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Michael Brantley ready to rejoin Indians after shoulder surgery

Mike Oz

The Cleveland Indians are off to a nice 9-7 start, especially so when you consider they've played the first three weeks of the baseball season without one of their best hitters. But that should change Monday, as outfielder Michael Brantley rejoins the team in Minnesota where it opens a series with the Twins.

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(AP)
(AP)

Brantley had shoulder surgery in November, which made Indians fans fear the worst, particularly when it sounded like there could be a possibility he wouldn't make it back in April. But Brantley worked hard this spring to get back, starting a minor-league rehab stint earlier this month and playing back-to-back games in Triple-A before getting the call from the Indians.

On Monday afternoon, Brantley was officially activated from the disabled list. You can see his return to action live, right here on Yahoo Sports. The Indians and Twins play in our MLB Free Game of the Day, which begins at 8:10 p.m. ET. You can stream it at Yahoo's Sports Home, MLB index and video home.

Tribe manager Terry Francona was button-mouthed Sunday when talking about his specific plans for Brantley. He'd only commit to seeing how Brantley was doing and assessing from there. He told reporters, including MLB.com's Jordan Bastian:

"When we get to the ballpark, we'll sit and talk to him," Francona said, "and meet with him and kind of assess what the next step should be or what we should do. But he'll have a down day [Sunday], which will be good for him after playing two in a row. By all accounts, he's doing really well."

Brantley has somewhat quietly become among the most valuable players in the league the past two seasons. The 28-year-old finished third in the MLB voting in 2014 when he hit .327 with 20 homers and 94 RBIs. Last season, he hit .310 with 15 homers and 84 RBIs.

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One of Brantley's best attributes is ability to get on base. His on-base percentage the past two seasons has been .385 and .379, both of which made him top-10 in baseball.

It's unrealistic to expect Brantley to return at such a level, since shoulder injuries can seriously limit ballplayers. The Indians' good start shows that they don't need Brantley to save their lineup immediately. They're hitting .249, which is 15th in MLB. But they are 20th in runs scored, so getting a Brantley boost would help in the long term.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!