Cleveland Indians' Jason Kipnis to Miss a Few Days
Cleveland Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis has a rotator cuff strain and will miss four to five days.
Typically during spring training, Major League Baseball teams are extra cautious with their players in hopes to have them at full strength for Opening Day. As such, the Cleveland Indians are holding Jason Kipnis out of action for the next few days after it was discovered that the second baseman has a rotator cuff strain.
Kipnis received a cortisone shot on Saturday, but the situation is far from serious. Indians manager Terry Francona said, via the Associated Press, that the team doesn't foresee anything serious due to the strain.
#Indians Jason Kipnis is shut down for a few days with a shoulder strain that was revealed in a MRI. It doesn't appear to be serious.
— Bernie Pleskoff (@BerniePleskoff) February 26, 2017
"If it was during the season we wouldn't do anything," Francona said on Sunday, per Yahoo.com. "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."
Before the strain, Kipnis had been on a throwing program. Francona noted that most players go through aches and pains this early in spring training.
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"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."
Last season, Kipnis enjoyed one of the more productive seasons of his career, as he was consistently able to match his power with his contact hitting. The 29-year-old hit .275/.343/.469 with 23 homers and 15 steals last season. He also played in a career-high 156 games.
If the problem were to persist, the Indians don't have a ton of infield depth on their bench. Jose Ramirez, the team's starting third baseman, is capable of playing second base – but that would leave the team with a hole at the hot corner. As of now, the primary bench infielder projects to be Erik Gonzalez, who made a brief appearance with the team in the majors last season.
But the Indians likely won't need to worry, as Kipnis should return to full strength by the end of the week.
