When Nick Swisher was in the Indians clubhouse last week, he talked about how much versatility there is with the roster. With Swisher being activated off the disabled list and making his season debut on Tuesday in Kansas City, it should add even more.
Swisher is in the lineup as the designated hitter and will bat sixth. In six rehab games with Triple-A Columbus he hit .375 (9-for-24) with a home run and five RBI.
Before spring training, many thought that Swisher would be ready by mid-March, but the rehab process from last August's bilateral knee surgery was slower than expected.
"I thought this would be something I would bounce back from but this was something a lot worse. Now the hard days are behind me and consistency is the biggest thing," Swisher said last week. "I'm proud of what I've done and been able to bounce back."
Swisher's biggest impact should come when facing left-handers as the Tribe have won just two of 10 games. He has a .266 career average against them and .295 in his first year with the Indians in 2013 (the average dropped to .168 last year).
Everyone is hoping that Swisher can bounce the way Ryan Raburn has. Raburn is batting .457 against lefties this season and was 6-for-14 on the homestand. Raburn is hitting so well that Terry Francona has him batting cleanup on Tuesday and has moved up Carlos Santana to second.
Even though Swisher is in the DH spot on Tuesday, Terry Francona and general manager Chris Antonetti did not want to activate Swisher until he played multiple games in the outfield.
As to where Swisher fits in with Brandon Moss and David Murphy already in right field, Murphy has not faced a left-hander this season. Of the 14 games he has started, nine have been at designated hitter. Of the 20 games Moss has started, only two have been at DH.
After a slow start to the season, Moss is 12-for-39 with three home runs and 16 RBI in the past 11 games. Murphy has said throughout that he will take on a reduced role as long as it helps the team win.
The Indians come into Kansas City after the Royals took two of three at Progressive Field last week. Swisher is likely to be in the lineup again on Wednesday with the Royals starting another left-hander (Danny Duffy).
