The Cleveland Guardians have been without outfielder Will Brennan since June 27, when he was placed on the injured list (retroactive to June 25) with rib cage inflammation.
Brennan isn’t a star, but he had shown this season that he is capable of being a quality everyday player for the Guardians.
After a mediocre 2023 campaign in which he posted a .655 OPS, Brennan had improved to a .256/.314/.415 line, eight home runs and a .730 OPS in 68 games and 226 plate appearances this year.
He was actually improving as the season went on, but the injury interrupted his ascent.
After resting his injury for a few days, the Guards had him start a rehab assignment on Wednesday in Triple-A Columbus.
“Will Brennan was added to Columbus for a rehab assignment. They were rained out last night in Indianapolis. They play at 11 today. Also Ralphy Velazquez was out of last night’s game in Lynchburg after 1 AB. Haven’t tracked down why yet,” Guardians writer @JL_Baseball tweeted.
Will Brennan was added to Columbus for a rehab assignment. They were rained out last night in Indianapolis. They play at 11 today.
Also Ralphy Velazquez was out of last night's game in Lynchburg after 1 AB. Haven't tracked down why yet.
— Justin L. (@JL_Baseball) July 10, 2024
Brennan went 0-for-4 in the contest, with three strikeouts so it wasn’t a good day results-wise.
Cleveland, however, doesn’t care about results just yet, since it’s his first rehab game.
The idea is for him to become comfortable with all the moving parts of his swing again.
Then, in a few days, they can worry about results.
Given the excellent play of Steven Kwan, Angel Martinez, Jhonkensy Noel and Daniel Schneemann, the team can afford to give Brennan some time to get his timing right again.
In fact, when Brennan returns, the Guards will have a nice problem on their hands: too many quality players for few available spots.
NEXT: Analyst Reveals How Guardians May Struggle To Acquire Pitcher At Deadline
