Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports
OAKLAND — Jason Kipnis sore right shoulder might be more serious than originally thought. And the Cleveland Indians might have a decision to make about his playing status.
Before Sunday’s game in Oakland, Kipnis underwent an MRI, which revealed enough to convince Cleveland manager Terry Francona to sit the All-Star second baseman and replace his bat at the top of the order with right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall.
“We’ll talk to (Cleveland’s head team physician Dr. Mark Schickendantz) and the trainers,” said Francona. “We’ll put our heads together and see what we want to do about it.”
Aware Kipnis was nursing the injury, Francona had the All-Star in the lineup Friday and Saturday as the designated hitter. Kipnis was 1-for-12 in the three games against the Athletics before sitting Sunday.
Asked if Kipnis could be a candidate for the disabled list, Francona said, “It could be a DL, but we’ll see. We want to put our heads together on this. We want to do what’s right and we want to give him some time to digest it.”
Indians general manager Chris Antonetti was scheduled to join the team in Anaheim on Monday for the start of a three-game series at Angel Stadium.
Bothered on and off by the shoulder all season, Kipnis has been the Indians best hitter all season. Kipnis is hitting .326 (132-for-405) with 31 doubles, six triples, six homers and 39 RBIs.
