Cleveland Indians: Jason Kipnis’ hamstring acting up again
The Cleveland Indians recently activated Jason Kipnis after nearly a month on the disabled list, and he left Thursday night’s game with another injury.
The Cleveland Indians are already dealing with injuries to Michael Brantley and Lonnie Chisenhall, making it critical that everyone else stay healthy.
Unfortunately, Jason Kipnis left Thursday’s game with a tight right hamstring, the same hamstring that caused him to miss nearly a month of games after the All-Star break.
The injury was not considered serious, at least according to Terry Francona.
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Kipnis returned from the disabled list on August 6, and picked up just two hits in 15 at-bats before leaving Thursday’s game. So perhaps he had this lingering pain all along and it became too much to handle.
Kipnis is having a terrible year on offense, but it is hard to offer a fair judgment as he keeps going on and off the disabled list.
However, there does come a point when it may make more sense to have Giovanny Urshela on the field if he and Kipnis have the same numbers on offense.
Urshela can slot in at third while Jose Ramirez moves to second, giving the team its best infield in terms of defense.
We will have to wait for more information on Kipnis, but his absence does allow Urshela and even Erik Gonzalez to get more opportunities. And if either break out on offense, it will be hard to have Kipnis in the lineup every day if he continues struggling.
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