Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner returns to starting lineup tonight after being reduced to pinch-hitting role for nine games.
Travis Hafner got off the bench and back into the starting lineup against the Blue Jays on Monday night.INDIANS INSIDER
Clubhouse confidential: Travis Hafner lost a chess match to Shelley Duncan in the Tribe clubhouse before batting practice. Pronk said it was the first time they had played.
“That was embarrassing,” Hafner said. “I don’t think you’ll see that the rest of the year. That’s one time in a million you’ll see Duncan beat me. I was taking piece after piece, I was up big in material, but I didn’t pay attention to my king.”
Duncan maintained that he evened his record against Hafner at 1-1, having lost in an i-Pad match.
Hafner said: “Oh, that’s right, I forgot about that one. Sometimes when you play a guy and beat him easily, you don’t remember it.”
Hafner plays hours of computer chess on the road.
From the gridiron: Matt LaPorta and Trevor Crowe threw the football in the outfield Monday afternoon. Both looked good doing it; most of the passes were tight spirals. LaPorta connected with a moving Crowe several times from at least 25 yards.
“It’s a good way to warm up a bit, to get the blood flowing,” LaPorta said.
They’re in: As of Monday afternoon, the Indians had signed 13 of their 50 draft picks and eight non-drafted free agents. The latest to join were outfielder Aaron Siliga (17th round) and lefty Kyle Petter (34th).
Stat of the day: The Indians have used 20 position players and 15 pitchers.
— Dennis Manoloff
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Designated hitter Travis Hafner stepped out of the freezer Monday night and into the starting lineup against the Blue Jays.
Hafner started for the first time since June 17 against the Mets at Progressive Field. For the nine games that followed, he was reduced to an expensive pinch-hitter as the Indians played in National League venues.
Hafner went 0-for-5 with a hit-by-pitch on the trip. He struck out once and grounded out four times. He did not play in two of the three games last weekend in Cincinnati.
"I'm excited to be starting again, so I can get back into a rhythm," he said Monday afternoon. "We knew what the situation was going in, and I tried to make the most of the pinch-hitting role. I just didn't swing the bat very well."
Monday, Hafner reached after being hit by Toronto's Ricky Romero and scored the tiebreaking run in the sixth inning. He also singled in the eighth. He had hit in six straight (8-for-20) before the trip commenced June 18 in Pittsburgh.
"Sometimes there's a tendency, when you know you're only going to get one at-bat, to try to do too much," he said. "You get pretty amped up. I might have been a little anxious."
Indians manager Manny Acta was asked about having interleague in the rearview mirror; his club went 5-13. Acta said the best part was Hafner being able to play regularly again.
"It's totally unfair to have him get five at-bats in nine games," Acta said. "You can get five at-bats in one game."
Hafner did, in fact, get five June 17.
"It's probably going to take him a few at-bats to get comfortable again," Acta said. "It's about timing and rhythm."
Under normal circumstances, Acta said, he might have sat Pronk against Toronto's tough lefty Romero. But "Travis needs to see pitches," Acta said.
Almost there: Infielder Jason Donald hopes to return to the lineup Tuesday. Donald jammed his left wrist while making a defensive play last Friday in Cincinnati.
"At first, it was really, really sore," he said. "But the trainers have done a great job of working it out, getting it close. It's made a huge jump from Sunday to [Monday]."
Acta said: "Jason is playable but still a little sore. We want to make sure he's 100 percent before we throw him out there."
Cab fare: Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera, who fractured his left forearm and underwent surgery in May, could be taking grounders by the end of the week. He already is playing catch. On his current path, Cabrera could return to playing by late July/early August -- but only after a significant number of at-bats on a rehab assignment.
"A nice, short rehab is not going to do it," Acta said. "Asdrubal's aware of that, he understands that. He's been out for a while. I hate to give you a number of at-bats because I don't want to get pigeon-holed, but it's got to be enough for him to feel like he can play nine innings consistently and not be overmatched."
Acta said Cabrera will be checked by a doctor Wednesday.
In the clear: Right-hander Shane Lindsay has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Class AA Akron. He was claimed June 1 from the Yankees and designated for assignment June 24 when Jayson Nix was added to the Tribe roster.
Lindsay entered Monday having made four relief appearances for the Aeros in June.
Finally: The next two high-end prospects to be promoted from Class AAA Columbus likely will be outfielder Michael Brantley and right-hander Carlos Carrasco.
Brantley, who began the season with the Tribe, entered Monday hitting .314 in 54 games with the Clippers. He was 13 for his last 28. He continues to work on shortening his swing and getting on top of the ball.
"He's close," Acta said.
Carrasco is 6-3 with a 4.26 ERA in 14 starts. He has given up 87 hits in 86 2/3 innings, walked 29 and struck out 73.
"Carlos barely missed making the club out of spring training, and it's only fair, and the right thing to do, to take a look at him this year," Acta said.
Acta said a Tribe starter does not need to perform poorly for Carrasco to get the call.