The Cleveland Indians received some bad news on Saturday, as it was revealed that outfielder Tyler Naquin suffered a torn ACL in his right knee and will miss the remainder of the season:
Cleveland Indians lose outfielder Tyler Naquin for season with torn ACL in right knee https://t.co/JSHCzt339Q
— paul hoynes (@hoynsie) August 31, 2019
Naquin suffered the injury when he collided with the left field fence after making a spectacular running grab to rob Tampa Bay's Joey Wendle in Friday's game against the Rays. Naquin immediately collapsed on the warning track and later had to be carted off the field.
Though the initial diagnosis was merely a sprain, MRI results confirmed that Naquin did in fact tear his ACL, which is a crushing blow for a Cleveland team already without Jose Ramirez for the remainder of the regular season.
Naquin had disappointing campaigns in 2017 and 2018 following a third-place finish in the 2016 American League Rookie of the Year Award voting. Despite another slow start this season, Naquin bounced back in May and had a scorching month of July, slashing .387/.418/.661 with three homers and 12 RBI for the month.
Alongside rookie Oscar Mercado as well as Jordan Luplow and recent acquisition Yasiel Puig, Naquin had been plugging the total lack of outfield production that has haunted the Indians for years.
With Naquin out, however, the Indians are losing yet another productive bat in their lineup. Puig got off to a scorching start in Cleveland, but he is slashing a woeful .111/.216/.156 over the last two weeks.
The Indians are still 4 1/2 games back of the Minnesota Twins in the American League Central heading into Sunday's game against the Rays, and they desperately need production from their bench pieces in the final month as they navigate a host of injuries.
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