CLEVELAND _ The Indians' pitching staff took two blows on Tuesday.
Relief pitcher Andrew Miller, who exited Monday night's game after seven pitches, and starting pitcher Danny Salazar were both placed on the 10-day disabled list.
Miller aggravated the same right knee injury _ patella tendonitis _ that warranted a stint on the disabled list earlier this month. He was only activated off the DL on Friday. In Monday night's win against the Boston Red Sox, Miller again felt the discomfort on a particular pitch. When it again bothered him on his next pitch, he left the game.
This is an injury more commonly found amongst NBA players. So, with the Indians searching for answers, they are reaching out to their friends across the Gateway Plaza.
"Our medical people are starting to put their heads together," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "Seems like what he has is most often [felt] by the NBA players because of the pounding and things like that. So we reached out to the Cavs just to see what if, if they've had something similar, who they reached out to, things like that. Because really the best diagnosis is rest. I don't think Andrew or us really wants to just, you know, [let it be]. He wants to see if he can be proactive as he's been."
When Miller entered the game, home-plate umpire Hunter Wendelstedt was taken out. Wendelstedt had previously taken of a pitch off the face mask while Red Sox reliever Joe Kelly warmed up. He stayed in the game after a delay but eventually had to exit as Miller was entering the game, which led to Alan Porter having to take over home-plate duties and change into his gear. It's possible that 10-to-15-minute delay might have affected Miller, who had been warming up for some time before that delay. But, the Indians aren't connecting the two situations.
Miller had felt great about his knee entering Monday. But that all changed rather quickly.
"I think we, with all the information and all the feedback I was given, I felt like we had a pretty good plan in place," Miller said. "I was feeling pretty confident and happy in the direction we were going, but just I think the amount of time it took honestly was the biggest setback and again you can't control that. I can't control a wild pitch in between innings taking out an umpire."
Aggravating that injury so quickly certainly isn't a good sign for the club. Miller's true value as one of the elite relievers in the game rests with the impact he can make in the postseason, when built-in off days allow for managers to utilize relievers to a greater degree. Having Miller ready for October must now be one of the Indians' primary focuses.
"Obviously, if we end up making the playoffs, we're going to need Andrew Miller," pitching coach Mickey Callaway said. "I think that's the goal right now, to get him where he can go out there and be the guy he wants to be and that we need him to be. I don't think he felt he could do that at this moment."
Salazar was placed on the DL with elbow inflammation. He missed most of June and July with shoulder soreness and had been on a tear prior to his most recent outing on Sunday. In his first five starts off the DL, Salazar posted a 1.39 ERA and struck out 46 hitters, looking every bit the pitcher who earned an All-Star bid last season. In Sunday's start against the Kansas City Royals, though, Salazar was roughed up for six runs on 12 hits in 4 2/3 innings.
"Danny felt some stiffness in his elbow," Francona said. "He said when he feels that, it's hard to let it loose. So we met last night and said, 'OK you have a side day [Tuesday], let's see how your side day goes. If your side day goes well, pitch on Friday. If not, we'll make [some moves].' "
The starting rotation was already without Josh Tomlin, who is rehabbing from a strained hamstring and not yet ready to return. A few weeks ago, the Indians were staring at the issue of having six starting pitchers with no clear choice of who to either demote to Triple-A or relegate to the bullpen. That problem has reversed, with the Indians soon needing to figure out a five-man plan.
Relief pitcher Shawn Armstrong and third baseman/outfielder Yandy Diaz were promoted to take their places on the active 25-man roster. But with Salazar now out, the plan is for Ryan Merritt to be promoted to start Friday's game against the Royals. The hope is that Tomlin will be close enough to return to then slot into the rotation the next turn.
Diaz was promoted to allow Carlos Santana the opportunity to rest for a couple of days. He exited Monday's game with lower back tightness, but is not expected to need a stint on the DL.
"I give [Santana] a lot of credit [that] he tried to play [Monday] night and I know he was feeling it," Francona said. "This will kind of give us a little bit of protection there too."
