Indians Playing it Safe with Choo

After a season filled with disappointment and injuries in 2011, the Indians are playing it safe this time with right fielder Shin-Soo Choo, who has been on the bench since suffering a mild left hamstring injury during Tuesday night’s game against the Kansas City Royals. Choo was listed as day-to-day, and on Saturday Indians’ skipper Manny Acta reported that Choo might start to test his leg with some running drills over the weekend, but that he also was still feeling some tightness in the hamstring. Should Choo feel comfortable after the drills, the Tribe could see him return to the line-up as early as Tuesday, but if he still feels discomfort, he will likely sit until the end of the week.

Choo had been hitting a respectable .237 with five doubles and nine RBIs through 15 games. The Indians remain hopeful that he will stay relatively injury-free this season after spending considerable time on the DL in 2011 with a broken thumb and a back injury that put him out of action for good in September. With Choo day-to-day and center fielder Grady Sizemore on the DL until June 3 rd at the earliest, the Indians have been relying on back-up outfielder Aaron Cunningham to fill the void, however it is expected the Johnny Damon, whom the Tribe signed on April 17 th, will be ready to start a minor league assignment soon, and could join the Indians within the next two weeks to help bolster their ailing outfield.

By Robert Gonzalez
Cleveland Indians Correspondent