CLEVELAND: Rehabbing Indians outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall met with the team on Sunday morning and received some clarity on his timetable for a return. He’s been on the 15-day disabled list with a left wrist impingement and has yet to make his 2016 season debut.
Indians manager Terry Francona said Chisenhall is expected to play in rehab assignments for the Double-A RubberDucks on Monday and Tuesday night and then return to the Indians on Wednesday.
“Lonnie, we kind of adjusted his schedule a little bit,” Francona said Sunday morning. “He was going to play [Sunday] and he came in and we visited a little bit. He’s going to work out with us today and he’ll go play the outfield [Monday], DH Tuesday, and if everything’s without any hiccups or anything, we get him back Wednesday.”
The Indians will then have a decision to make regarding the 25-man roster.
Perhaps the most likely scenario would be to send outfielder Collin Cowgill to Triple-A Columbus. Cowgill has an option remaining, and the Indians would retain four outfielders plus Jose Ramirez, who can act as a fifth outfielder from his utility role.
Command control
Relief pitcher Bryan Shaw is off to a rough start this season. He’s been hit hard twice, giving up at least four runs in two of his four appearances. He has a 24.30 ERA.
He’s struggling to find his command.
“It just looks like he’s searching a little bit for the strike zone,” Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway said. “Anytime you’re searching for the strike zone, hoping you throw a strike, bad things are going to happen. He needs to get aggressive, throw the ball over the plate with conviction and live with the results.”
The Indians don’t yet want to start shuffling the bullpen because of two poor outings, particularly when Shaw’s velocity has been fine. That being said, Shaw has been a consistent force in front of closer Cody Allen for multiple seasons, something the Indians need.
“I think his velocity is probably three or four ticks up from where it was this time last year,” Francona said. “So we just have to get him to command and work ahead. That’s probably the biggest thing.”
Speedster
Offensively, outfielder Rajai Davis has had the kind of impact on the base paths and at the top of the lineup the Indians needed out of Michael Bourn the past few seasons.
Entering Sunday’s game, Davis is hitting .222 but he’s also stolen five bases in the Indians’ first nine games.
“He can change the game with his speed,” Francona said. “And the thing that’s really kind of fun to watch in just the short sample that we’ve gotten to know him is that he’s always ready to run, whether it’s stealing a base or getting down the line on a ground ball or going first-to-third. All the things that used to aggravate us, we’ve kind of come to quickly like.”
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Indians blog at www.ohio.com/indians. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RyanLewisABJ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RyanLewisABJ.