Michael Brantley Injury: Updates on Indians Star's Shoulder and Return

Cleveland Indians left fielder Michael Brantley is dealing with a shoulder issue that saw him land on the disabled list May 14. He underwent a procedure to remove scar tissue on July 22, and will undergo an additional operation that will end his season. 

Continue for updates.

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Brantley to Undergo Season-Ending Surgery

Saturday, Aug. 13 

Manager Terry Fancona announced Brantley will be shut down after he undergoes surgery next week.

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Brantley Suffers Setback

Tuesday, Aug. 9

The Indians released a statement on Brantley's status, per Jordan Bastian of MLB.com:

After enduring a scar tissue procedure in late July that helped ease the discomfort in his swing, Brantley is unable to "generate enough pain-free force with the bat to be effective," according to Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com on Monday. 

The Indians had announced on July 22 Brantley would resume baseball activities after undergoing the procedure to remove scar tissue from his shoulder. Bastian added that Brantley's imaging showed no structural damage.

This isn't the first setback Brantley encountered in his recovery. On June 21, the Indians announced that Brantley was suffering from "continued discomfort" and was re-examined. Upon that examination, Brantley received a cortisone shot and was diagnosed with right biceps tendinitis.

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Indians President Comments on Brantley's Recovery

Monday, June 6

Yahoo Sports' Jeff Passan, citing a source, reported Monday that "there is serious concern from [the] Indians that [Brantley] is going to miss a significant amount of time with his shoulder injury."

Indians President Chris Antonetti was asked about Passan's report and responded, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal: "We are focused on working with Michael to help him get to the point where he's not only healthy, but strong enough to make a meaningful impact on the balance of our season. We don't have a clear timetable for that yet but are encouraged by progress he continues to make."

On May 17, Bastian passed along a statement from the Indians regarding Brantley:

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Injury Halts Brantley's Pursuit of Returning to 2015 Form

Brantley put together a stellar 2015 season, as he batted .310 with 84 RBI, 15 home runs and a league-leading 45 doubles. Operating in the heart of Cleveland's order, Brantley posted the second-best offensive wins above replacement mark (3.7) of his career to date, per Baseball-Reference.com.

However, the 29-year-old's stellar campaign came to a screeching halt when he suffered a shoulder injury in late September. According to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com), Brantley wound up suffering a small tear in his right labrum that required surgery.

As a result, his 2016 debut was delayed until April 25 as he progressed through a lengthy rehabilitation process.

But even though Brantley returned within the first few weeks of the season, he didn't immediately resemble the player who stuffed stat sheets last season.

"I'm kind of kicking myself a little bit," Francona said of Brantley's return to the diamond, per Cleveland.com's Zack Meisel. "I think we might have gone a little too far, too much, too fast. I didn't want to do that, and I think we probably did."

Through 11 games this season, Brantley was batting .231 with no home runs and seven RBI.