A tough start to the 2014 MLB season has gotten even tougher for Carlos Santana, as the Cleveland Indians’ slugger has been placed on the seven-day concussion list.
The team’s official Twitter account provided the details:
Santana was hit on the mask by a foul tip on Sunday and was scratched from the lineup on Monday. At the time, the team wasn’t sure if he was sick or experiencing post-concussion symptoms.
“He was sick, but because he got that foul tip, we had to be cautious,” manager Terry Francona told . “We don’t know if he’s sick or he has concussion-like symptoms, so we sent him back to the hotel and we’ll re-evaluate him and we’ll go from there.”
Unfortunately for Santana and Cleveland, he did suffer a concussion.
Much of the season has been an uphill battle for Santana, who is hitting just .159 with six home runs and 17 RBI in 50 games. He’s also spent more time at third base (26 starts) than he has at first base, catcher and designated hitter combined (24 starts total), though he’s already committed six errors at the position.
His struggles have paralleled Cleveland’s own difficulties, as they are last in the Central Division with a 24-28 record.
Getting Santana back and healthy will be vital for the struggling Indians, but they’ll also hope he can rediscover his stroke at the plate and soon. Trying to scratch and claw back from a 6.5-game deficit in the Central will be much easier with Santana bopping in the middle of the lineup.
And Santana, 28, will hope to finally build on the exciting potential that saw him hit 27 home runs and 79 RBI in 2011 but never reach those same heights again. He hasn’t started on the right foot in 2014, but he could yet rediscover his form at the plate.
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