Demoting Naquin a tough call for Francona

Tyler Naquin, who started spring training with the goal of becoming the Indians’ everyday center fielder, will have to get his groove back in Columbus.

Naquin was demoted to the Tribe’s AAA farm team on April 13 when the Indians activated Lonnie Chisenhall from the disabled list.

Chisenhall missed the first eight games of the season with a shoulder injury. He started 99 games in right field last year and played the same position for most of spring training, but he played center in exhibition games in San Antonio last month and started there against the White Sox on April 13 at Progressive Field.

“Millsy (bench coach Brad Mills) has been in my ear for the last year telling me how good he’d be in center,” manager Terry Francona said. “The couple times we’ve played him in center, he’s done nothing to make you feel any different.

“I do think good outfielders are good outfielders. I think if you have the skills, being in center should almost be the easiest if you move well enough because you see the ball better. (In San Antonio) he was off the ball like a good center fielder. It really stuck out. It might help us defensively.”

Francona said sending Naquin down was difficult. His other option was to demote Abraham Almonte, but Almonte was batting .250 over eight games with three RBI before the Indians and White Sox played. Naquin was hitting .235 with no RBI and five strikeouts in six games.

“When I say we stressed over it, it was a lot,” Francona said. “For where we are now, with (Michael Brantley) not quite ready to play every day, having a switch hitter is really helpful.

“I don’t think coming off the bench suits Naquin right now. I don’t think anybody has given up on him being an everyday player. I thought he showed a lot of maturity. We knew this was going to be a hard one for him. It was a hard one for us.”

Naquin hit .296 in 116 games with the Indians last year while hitting 14 home runs and driving in 43 runs.

Close call for Kipnis

Jason Kipnis was at his dressing stall in the Indians clubhouse April 13, showing no outward sign of what happened the night before during a rehab start in Akron.

Kipnis, rehabbing from a spring training shoulder injury, was hit on the left hand while batting in the first inning on a pitch thrown by Justus Sheffield of the Trenton Thunder. Ironically, Sheffield was one of four minor league players the Indians shipped to the Yankees for relief pitcher Andrew Miller at the trading deadline last summer.

Kipnis exited the game. He was taken for X-rays.

“He just has a bruise, which is good news,” Francona said. “He’ll miss a couple days. I think Saturday is his best-case scenario playing, but it’s just going to be a matter of a few days.”

Kipnis did not talk with a small herd of reporters standing about 20 feet from his locker, but he did flash a smile before grabbing his mitt and hustling out the clubhouse door for infield practice.

It has been a tough seven weeks for Kipnis. He was injured early in spring training and had only a handful of at-bats in Arizona, plus six more in Akron. He missed only six games all of last season.

He has already missed nine games in 2017.