Cleveland Indians: Outfield injury updates as the postseason approches

The Cleveland Indians are waiting on updates about a few players before making the final roster decisions for the postseason.

The Cleveland Indians enter the final week of the season dealing with injuries, which is nothing new for fans of this team.

The good news is that the team has been so hot it has been hard to get too caught up on those missing time, while all the stars of the team are also healthy, keeping panic at bay.

The latest updates concern three outfielders, with MLB.com reporter William Kosileski offering both some good and bad news.

Lonnie Chisenhall coming back tonight or tomorrow is the good news. The team has done well without him this season, but having him on the field should only make the team better. Getting him back soon also clears up the roster situation and allows him to be placed on the ALDS roster without having to worry if he will be ready in time.

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The second tweet is more on the bad news side, as the word “try” is a bit concerning. Brandon Guyer has not been in the discussion of someone who is doubtful for the playoffs, but the same isn’t true for Michael Brantley.

Brantley hasn’t been able to run for nearly six weeks, and it is hard to expect things to drastically change in the next week given all the updates the team has shared.

At the same time, it may just be smarter overall to go with a player like Greg Allen on the roster as a weapon both on the bases and as a late-game defensive replacement.

Given Chisenhall is healthy, a likely outfield includes Jay Bruce, Austin Jackson, Jason Kipnis and potentially Allen, with Guyer and Abraham Almonte also being in the discussion.

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This makes Brantley’s presence less necessary if he isn’t fully healthy. It is sad to see his tenure in Cleveland potentially end this way, but if he isn’t at 100 percent it would make no sense to include him on the roster.