CLEVELAND: Indians outfielder Lonnie Chisenhall returned from the disabled list and started in center field on Thursday in his 2017 season debut.
The Indians activated Chisenhall from the disabled list after he dealt with a mild sprain of the AC joint in his shoulder. To make room on the active 25-man roster, Tyler Naquin was optioned to Triple-A Columbus.
Chisenhall has some brief experience in center field, mostly in the minors and in spring training. The results have been fairly good, and bench coach Brad Mills has held the belief that Chisenhall can handle the position. The club isn’t sure how often he’ll appear there beyond Thursday.
“Millsy’s been kind of in my ear for the last year, telling me how good he thinks he would be in center,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “The couple times we’ve played him in center, he’s done nothing to make you feel any different. I think good outfielders are good outfielders.”
Chisenhall said in the spring he’s begun to feel more comfortable in center field. He immediately put up strong numbers defensively in right field when he made the transition from third base, totaling 14 defensive runs saved in that time, per FanGraphs. Chisenhall could give the Indians an additional option for center field and another way for Francona to configure the lineup.
“You’re able to see the ball a little bit better through the strike zone than you are in the corners,” Chisenhall said. “I’m working on anticipating some balls and making sure I’m not giving up on a few things, right-center, left-center, the ball carries a bit more. You run out of room on the corners.”
Part of the decision to option Naquin instead of Abraham Almonte had to do with the configuration of the outfield and the fact that Naquin could be better suited to receive everyday at-bats at Triple-A. Both players had at least one option remaining.
It wasn’t an easy decision, Francona said.
“It was something that, when I say we stressed over it, I mean it was a lot,” Francona said. “I think for where we are now, with [Michael Brantley] maybe not quite ready to play every day, having the switch-hitter is really helpful. … Nobody’s giving up on [Naquin] being an everyday player. We talked about a lot of stuff, and we’re trying to get back to that guy that we saw in May and June and July last year. I thought he showed a lot of maturity, because we knew this was going to be a hard one for him. It was hard for us.”
Almonte so far this season is hitting .250, but he’s also shown significant gains in pitch selection and patience at the plate. He’s drawn five walks in 17 plate appearances this season after only drawing eight walks in 194 plate appearances last year.
“Having tough decisions, you don’t ever want to look forward to giving somebody news they don’t want to hear,” Francona said. “But, having tough decisions because guys have played well is a good thing for the organization. … I think Abe, his game is showing that he’s paying attention to detail. He’s working hard. He’s giving himself a chance to be a good player.”
Healing hand
Jason Kipnis, on the disabled list with shoulder inflammation, was hit on the left hand with a pitch during his rehab assignment with the Double-A RubberDucks Wednesday night. He was at Progressive Field on Thursday, working and throwing with trainers.
X-rays on his hand were negative, revealing only a bruise. Per Francona, Kipnis will be down for a few days and then return to game action with Saturday acting as the “best case” scenario.
Ryan Lewis can be reached at rlewis@thebeaconjournal.com.