Lonnie Chisenhall headed back to the disabled list

Cleveland Indians outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall is headed back to the disabled list as the team gets ready to open the second half of the season.

Cleveland Indians fans are getting excited about the team resuming play Friday night, so naturally some bad news came out today.

Lonnie Chisenhall is set to hit the disabled list, according to Jordan Bastian.

Chisenhall will join Jason Kipnis, as both players suffered injuries in the final series of the first half against the Detroit Tigers.

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Bastian explains how Chisenhall’s injury could mean a promotion for Tyler Naquin, which would be interesting as Naquin is a player who could be offered up in a deadline deal.

The Indians have such a stacked roster that players like Naquin, Giovanny Urshela and even Erik Gonzalez are at risk of being traded, and any upcoming major league action could serve as the Indians showing off their value to the rest of MLB.

But until any such deals happen, the players called up must try to fill the voids of those injured.

It will be tough to replace Chisenhall, who has emerged as the hottest hitter in the lineup outside of the great Jose Ramirez. Chisenhall is currently slashing .305/.376/.578 this year and leads the team in RBI, with 51, even though he isn’t a qualified hitter.

The good news is that the Indians have options in the outfield currently on the roster, and a healthy Austin Jackson could slot in nicely until Chisenhall returns. Even Brandon Guyer and Abraham Almonte can get some extended looks as both try to hold on to roster spots as the deadline approaches.

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The five outfield spots will continue to be focused on until July 31, but the most important thing right now is that Chisenhall’s injury isn’t major, and a stint on the DL is just precautionary. There is backup ready to fill in, but losing him for an extended period of time would be a crushing blow.