The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Kipnis sidelined by rotator cuff injury
Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis has a rotator cuff strain and will stop throwing for a couple days. Kipnis got a cortisone shot on Feb. 25, and Manager Terry Francona didn’t sound very worried about it.
GOODYEAR, ARIZ. » Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis has a rotator cuff strain and will stop throwing for a couple days.
Kipnis got a cortisone shot on Feb. 25, and Manager Terry Francona didn’t sound very worried about the situation.
“If it was during the season we wouldn’t do anything,” Francona said before a Feb. 26 spring game against the Chicago Cubs in Mesa. “There’s so much time to get ready that to kind of put a Band-Aid on it now didn’t seem to make sense.”
The 29-year-old Kipnis hit .275 with 23 homers and 82 RBI last season, helping Cleveland to the AL Central title. He added four more homers and eight RBI in the playoffs as the Indians made it all the way to the World Series before losing to the Cubs in seven games.
Kipnis had been on a shoulder program.
“I would say probably eight out of 10 guys, as they get their arms loose, you feel something,” Francona said. “You throw through stuff and you get through the aches and pains of getting back, but then when there is some history there, you just try to use good judgment.
“He can do all his cardio and everything and all that stuff, but throwing is shut down for four to five days. I don’t think he’s going to hit today.”
The Indians also announced left-hander Tim Cooney will be sidelined for 10 to 12 weeks because of a muscle strain in his arm. Cooney went 1-0 with a 3.16 ERA in six starts with St. Louis last season and was claimed off waivers from the Cardinals in November.
“Originally, they thought it was forearm,” Francona said. “It’s lower than that. By all accounts, it is an extremely unique area.”
Salazar sizzles
Danny Salazar breezed through his first outing for the Indians. No extra adrenaline from facing the Chicago Cubs. No interest in revisiting the World Series. Just another day at work. Salazar pitched two crisp innings, and Cleveland and Chicago played to a 1-1 tie in spring training on Feb. 26.
“I was just trying to work on my fastball,” said Salazar, who allowed one hit and struck out three. “Trying to work down on it and the first guy that I face, it was a walk. But after that, just trying to relax and try to get my tempo back.”
The Indians battled injuries for much of last season, but still won the AL Central and made it all the way to the World Series. Then they won three of the first four games against Chicago, but the Cubs rallied for their first title since 1908, winning in the 10th inning of Game 7.
The rematch — in name only, really — looked nothing like their classic meeting last fall, with each side taking the opportunity to a look at several players in front of a sellout crowd of 15,388 on a typically sunny Arizona day. Cubs manager Joe Maddon called it just another spring game, and Salazar sounded a similar note.
“What happened already happened,” he said. “I think that’s the past. This is a new year and we have a new goal and right now we’re just trying to get ready for the season.”
Salazar missed the final part of last season because of tightness in his right forearm, but he returned in the World Series and pitched three scoreless innings in relief. He went 11-6 with a 3.87 ERA in 25 starts last year before he got hurt, making the All-Star team for the first time.
“I think if you keep yourself healthy, you know there’s a lot of things that you can do,” he said.
Albert Almora Jr. walked and scored in the fourth for Chicago. Almora is expected to share time in center with Jon Jay after Dexter Fowler signed with St. Louis in free agency.
Jake Buchanan pitched two hitless innings for the Cubs, and Matt Szczur went 2 for 2 with an RBI single.