Abraham Almonte’s Suspension is Almost Over; What Should the Tribe Do When He is Eligible to Return?

Outfielder Abraham Almonte is eligible to return to the big leagues on July 3, when his PED suspension is over.

He has played in two rehab games in Triple-A Columbus, going 3-for-9 with a two-run homer and four runs batted in.

If the Tribe decides to call up Almonte, what route should they go?

The most likely candidate to go back to Triple-A would be Michael Martinez, but depending on when Michael Brantley returns, the Tribe will have a precarious decision to make.

Rajai Davis has been playing some great baseball as of late, hitting .268 and leading the league in stolen bases with 21.

Jose Ramirez is looking more comfortable in left field each day, hitting .295.

Those two obviously aren’t going to be out of a job.

But it starts to get interesting when looking at the rest of the outfield situation.

Lonnie Chisenhall is out of minor league options, has played solid defensively in right field and is hitting .280.

Do the Indians send rookie Tyler Naquin down yet again? He’s hitting .318 with five homers and 14 runs batted in over 44 games.

He has the second-best batting average of any rookie in the Majors.

Another option is for the Tribe to move Juan Uribe, who has been playing good defense at third base, and homered in four straight games last week.

Uribe is hitting .227 with 6 homers and 20 runs batted in on the season.

If the Tribe were to move the veteran third baseman, Ramirez could slide over to the hot corner, but Uribe has been credited for much of the utility man’s growth this season.

Ramirez looks at Uribe as a father-figure and calls him dad. Uribe calls him son. The problem of messing with the chemistry would have be taken into account.

It’s easy for fans and writers to sit and play manager and GM, but with the Indians currently rolling on a seven-game win-streak, playing the best baseball of any team over the month of June, what appears to be the most logical conclusion would be “Don’t fix what isn’t broken.”

Throughout the season, there have been rumors swirling about possible trades the Indians could make to add an outfielder, but as the Indians continue to play excellent baseball, the need to trade for an outfielder gets smaller by the day.

Of course the front office needs to be looking ahead. What happens if guys like Uribe, Chisenhall, Davis, and/or Ramirez go cold?

In that case, having Almonte in the back pocket could end up being useful.

But for now, I say stick with what’s got you here. To first place in the American League Central. 42-30.