Indians’ Branyan To Make Season Debut Tuesday Night

First baseman Russell Branyan, signed over the winter by the Cleveland Indians despite a known back problem, will be activated from the 15-day DL in time to play Tuesday against the Twins:

Branyan appeared in six minor league games, drawing positive reviews. Upon his activation and promotion, he will immediately be inserted into the lineup at the expense of youngster Michael Brantley, who will be sent to AAA to make room. Branyan is expected to play first base, while Matt LaPorta will see regular time in left field.

Since news first spread that Cleveland was negotiating with Russell Branyan, it was assumed that Branyan would serve as a backup to Matt LaPorta at first base and Travis Hafner at DH. Now it seems the Indians have something else in mind:

LaPorta, the 25 year old top prospect, will apparently shift over to left field to accommodate Branyan at first. Youngster Michael Brantley, in turn, will likely go back to AAA for further development and an everyday job. Before Branyan, the 22 year old was considered the favorite to be Cleveland’s regular left fielder, but now something has to give between he and LaPorta, and Brantley’s the one with a little more to prove in the minors. There is an outside shot that LaPorta could return to AAA and leave Brantley in the bigs, but the chances of this are low.

Over the course of the offseason, a number of teams have expressed some level of interest in free agent 1B Russell Branyan, but now it appears he’s down to two suitors:

As for the latter bit, Buster Olney offers some confirmation: