Cleveland Indians: Jason Kipnis on the comeback trail

The Cleveland Indians have started the season without Jason Kipnis, but he began his rehab Sunday with the organization’s Double-A affiliate.

Cleveland Indians fans may not have to wait much longer for Jason Kipnis to return, as the second baseman began his rehab stint with the Akron RubberDucks on Sunday.

Playing, and getting a hit, should mean that Kipnis is feeling well enough to participate at a high level. The Indians obviously weren’t going to rush him back onto the major league roster, so it is nice to see him get in some game action so early in April.

His return will likely end the Yandy Diaz experiment at third base, but Diaz certainly didn’t do anything to lose the job. He is just not going to hold a roster spot over Kipnis or Jose Ramirez at this point in time.

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Diaz should be an option to come up at any point throughout the year if there are any injuries, and should be back up once the rosters expand in September. And if the Indians are once again headed to the postseason, he should be up for consideration to make that playoff roster.

So much can change along the roster between now and then, and for now it is just nice to see that Kipnis is working toward his return. The lineup has had a decent start to the year, but Kipnis is still a major piece of it that has been absent thus far.

His addition will add to the lineup that is without a major hole, at least when playing under American League rules.

And even though Diaz will only have a small amount of games under his belt, the experience can help with his confidence and show Terry Francona that he is capable of starting at this level. Even just a few weeks of games can help a player realize he does belong, instead of just sitting in Triple-A praying for a chance.

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We do not know exactly when Kipnis is coming back, but his start in Akron should mean it will happen within a week or so. That is, if everything goes according to plan.