Trade for slugger Bruce guards against another playoff flop

Indians owner Paul Dolan is very generous in community efforts in the Cleveland area, and any fan who still says he skimps on payroll is out of touch, but he is not going to spend nearly $4 million on a pinch hitter.

In my mind, the trade the Indians made for outfielder Jay Bruce from the Mets late on Aug. 9 means they fear Michael Brantley (right ankle) and/or Lonnie Chisenhall (calf) are going to be out of the lineup much longer than they are saying.

And there is another factor to consider. The trade is insurance against another World Series meltdown by a hitter the Indians count on heavily. Keep reading.

Brantley was injured in the fifth inning on Aug. 8 in a noncontact play as he loped toward center field to back up Bradley Zimmer on a routine fly ball. The Indians are calling it a sprain, but say they aren’t sure of its severity. Brantley was put on the 10-day disabled list about 12 hours before the trade for Bruce was finalized. Indians President Chris Antonetti admitted the injury “accelerated” trade talks.

“We’ll have to see how (Brantley) responds to treatment over the next few days to get a better timetable,” Antonetti said in a conference call to discuss the trade.

Chisenhall was injured July 9 and still isn’t ready for a rehab start. He was leading the Indians with 51 RBI at the time. He and Bruce play right field.

Bruce has homered 29 times and driven in 75 runs. This is not a BandAid trade. Manager Terry Francona is not going to keep that power on the bench even if/when Brantley and/or Chisenhall return. The Indians are responsible for the balance of Bruce’s salary, roughly $3.75 million.

The Indians will have a mighty lineup with Zimmer in center, Bruce in right, Edwin Encarnacion as the designated hitter, Carlos Santana at first, Jose Ramirez at third and Francisco Lindor at shortstop. Adding Brantley in left to that mix makes it even more potent. That group of seven can carry struggling Jason Kipnis and weak-hitting catchers Roberto Perez and Yan Gomes.

Antonetti was asked where Bruce will appear in the batting order. He said he’ll leave it up to Francona.

The Indians fell one run short of winning the World Series last year, not only because starting pitchers Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar were injured, but because Mike Napoli’s bat went silent. After homering 34 times and driving in 101 runs in the regular season, Napoli had just four hits in 24 at-bats, zero home runs and two RBI in the World Series. He struck out 11 times. It wasn’t just the World Series, either; Napoli drove in only three runs in 52 at-bats in the postseason.

Bruce could provide the bat the Indians missed in late October and early November a year ago.

Schudel can be reached at jschudel@news-herald. com; @jsproinsider on Twitter.

Captains log

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Jay Bruce will not just be a pinch hitter, but will add power to the middle of the lineup.