CLEVELAND, Ohio (92.3 The Fan) – The Guardians have placed outfielder Oscar Gonzalez on the 10-day injured list with right abdominal tightness.
Guardians’ manager Terry Francona announced the moved ahead of the club’s double-header with the New York Yankees on Saturday afternoon.
Francona said the first time Gonzalez noticed something felt out of place was during treatment for aggravating his toe after slamming into the wall going after a foul ball “a few days ago.”
Francona doesn’t believe the injury is one that will keep Gonzalez out of the lineup for an extended period of time. Gonzalez has hit .285 with two home runs and 14 RBIs in 32 games this season after being called up in May.
To take Gonzalez spot on the roster, the Guardians promoted Gabriel Arias from Triple-A Columbus. Arias was batting .196 with three home runs and 12 RBI for the Clippers.
Left-handed pitcher Kirk McCarty was also promoted from Columbus as the 27th man to start the first game of the Guardians’ double-header against New York. Francona said once the club knew McCarty would be available, they gave Friday night’s starter Aaron Civale the choice between the first and second games.
He chose the latter.
“We told him (McCarty he’s pitching the noon game and Sandy’s catching him and he’s like ‘I’m ready to go,’” Francona said. “He’s a really good kid.”
Meanwhile, Francona said catcher Austin Hedges is expected to workout in between games today as he deals with a concussion. Hedges was placed on the 7-day IL on Tuesday, forcing the Guardians to trade for Sandy Leon.
Leon played in Game 1 of a double-header against the Twins on Tuesday, going 0-for-3 with a strikeout.
The Guardians also optioned James Karinchak to Triple-A Columbus from the 60-day IL. Francona said Karinchak has shown signs of progress in his last two outings but wants the reliever to develop more consistency as he recovers from a shoulder strain he suffered in Spring Training.
“Cherny (Indians GM Mike Chernoff) mentioned to him some of this stuff is out of your control. Some of it is in your control,” Francona said. “It’s hard for young guys to understand that we have three double-headers in six days. We don’t want to bring a guy up for two days and send him down.
“There’s other guys that we’ve brought up and we’ve taken off the roster. We’re not going to do that with Karinchak. It’s hard for them to understand that in the moment, so we try to understand that and just be as honest as we can.”
The Guardians are 6-4 in double headers this season, all at home, and are preparing for another twin-bill on Monday against the Detroit Tigers. Francona doesn’t recall a time when he’s seen so many double-headers compacted together.
“Not to my knowledge,” Francona said.
Francona indicated that more moves are coming as the current roster situation is “fluid.”
Saturday starters:
Game 1: Gerrit Cole vs. Kirk McCarty
First pitch: 12:10 p.m.
Game 2: Nestor Cortes vs. Aaron Civale
First pitch: 6:10 p.m.