CLEVELAND — The Tribe made several roster moves Wednesday morning ahead of their doubleheader against the Tampa Bay Rays, including placing yet another player on the injured list and selecting the contract of another.
Outfielder Eddie Rosario was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right abdominal strain. Rosario sustained the injury during Monday's game against the Rays.
"We think it's mild. That's our best assessment at this point so hopefully it'll be on the shorter end," said Indians President Chris Antonetti. "We just felt that with the continued, lingering soreness in there it made sense to make the IL move, especially with the All-Star break and them not playing games for four days, it just seemed to make sense that now is the right time to give him a bit of a rest."
In turn, the Tribe recalled outfielder Daniel Johnson from the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. The 25-year-old has spent most of the season in Columbus, batting .218 with 10 doubles, nine home runs and 21 RBI in 49 games.
The Tribe also transferred Outfielder Josh Naylor to the 60-day IL. Naylor suffered a fractured and dislocated right ankle during a gruesome collision during a game against the Minnesota Twins on June 27. He underwent surgery on July 2 to repair the damage.
Infielder Owen Miller was also recalled from Columbus as the team's 27th player in Wednesday's doubleheader against the Rays. Miller, 24, has been with the Clippers for most of the season, batting .317 with eight doubles, a triple, four home runs and 15 RBI in 33 games. He last played for the Tribe on June 30 as the team's 27th player in a doubleheader.
In pitching news, the Tribe optioned left-hander Logan Allen to the Clippers and selected the contract of right-hander DJ Johnson.
Johnson, 31, has spent the season in Columbus, notching a 1-2 record with four saves and a 3.63 ERA in 17 relief outings. Over his last seven outings, DJ Johnson has recorded a 2.08 ERA. He will make his first Major League appearance since Sept. 29, 2019 when he was with Colorado.
While the Tribe still deals with a pitching shortage due to the slew of injuries to Zach Plesac, Aaron Civale and Shane Bieber, Antonetti had a few updates to their statuses.
Antonetti said Civale, who is dealing with a sprained right middle finger, has started playing light catch and has been cleared to initiate some throwing, which he's been doing recently.
As for the ace, Antonetti said Bieber will be rechecked this weekend to determine if he's ready to begin throwing activities.
"We don't have a definitive timetable. We'll have a better sense once they actually ramp up the intensity of their throwing but it's safe to say we're still weeks away," Antonetti said.
The good news is that Plesac is scheduled to return and will pitch on Thursday against the Kansas City Royals, returning from injury after breaking his thumb in May while aggressively taking off his undershirt following a game; the shirt got caught on a chair.
RELATED: Zach Plesac to pitch for Tribe Thursday after fracturing thumb in May
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