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Indians Update: Hafner’s Return Not Likely Soon

The Cleveland Indians are missing their designated hitter. Travis Hafner was hitting .345 when he was shut down with a right oblique strain in Mid-May. He was fresh off a walk-off game-winning two-run homer on May 13th when he was suddenly scratched from the Indians’ line-up. Though Hafner will be eligible to come off the disabled list on Thursday, don’t expect to see him in the line-up anytime soon.

According to a report on Indians.Com, Hafner is still in the early stages of rehabbing the injury. At 33, Hafner has been in the majors for 10 years, and has been on the disabled list 6 times. The past three seasons have seen his production dwindle as his time spent on the DL has grown longer and longer each year. Most of the struggles have been with Hafner’s right shoulder which has hampered his efforts for the past three seasons. This season, Hafner’s shoulder appeared to be fully healed as he was clobbering the ball in late-April and early-May. His .345 average was third best in the American League when he went down in May, and he was hitting for extra bases again with 8 doubles, 5 homers and 22 RBI’s.

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The Indians will not set a time-table for Hafner’s return and will continue to use a rotating DH in his absence. Shelley Duncan has been their primary replacement, but Duncan is prone to the strike out and has done so 19 times in 65 at-bats through Saturday. Can the Indians continue to win without Hafner? Probably. Will Hafner even be in an Indians uniform come August? Probably, though the front office has made it known that if the club is contending at the trade deadline, they would be interested in making a couple of moves to give them a better chance at winning the division. Hafner’s pre-injury numbers may make him a valuable piece of trade bait, but another stint on the DL this season may also be a major detractor for anyone looking for a long-term solution for their DH. Don’t forget, Hafner’s days in the field are over thanks to the aforementioned shoulder issue, so a trade to the National League is completely out of the question. The Tribe’s recent offensive struggles have many in Tribe Town dismissing the trade rumors though, and they are hopeful that Hafner can make a speedy recovery, and able to help carry the team to the top of the division and beyond this fall.

By Robert Gonzalez
Cleveland Indians Correspondent

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