Cleveland Indians: Nick Swisher Activated, Tyler Holt to Triple-A

Swisher makes his return to the Indians

The Cleveland Indians will activate

for Tuesday’s game against the Kansas City Royals as he will see his first action since having surgery on both knees following last season. 2014 saw Swisher hit only .208, with eight home runs and 42 RBIs, while posting a career worst .608 OPS.

He was originally slated to play three straight games at Triple-A Columbus, but the medical staff have deemed his knees good to go, and at this point the Tribe need to see how impactful he can be. He’s in the third season of a $56 million contract and is owed $15 million this year. The hope is he can bounce back to be a solid contributor to the sluggish offense.

Originally following the surgery, it was expected he would miss 8-10 weeks. That stretched into nine months, and no one really knows exactly why. When asked, Swisher doesn’t seem to give a straight answer, saying simply “it was worse than I thought”. Whatever the reason, he’s had plenty of time, and there’s no time like the present.

The plan is for him to play in right field and DH–or was the plan initially. With the emergence of Carlos Santana last season, he was expected to see the majority of time at first base. But with his struggles early on, we may see Swisher all over the diamond again, especially to start as he gets the knees “warmed up” in the first few weeks.

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The Indians optioned Tyler Holt back to Columbus, as his stay was short after replacing the injured T.J. House. This Tribe roster is far from set in stone, so it’s very likely we will see Holt again soon, as well as some other faces depending on the success of the current roster.

But for now, the return of Swisher must be taken as a positive, even with his struggles last season. If his knees were the cause of his struggles and he’s now healthy, he can be a valuable “addition” to this Indians’ lineup.