shoulder. The speed at which he progresses with hitting drills will be the biggest factor in determining his actual return date.
Brantley began taking swings earlier this week in Goodyear and has since graduated to hitting off a tee.
“He’s already done that,” Francona said. “He’s going pretty quick. But the progression will just continue every time he hits a milestone or whatever you call it. Then he’ll progress to the next thing.”
This is an intriguing sign, but the Indians know they can’t push it with their No. 3 hitter and one of the stars on the team. So, the club is intent on seeing progress but in incremental spurts.
“The idea is kind of common sense,” Francona said. “You’re just trying to build up intensity and volume, but probably not both on the same day. … He’s put so much time into this, he’s been so diligent. Now, you can’t rush what you can’t rush.”
Not hunting
The Indians could also be without their recent acquisition to the bullpen on Opening Day. Francona told MLB.com over the weekend that Tommy Hunter, whom the Indians signed to a one-year, $2 million deal recently, could be out until mid-May.
Hunter had offseason core muscle surgery and was believed to be questionable to be ready by April 4, when the Indians open the season against the Boston Red Sox. It now seems as though Hunter’s road back could be longer than previously thought.
Relief pitcher Craig Stammen, who has been invited to spring camp as a nonroster invitee, could also miss the start to the season after having surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon.
Hunter’s injury likely means there are three and possibly four (if the bullpen has eight members, though at this point that’s not expected) spots open in the bullpen for Opening Day. Cody Allen, Bryan Shaw, Zach McAllister and Jeff Manship figure to have the first four spots. Hunter will have the fifth once healthy.
That leaves a couple spots open, with at least one going to a left-hander. Among left-handers, Kyle Crockett and Giovanni Soto have the upper hand, and Tom Gorzelanny, Ross Detwiler and Joe Thatcher all received invitations to spring camp. Austin Adams, Shawn Armstrong, Dan Otero and spring invitee Joba Chamberlain figure to be the top right-handed contenders for a spot as well.
Vegas love
The Indians have already topped the projections in the American League Central according to Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA rankings, FanGraphs and others. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has followed suit.
The SuperBook has the Indians at 9-5 to win the division, followed by the Kansas City Royals (5-2), the Detroit Tigers (5-to-1), Chicago White Sox (5-t) and Minnesota Twins (6-1).
Though at this point, Indians fans could just be waiting to see who Sports Illustrated picks to win it all this season.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ