Monthly Archives: April 2019

Carlos Carrasco exits game with injury

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Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco exited Tuesday’s game against the Miami Marlins after a knee injury in the fourth inning.

An injury to a starting pitcher is the last thing that the Cleveland Indians need at this point in time. Unfortunately that is just what happened in Tuesday’s loss to the Miami Marlins. While attempting to cover first on a routine groundout Carlos Carrasco stumbled and injured his knee. Carrasco was able to finish the fourth inning on the mound but was removed due to some discomfort in his knee. Carrasco is getting an MRI on his knee, but it is for precautionary reasons.

Before suffering the injury Carlos Carrasco was pitching quite well. Carrasco allowed two hits in four inning while striking out four. Of Carrasco’s 62 pitches, 41 were strikes. Carrasco definitely looked locked in and was dominating Miami. Unfortunately things were not the same for Neil Ramirez. Ramirez gave up a solo home run on the first pitch he threw. Ramirez would allow three runs in the contest.

It is easy to imagine that if Carlos Carrasco did not get injured that his dominance on the mound would have continued. Carrasco was fantastic in his last start in Seattle and kept on rolling Tuesday. Over his last 11 innings Carrasco has allowed five hits and struck out 16 batters while walking two. Carrasco was building off his start against the Mariners were he shut down a much better offense than the Marlins.

Cleveland needs Carrasco’s MRI to come back clean. After losing Mike Clevinger for the majority of the season they cannot afford to lose another starting pitcher. The Indians margin for error at this current point in time is razor thin and losing another starter is not optimal. If Carlos Carrasco is fine health-wise there is no reason to panic.

Wednesday Morning Update

Per Zack Meisel of The Athletic Carlos Carrasco is fine and intends to make his next start.

The Indians dodged a huge bullet with this one. A serious injury to Carlos Carrasco could have absolutely derailed this season, even though this season is not off to the best of starts thus far.

The Indians do not need Gio Gonzalez

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The Cleveland Indians have an open spot in the rotation but going after recently release starting pitcher Gio Gonzalez is not a need.

Sure on paper this seems like a perfect match. The Cleveland Indians have an opening in the starting rotation and Gio Gonzalez has just been released. Gonzalez is receiving interest from multiple teams and should sign quickly. However Cleveland has not been named as a team interested in his services at this time.

While Gio Gonzalez has had an up and down performance over the past fews, his time with Milwaukee was considerably better than his time in Washington last season. In five starts Gonzalez went 3-0 with an ERA of 2.13. Gonzalez averaged 7.9 strikeouts per nine over 25.1 innings pitched.

Gonzalez’ numbers in Milwaukee are impressive and is a left handed starter. A left handed starter is something the Indians currently do not have. There are two problems, his desired contract and the fact Cleveland does not necessarily need a starter. Gonzalez was due to make a $3 million base salary with the Yankees before opting out. Gonzalez could have earned up to $9 million with performance incentives. This amount of money is simply out of the Indians price range. Especially considering Cleveland does not have a desperate need for a starting pitcher. The Indians have options available to them in their system currently.

Cleveland can turn to names such as Jefry Rodriguez, Cody Anderson and Adam Plutko, although Plutko is currently on the injured list. Cleveland can maneuver their way through the season and juggle the fifth starter position for the time being. The options of Rodriguez, Anderson and potentially Plutko should be able to hold down the fort until a time that Mike Clevinger can return. That is if Clevinger is able to return sometime this season.

Browns pass catchers are legit

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The group of pass catchers on the Cleveland Browns roster are quite impressive and may be one of the best groups in the league.

The possibility of the Cleveland Browns pass catching group looking like it currently did not seem possible a few years ago. To have players who can actually make an impact on any given play and not guys who were full of unfilled potential. Now with Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Antonio Callaway, Rashard Higgins and David Njoku in the mix, few teams can rival the talent level of this group.

Beckham and Landry

With Odell Beckham Jr. now occupying the number one receiver spot this allows Jarvis Landry to slide into his natural role. Essentially Robin to Beckham’s Batman. Beckham will always draw the attention of the defense while Landry will perform better in a complimentary role. Especially when that role is in an offense that features Beckham. With Beckham drawing a lot of attention this gives Landry the opportunity to run wild in the secondary.

Odell Beckham Jr. will be the dominant receiver that Cleveland fans have been wanting for years. Spectacular catches and impressive performances will be the norm. Beckham’s presence alone will open up the rest of the offense. Defense’s will be so worried about getting beat by Beckham that others will be able to make plays.

Callaway, Higgins and Njoku

Antonio Callaway can be Cleveland’s deep threat. Although he is more talented than others normally used in that role. A role that last year was occupied by the now departed Breshad Perriman. Callaway showed his ability to get behind the defense occasionally last season, but should be able to do so much more easily this season. Callaway should line up on the outside along with Beckham while Landry is in the slot. Although Callaway is capable of taking snaps as a slot receiver as well.

Rashard Higgins is back after signing a one-year deal and like Callaway will benefit with the presence of Beckham and Landry. Higgins already has chemistry with Baker Mayfield, now add in the fact that he is essentially a third/fourth receiver in this offense and that is quite impressive. Higgins showed his ability to be a go-to target when needed for Mayfield and should be able to build upon that next season.

All this talk about receivers and there is still David Njoku to discuss. Njoku is a physical freak who has improved over his first two seasons. The Browns should be able to get Njoku in more favorable matchups due to the other pass catchers on the roster. This season could be a breakout for the Browns tight end.

At the end of the day Baker Mayfield is what makes this offense work. If a pass catcher is unable to get open Mayfield will move on to the next one. Mayfield is the type of quarterback who does not need superstar pass catchers. Rather Mayfield is able to make plays with just about anyone that lines up under center. Having superstar players is a just a bonus and makes the Cleveland Browns offense that much more dangerous.

Indians continue home stand against Marlins

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The Cleveland Indians continue thier home stand with a short two-game series against the Miami Marlins.

The Cleveland Indians will look to turn things around in their second consecutive series against a National League East opponent, the Miami Marlins. Cleveland’s series against Atlanta did not go to well due to the bullpen implosion and lackluster start from Shane Bieber on Sunday night. Luckily they take on a last place Marlins team which should give the Indians a more than fair shot.

Game 1: April 23 6:10 P.M. – Carlos Carrasco (2-2) versus Pablo Lopez (1-3)

Game 1 features two starters who currently have high ERA’s. Carlos Carrasco’s ERA is still over seven and Pablo Lopez has an ERA just under six. Neither are optimal and both pitchers will look to improve upon their rough starts to the 2019 season.

Carlos Carrasco has only faced a couple of Marlins batters in the past, but most of this was when they were on American League teams. Curtis Granderson is 6-14 with two home runs, a double and four runs driven in. Granderson is the only Miami hitter with a positive track record in a large sample size. Although Starlin Castro is 1-2, but that is not enough information to base anything off of. Neil Walker is 0-3 off Cookie and Martin Prado is 1-6.

There are only two batters in the Indians lineup who have faced Lopez previously. Jake Bauers is 0-3 while Carlos Santana is 1-2. Lopez has not gotten very deep into games, his longest start being 5.1 innings. Lopez has shown previously that he is susceptible to giving up runs and Cleveland will need to take advantage of that.

Game 2: April 24 1:10 P.M. – TBA versus Sandy Alcantara (1-2)

The Indians are yet to announce their starter for the second and final game of this series. This could mean a spot start for someone from AAA to keep the rotation intact for the upcoming four-game series with Houston.

Miami will send Sandy Alcantara to the mound in hopes he can turnaround a two start losing streak. Like Lopez, only two Indians batters have face Alcantara before. Kevin Plawecki is 0-1 with two walks and Carlos Santana is 1-2 with a walk. Also like Lopez, Alcantara has been hit hard by good offenses. While Cleveland is yet to live up to expectations at the plate, this series could prove to be a catalyst for an offense that desperate needs to get things going.

Tyler Naquin is struggling big time

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After a stretch that saw Tyler Naquin quite productive at the plate, the Cleveland Indians outfielder is struggling dating back to April 10th.

After 10 games into the 2019 season Tyler Naquin was hitting .300. It looked like that the Indians outfielder had reverted back to his rookie form and could be an integral part of the team. Things have not gone well since April 10th and Tyler Naquin has struggled.

Since the last time Naquin was hitting .300 he has struck out 10 times in 29 at-bats. Naquin’s batting average has steadily dropped since April 10th, it is now sitting at .220 for the season. This is hardly the production that Cleveland needs from Naquin at this point in time. Even though key starters have returned to the lineup, overall the offense is still not performing up to the level it is capable of and needs everyone to contribute in order to win. This includes Naquin.

Tyler Naquin only has four hits in 30 plate appearances over the last eight games. Naquin does have one walk over this stretch, but it was intentional so it counts and it does not count at the same time. Naquin did not earn the walk as much as it was given to him.

The only bright spot to takeaway from this is that Tyler Naquin has a home run and four runs driven in. Aside from that there is nothing to write home about in regards to this recent stretch. A stretch that has Naquin slashing .138/.167/.241/.408. Naquin’s slash line is unacceptable and needs to improve if he is going to continue seeing the field. When a player struggles this much at the plate it is hard to justify keeping their bat in the lineup.

Indians manager Terry Francona gives players every chance to prove that they belong before moving on. With how poorly Tyler Naquin has performed one must wonder how much longer the leash for Naquin is considering the other outfield options on the roster.

Cleveland Indians – Call to the Bullpen

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During spring training there were many questions, concerns, and fan complaints regarding the Indians bullpen. The team had lost reliable and steady set up man Bryan Shaw after the 2017 season. Andrew Miller elected for free agency and signed with the St. Louis Cardinals. All time Indians saves leader, Cody Allen, was also a free agent and signed with the Los Angeles Angels. This left the team with a lot of big shoes to fill and the question of who would the Indians bring in to fill them?

According to fan complaints, it appeared that the Indians did nothing in the off season to address their bullpen needs. They did resign LHP Oliver Perez. They did sign Tyler Clippard, Alex Wilson, Justin Grimm, AJ Cole, and James Hoyt to minor league deals and invited them to spring training. These aren’t exactly the top available free agent relief pitchers fans were looking for. Tyler Clippard, who is currently recovering from a spring training injury, has been assigned to AAA Columbus and is working on his recovery there. So the questions remained, who would be in the Indians bullpen when it came time to play real games and what would be the result?

The bullpen surprises in April

Three weeks into the regular season you’ll find one of the most pleasant surprises thus far is the bullpen. Currently the bullpen consists of: Nick Wittgren, Neil Ramirez, Tyler Olson, Dan Otero, Oliver Perez, Adam Cimber, and Brad Hand. Look familiar? Of course it does. Except for Nick Wittgren, every one of these players pitched steadily out of the Cleveland bullpen in 2018. Jon Edwards and Cody Anderson have also made appearances out of the bullpen as well. Currently this squad ranks 3rd in the AL in bullpen stats. Combined they have a 3.42 ERA, 66 strikeouts and a 1.32 WHIP. Thanks to the brilliant starting pitching so far, they have appeared pitched the sixth-fewest innings (68.1).

Last year this same exact squad struggled at times to hold leads, get crucial outs in high leverage situations, and blew saves. What has changed?

Terry Francona about the bullpen:

Manager Terry Francona provides the answers in saying “maybe it wasn’t fair to the guys last year in not necessarily defining their roles.” “When Brad Hand and Adam Cimber came over it was exactly what we thought we needed, fresh arms, a proven closer and another tough lefty in Brad.” “The problem may have been we put them in situations that weren’t consistent with what they knew in San Diego”. “When you looked at our bullpen in August last year, there was Cody Allen, Andrew Miller, and the rest of the squad that had been together the past few seasons. We brought in Oliver in June and he performed amazing. We tried to play matchups, give guys days off and rest as we were preparing for the stretch and post season, and it never really gelled”.

Francona also admitted they didn’t communicate properly with Hand what his role in the bullpen would be and that Cleveland used Cimber differently than San Diego did. “Cimber was a rookie last year when he started with the Padres. Cimber saw time in mid game relief and generally threw full innings. When we acquired him, we thought that with his unique style and with AL teams not having seen him, we could plug him into any situation to get us that crucial out.”

And of Brad Hand, “Brad was excited to be here, ready to compete on a playoff bound team. He knew we had a proven closer in Cody and a high leverage man in Miller. He was willing to pitch whenever and wherever we needed.” “The problem was with him a lefty and Miller a lefty and Hand also being a closer we were asking him to be too much, we were never consistent with him.”

While not an excuse, there are other factors that may have plagued Cimber and Hand in Cleveland last year. A lot of pressure came with being on a contending team. Everyone thought they’d be the saving grace to a lackluster bullpen. However, as they found out, relief pitching in the AL is a lot different than pitching in the NL. Pitching in a playoff atmosphere with high expectations is unlike pitching in laid back San Diego. Even the new climate, time zone, league, and who knows, new food can affect a player. I’ve never been to San Diego but have heard of their famous fish tacos. If those exist in Cleveland, they CAN’T be the same. Cleveland and the Midwest diet is much different from Southern California’s. Culture shock does exist in professional sports.

Brad Hand is the closer

As spring training began in 2019, only one piece of the Indians bullpen puzzle was in place. Early in camp the Indians announced that Brad Hand will be the closer. Everyone else would be competing for a job. The team would look at everyone closely and figure out the proper roles and define who each would be.

Three weeks now into the regular season the bullpen is one of the biggest surprises. With an offense that at times is still struggling at the plate, starting pitching and the relief core has kept this team competitive and winning. Offensive reinforcements are on the way. Jason Kipnis returned to action during the Seattle series. OF Carlos Gonzalez was called up from his conditioning assignment at AAA and is now in the lineup. By Easter Sunday, Francisco Lindor was ready to return. Hopefully these additions will get the offense back into a steady lineup.

This team was expected to have the best starting pitching in MLB. The bullpen was questionable. However, those arms have settled in nicely so far. They are figuring out their roles and getting into a rhythm. They’re stepping into the game for the starters and getting those crucial inning ending outs. They’re holding onto the tie or lead. Closer Brad Hand is doing exactly what the team announced he should be doing, saving games on the back end.

The bullpen still needs definition

As stated, this year’s bullpen squad has figured out who they are. Side armed, submarine style RHP Adam Cimber has matched up against righty batters. LHP’s Oliver Perez and Tyler Olson have matched up against lefty batters. Dan Otero has pitched in middle relief giving a full inning plus when needed. Nick Wittgren, Jon Edwards, Neil Ramirez have all contributed in the later innings. Brad Hand closes. There hasn’t been the traditional 8th inning setup man yet. So far that role has gone to whoever is left in the pen and matches up best with who’s at bat. It could be said that the set up man is the first arm out of the bullpen when the Indians have the lead, regardless of what inning it is.

With the absence of starting pitcher Mike Clevinger for the foreseeable future, the Indians will be making many pitching transactions. Jefry Rodriguez was called up for a start in the recent Kansas City series and he pitched well. With off days on the schedule the Indians sent him back down to AAA. Relief pitchers were called up to bolster the bullpen and the Indians employed an eight man pen. They will most likely use this strategy for awhile. Clevinger’s possible return is August, but is also truly unknown. Until then the Indians will use all options and look for more parts from AAA.

Other experienced relievers are available

The Indians won’t need a 5th starter until April 24th. Currently Cody Anderson is the extra man in the bullpen. AAA Columbus does offer options should the Indians need more arms. Nick Goody is currently in Columbus. He spent 2017 and until an injury occurred, 2018 in the Indians bullpen. AJ Cole, Brooks Pounders, and James Hoyt, while not on the 40 man roster, have MLB experience and their contracts could be selected. Tyler Clippard recently reported to the Clippers. He was in extended spring training in Goodyear, AZ rehabbing through a pectoral muscle injury. He pitched well this spring until that injury. The Indians have him on their radar as he would’ve most likely made the big league club out of spring training.

It’s amazing what bullpens look like and do for their teams year after year. They can go from being the best to worst in a matter of a few games. They can get predictable and figured out by opposing batters. With the only known factor of Brad Hand to close out a game, the Indians bullpen has been everything but predictable. A few months and weeks ago there were questions marks surrounding this part of the team. Now there are exclamation points.

Mixed reports about Cavaliers and Rick Pitino

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There have been mixed reports about the Cleveland Cavaliers having interest in current Panathinaikos head coach Rick Pitino.

The first report about the Cavaliers interest in Rick Pitino came out Saturday. Cleveland has been looking to find Larry Drew’s replacement since the season ended. Drew and the Cavaliers agreed to part ways after a trying season. It is easy to understand why Cleveland would have interested in Pitino. Pitino has a history of success, although it is at the college level and not the NBA. Pitino previously coached in the NBA during the late 1980’s, late 1990’s and early 2000’s. In six seasons with the New York Knicks and Boston Celtics Pitino compiled a 192-220 record.

However Cleveland has since denied the interest in Pitino. Cleveland claims they have no interest in the Panathinaikos head coach. This could be true, but this could also be part of the overall hiring process. Cleveland has interest in several other candidates who are currently assistants on playoff teams. It is entirely possible that this is case of not wanting to burn bridges with potential head coaches before even entering the interview process.

Rick Pitino has sort of a sketchy past, most notably the scandal at Louisville regarding pay for play. Pitino was fired from Louisville and the 2013 NCAA Tournament Championship was forfeited. Even though the title was forfeited it still happened. Pitino coached that Louisville team to a championship.

If the Cavaliers believe that Rick Pitino can help guide their current young roster, then it is hard to fault their thought process. Although it is worth noting that there are plenty of other options out there without the checkered past. Rick Pitino might be a name, but it is probably a wise idea to look in a different direction for the next head coach of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Indians split doubleheader with Braves

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The Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves split Saturday’s traditional doubleheader.

After Saturday’s doubleheader the series between the Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves is split 1-1. This leaves Sunday’s series finale on Sunday Night Baseball as the game that determines the winner of this interleague matchup.

Game 1: Indians 8 – Braves 4

The first game found the Indians on the winning side of things. Corey Kluber got the start and endured a rough beginning to the game. After striking Ozzie Albies and Josh Donaldson, Kluber walked Freddie Freeman and Ronald Acuna Jr. Nick Markakis drove in a run to give Atlanta an early lead.

A similar rough patch occurred during the third innings. Albies led off with a double followed by a Donaldson infield single. Kluber was able to strikeout Freeman for the first out of the inning. Markakis would drive in another run via a sacrifice fly for his second RBI of the game.

Corey Kluber would allow two more runs in the game. Both came in the seventh inning. Brian McCann and Matt Joyce hit back-to-back solo home runs. Nick Wittgren and Brad Hand would pitch the final two innings of the game to secure the victory.

The Indians offense came alive in the first game, collecting 10 hits and scoring eight runs. Carlos Santana got things started in the first with an RBI single, this tied the game at 1.

In the fourth inning trialing by 1, Indians shortstop Max Moroff came to the plate and delivered with his first home run as a member of the Indians.

The fifth inning saw even more scoring. Cleveland batted around the order en route to a six run inning. Allen drove in the first run of the inning with an RBI double. Tyler Naquin would single allowing Allen to score. Moroff drove in Naquin with a single. Leonys Martin would get into the act with an RBI single of his own. Moroff would score on a passed ball, making it 7-2 Indians. Jason Kipnis would drive in Cleveland’s final run of the game with an RBI single.

Game 2: Indians 7 – Braves 8

In a similar fashion to the first game, the Cleveland Indians offense was on fire. Scoring seven runs over the first two innings, including batting around the order for the second time Saturday.

Cleveland’s batters took advantage of a shaky Touki Toussaint early in the game. Leonys Martin scored the first run of the game on a Toussaint wild pitch. Carlos Gonzalez would drive in Jose Ramirez on the very next pitch.

In the second inning Jose Ramirez would drive in two runs with a single off of Toussaint. Carlos Santana would follow with an RBI single making it 5-0. Jake Bauers would drive in Cleveland’s final two runs of the game to make it 7-0 Indians after the second inning.

Trevor Bauer got the start for the Tribe, allowing two runs on three hits in 6.1 innings while striking out 10. Bauer was fantastic and continued his dominant start to the season. If it were not for Bauer’s pitch count being over 100 going into the seventh inning he could have pitched longer, but it was and he was relieved in the seventh inning. That is when things fell apart.

Dan Otero relieved Trevor Bauer and gave up a two-run home run to Dansby Swanson, this closed the book on Bauer’s day as one run was charged to each pitcher.

Disaster in the ninth

In the top of the ninth with Oliver Perez already having pitched two thirds of an inning, Perez gave up a leadoff single to Nick Markakis. Adam Cimber game in for Perez and things went haywire afterwards. Although Cimber got off to a good start, getting Johan Camargo to line out for the first out of the inning, things ballooned quickly. Cimber would walk the next two batters he faced, Dansby Swanson and Tyler Flowers, loading the bases. Cimber managed to get the second out of the inning by way of a Ender Inciarte strikeout.

Now with two outs in the ninth innings the Braves rallied and the Indians bullpen imploded rather quickly. Ozzie Albies singled to drive in Swanson and Markakis. Cimber would walk Josh Donaldson to load the bases and Cimber’s night was done.

Tyler Olson came in for exactly one batter and walked in a run. This made it a one run game in the ninth. Cody Anderson came on for Olson and gave up a two-run double to Ronald Acuna Jr. Anderson would immediately walk the next batter and then end the ninth with another out by Johan Camargo.

Cleveland’s rally did not go as well as Atlanta’s. Jake Bauers, Tyler Naquin and Roberto Perez all struck out in the bottom of the ninth to end the game quite unceremoniously.

The Indians will get a chance to take the series in the rubber match taking place at 7:00 P.M. on Sunday Night Baseball.

Is a draft day trade of Duke Johnson coming?

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Even though the Cleveland Browns have stated they do not want to trade Duke Johnson, could a trade on draft day be in the cards?

Cleveland Browns general manager has stated he does not intend to trade running back Duke Johnson. Head coach Freddie Kitchens apparently views him as integral to their offense next season. All of this does not change the fact that Johnson requested a trade. It is clear that Johnson does not view that he has a longterm future in Cleveland with the current stable of running backs on the roster. Nick Chubb is the obvious starter with the suspended Kareem Hunt coming in as a reinforcement halfway through the season. Johnson is the odd man out and he sees that. Even though Cleveland has stated they will not trade Johnson, could a trade still happen on draft day?

A move back into the first round could make a trade of Duke Johnson possible.

There is a feeling among some that John Dorsey may try to move back into the first round. (Cleveland does not have a first round pick this season due to the trade for Odell Beckham Jr.). There is the possibility that if the right player is still available towards the end of the first round that Dorsey could make his move. A move that could include Duke Johnson. The Browns statements in regards to Johnson could be an act to inflate his value and make him more desirable. Even though the talent he possesses in conjunction with his affordable contract (three years and $15.6 million remaining) may be enough to make a move without artificially increasing trade interest.

Of course it would take more than just Cleveland’s second rounder and Duke Johnson to move up. At least one more high-round pick would be required for such a move in addition some to mid-rounders. It all depends on whether John Dorsey finds himself in a position to make a move and draft someone he really likes. Dorsey already has shown that he has zero attachment to players picked by the previous regime (with the exception of a select few). If Dorsey can move Johnson to draft an impact player from the start it is hard to imagine he would pass up that opportunity.

Francisco Lindor may return this weekend

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Cleveland Indians All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor may return to the lineup as soon as this weekend provided he is cleared by the medical staff.

The Cleveland Indians are so close to getting a key member of their team back. Per Tom Withers, Francisco Lindor is back in Cleveland and could return to the team for this weekend’s series with Atlanta.

Tom Withers also reported that Lindor’s status will be determined Saturday morning with the expectation that he will be activated.

Francisco Lindor looks fine in Columbus

As Tom Withers mentioned Francisco Lindor looks ready. Lindor was a member of the Columbus Clippers on a rehab assignment. In 3 games Lindor collected five hits, three of which were of the extra-base variety. Those extra-base hits being one double and two home runs. Lindor showed that he can still swing a bat quite nicely. The only concern is that Lindor did not look entirely healthy while rounding the bases.

This clip is from April 16th and there is still a bit of a limp. Although while rounding the bases on a homer April 18th he looked a little better, but it is worth noting that there is still a limp.

Cleveland has been able to win without one of the best players in baseball.

Even without Lindor the Tribe have been able to win games. If things are not entirely right it may be the right decision to give him a bit more time. The Indians are not in a tailspin and in desperate need of Lindor at this moment in time.

However if Cleveland’s medical staff determines he can play, it may be wise to give him some days off early in the return process. There is also the possibility of having Lindor DH in order to ensure he does not re-injure his ankle in the field.

It is all about the long haul with Francisco Lindor. It is not worth rushing him back prematurely only for him to suffer another injury. The postponement of Friday’s game with Atlanta gives the Indians and Francisco Lindor more time to properly evaluate his injury and if he is indeed good to go. Although this probably means if he can play he will not appear in one of the two games of Saturday’s doubleheader.