Trevor Bauer says the decision on whether he'll return to the Indians' rotation or pitch out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season and postseason is out of his hands.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Manager Terry Francona, after watching Trevor Bauer throw a three-inning simulated game Tuesday afternoon at Progressive Field, said it was a "step in the right direction."
Bauer kiddingly told reporters, "I told Tito I was available for tonight."
The Indians, who clinched the AL Central on Saturday, open a three-game series against the White Sox tonight.
"I'm glad he feels that way," said Francona, "but I don't think that's going to happen, but it's nice to hear him say that."
Bauer is recovering from a stress fracture in his right leg. He suffered the injury on Aug. 11 when White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu hit him with a line drive. He's been working his way back ever since.
Last week Bauer threw bullpen sessions on Thursday and Saturday. Tuesday was the first time he's faced batters. Bauer felt his injury restricted him on Saturday, but said that was not the case Tuesday.
"I haven't seen the video yet to confirm, but my feeling coming off the mound is no, it wasn't," said Bauer.
Francona said he'll sit down with Bauer and the medical staff to determine their next step. The Indians want to get him back in games as quickly as possible, but they don't want to put him at risk because of his injury.
"We need to sit and talk with the medical staff and feel what's in his best interest," said Francona. "We know Trevor wants to pitch. From our standpoint, the quicker we can get him in a game, without risk, the better. But that's where you gotta listen to the medical guys, too."
The Indians were sure Bauer would keep his arm in shape, but they need to know if he can field his position and cover first base.
"I think I have to pass some tests fielding my position, covering first and some bunts, stuff like that," said Bauer. "Based on the information I have right now, I would feel comfortable execution wise (regarding his pitches) being able to go into a big-league game. So we're close."
Bauer said facing hitters on Tuesday helped.
"It helps a lot because then it's more about trying to execute a sequence (of pitches)," said Bauer. "There are counts. There's feedback on your stuff. It's still hard to get the adrenaline up to game levels, but there's definitely more there than in a bullpen (session).
"You get to two strikes and go, 'OK, I want to put this guy away.' Or you go 2-0 and it's 'I want to throw a strike here.' So, it definitely simulates the game a lot closer, and then really drives the external focus, because you're looking at a familiar setting, guys in the box, and just a familiar look. A lot of the internal stuff that you notice in the bullpen, you don't notice out there, because there's external stimulus."
Francona said Bauer threw between 17 and 19 pitches in each inning.
The Indians, counting Tuesday, have 13 games left in the season. It's unclear if that's enough time to put Bauer back in the rotation or have him pitch out of the bullpen for the postseason.
"I don't control that, so you'll have to talk to somebody else about that," said Bauer. "I say this all the time, I pitch when they tell me to pitch, whether that's in the starting rotation, in the bullpen, not at all. That's their decision."
Bubbly all around: Cody Allen and others chipped in to buy Indians players, coaches and staff members each a bottle of champagne to celebrate the team's third straight AL Central title. The bottles, enclosed in black boxes, were displayed on a table in the Tribe's locker room on Tuesday. The boxes were being autographed by each player on the team.
It's safe to say the champagne was a bit more expensive than the kind that was sprayed around the clubhouse on Saturday after a 15-0 division-clinching win over Detroit.
Easy does it: Edwin Encarnacion was rested for the second straight game Tuesday. He left Saturday's game after twisting his right ankle, but Francona said Encarnacion was fine and could have played Tuesday night.
No Abreu vs. Indians: Jose Abreu will miss this three-game series against the Indians because of an infection in his right thigh due to an ingrown hair. He needed a surgical procedure to get rid of the infection.
Abreu is a career .320 (16-for-50) with five homers and 12 RBI against Corey Kluber, who started against the White Sox on Tuesday.
Finally: Jose Ramirez is the first Tribe third baseman (75 percent of his games played at third) to drive in 100 or more runs in a season since Travis Fryman drove in 106 in 2000. Ramirez is just the third third baseman in MLB history to have a season in which he's hit 30-plus homers, stolen 30-plus bases, driven in 100-plus runs and scored 100-plus runs.
Howard Johnson and David Wright, both of the Mets, did it in 1989 and 2007, respectively. Ramirez is the first player at any position to have that kind of season since Milwaukee's Ryan Braun did it in 2012.