Cleveland Indians: Lonnie Chisenhall set to begin his rehab with Akron

The Cleveland Indians have been without Lonnie Chisenhall for over a month, and he is finally set to make his first rehab start.

When Lonnie Chisenhall left the game on July 9, Cleveland Indians fans weren’t in panic mode.

Chisenhall is a key piece to this team, but there was enough depth in the outfield to keep things afloat until his return. Then Michael Brantley went down and that calm situation got a little more stressed.

The injuries caused the Indians to go out and trade for Jay Bruce, which was a great move regardless of the current situation. It never hurts to have an abundance of talent on the roster when the postseason is in a team’s future.

And while Bruce is off to a great start with his new team, some great news about Chisenhall came out Saturday night.

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Lonnie is back, at least with the RubberDucks. Andre Knott mentioned on Saturday’s broadcast how Chisenhall is expected to play all over the field during his rehab assignment, preparing him for a return to a team that now features Bruce.

No matter where Chisenhall plays in the field, the Indians could use his bat back in the lineup. He has only played 64 games this season, but is sixth on the team in RBI (seventh if counting Bruce’s NL numbers).

He is slashing .305/.376/.578 in his limited action and easily slots in as the fifth or sixth hitter in this lineup.

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The news of his rehab start comes with the news that Jason Kipnis is back after an injury scare, so hopefully the good news will continue with an Andrew Miller return to the mound this week.