CLEVELAND _ Jason Kipnis will be trying his hand in the outfield again _ at least on an experimental basis _ for the first time since the early days of the Obama Administration.
Bradley Zimmer fractured his left hand in Sunday's win against the Baltimore Orioles. According to Indians manager Terry Francona, Zimmer is meeting with Dr. Thomas Graham in New York on Monday. The club is waiting until they hear back on that meeting to update any timeline for Zimmer, but a fractured hand only three weeks before the regular season is certainly a bad break.
That injury has left a hole in center field. The Indians do have plenty of potential options to handle center field on an increased basis, including Austin Jackson, Lonnie Chisenhall, Abraham Almonte and Tyler Naquin. Even Greg Allen is currently with the big league club (and is the one who replaced Zimmer Sunday night and started in center Monday night).
Once Kipnis, still on the disabled list with a stained hamstring that he re-aggravated, is cleared to play, though, the plan is for him to see how he handles center field in an effort to keep his bat in the lineup. The Indians have liked their current situation between second and third base with Jose Ramirez, the offensive contributions of Yandy Diaz and the defensive prowess of Giovanny Urshela and Erik Gonzalez.
"Because (Kipnis is) a week or so out, and feeling pretty good physically, and the fact that he was an outfielder in college, he's going to go work with (bench coach Brad Mills) this week," Francona said. "If he's able to handle it, all of a sudden you go from moving somebody out of the infield _ because we've got a really good thing going there _ to adding his bat in the lineup in center field."
Kipnis hasn't really played in the outfield extensively for eight years, dating back to his Mahoning Valley days in 2009, when he played fewer than 30 games between left and center field. He hasn't played the outfield above Double-A, save for one time shagging balls last year in Houston _ but that was mostly to talk smack to Michael Brantley and Chisenhall about how easy it'd be, Kipnis said.
"I told them I could do it in my sleep," Kipnis said. "Now, I have to wake up and see if I can actually do it. So, we'll find out."
Kipnis shagged balls prior to Monday's game. With Diaz, Urshela and Gonzalez playing so well, this might be the way to keep his bat in the lineup. So after eight years, at least for a bit, it's back to the outfield.
"The competitor in me just likes to be on the field. If it means I have to be in center, then I have to be in center," Kipnis said. "I just want to play. I thought about it for a second after Zimmer went down. And then Tito said he wanted to talk today, and I wasn't sure, and then it kind of hit me right before the meeting. I was like, 'He might actually ask me about this.' And it happened. You just kind of take it in stride."
This has been somewhat of a lost season for Kipnis as he's battled shoulder and hamstring injuries for much of the year. He has played in only 79 games, hitting .228 with a .695 OPS, 11 home runs, 22 doubles and 30 RBIs. With the Indians emerging as the current team to beat in baseball and the infield playing so well, the club has its options and less of a need to change things around now.
The Indians have the division in hand and could have a couple of weeks to see how Kipnis to center field. All of a sudden, they have some luxuries and depth that might force Kipnis to be flexible.
"I do have pride and the competitor in me thinks that, if I'm healthy and playing, that we're not even having this conversation," Kipnis said. "But, at the same time, you adjust accordingly to the way the year's gone and, with injuries and everything, you just try to fill in where you can. There's no doubt that Josey and Gio are fantastic defenders. I'm not blind. I can see it. They're making awesome plays and night in, night out. So, I've just got to find where I fit in at this point."
