Cleveland Sports Forum

Right knee injury sends Sizemore to DL

By Jordan Bastian / MLB.com | 07/18/11 2:51 PM ET

MINNEAPOLIS -- An old nemesis paid Grady Sizemore a visit on Sunday. While running past first base at Camden Yards, a familiar pain shot through his right knee. It was the same type of jolt he experienced in the opposite knee a year ago.

Last season's left knee injury sidelined Sizemore in May and led to microfracture surgery and a grueling 10-month rehab. On Monday in Minnesota, Cleveland placed its star center fielder on the 15-day disabled list with a right knee issue that the club hopes does not include a similar chain of events.

Sizemore, more than anyone else, is hoping the same.

"There's a lot of concern," Sizemore said at Target Field on Monday morning. "I just hope I don't have to go through what I went through last year."

Sizemore was scheduled to fly back to Cleveland, where he will undergo further tests on his ailing right knee. The Tribe recalled left-hander David Huff from Triple-A Columbus to assume Sizemore's spot on the active roster. Huff started Game 1 of Monday's doubleheader at Target Field.

Until the club's medical staff is able to examine the results of X-rays on Sizemore's knee, it will not be clear how much time the center fielder might miss. In May, Sizemore missed two weeks with a bone bruise in his right knee, and that type of timeframe would be a best-case scenario this time around.

"We won't know until the tests and all that kind of stuff," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "We hope that it can only be two weeks like the last time."

Sizemore said this is not like the last time, though.

While legging out a double in the first inning of Sunday's 8-3 loss to the Orioles, Sizemore felt a sharp pain flare up in his knee on his first step beyond first base. On May 10, when Sizemore initially hurt his right knee during a slide into second base, it took a few days for him to realize the severity of his injury.

Sizemore went through a similar ordeal last season. On April 1, he first hurt his left knee during a slide into second base at Dodger Stadium. Sizemore played through the injury and re-injured the knee while diving back into first base at Camden Yards on May 16. In June, he underwent season-ending surgery.

"It's similar," Sizemore said. "It's hard to say whether it's the same. I think it's definitely a concern based on what I went through last year. It's the same area and similar symptoms. It does feel a lot like it, but I can't say for sure.

"It's just frustrating. I don't know how else to put it. It's definitely frustrating dealing with this and being in a similar situation."

The setback comes during a hot streak for Sizemore, who has hit .400 (8-for-20) with two homers, two doubles and four RBIs over his past six games. On the season, the center fielder has hit .234 with 10 homers and 29 RBIs in 60 games for Cleveland, which is also without injured right fielder Shin-Soo Choo (broken left thumb).

For Sizemore, this marks his third stint on the disabled list this season. He opened the year on the shelf before returning from the left knee injury on April 17. Losing him once again to a similar problem is another tough blow for the injury-riddled Tribe.

"He's devastated," Acta said. "He's a guy who really takes it hard when he's not out there with his guys. You've got to have a lot of respect for the guy. He plays through pain all the time. He's done that over the last three years pretty much here.

"It is very hard for him not to be out there with his teammates. And it's hard for us, too. He's such an important part of our team and our clubhouse and everything."

The Grady Sizemore era in Cleveland is over.

Every GM with an OF to deal has called Antonetti today, all asking for more than we're willing to deliver. Drew Pomeranz probably started, and ended, each conversation.

National source for this, inaccuracies and all:



Indians Seeking Starter, Outfielder

By Tim Dierkes [July 18 at 1:19pm CST]

The Indians are clinging to first place, and now they've lost center fielder Grady Sizemore to the 15-day DL. Sizemore suffered a right knee contusion in yesterday's game. Michael Brantley is the last man standing in the Indians' outfield, with Shin-Soo Choo out until mid-August for a broken thumb.

The Tribe has been linked to Carlos Beltran, the top outfielder on the market. However, the $6MM remaining on Beltran's contract could be an obstacle. If the Indians are otherwise looking for right-handed hitters, as Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports suggests, they may be limited to Hunter Pence, Marlon Byrd, Jeff Francoeur, Ryan Ludwick, Josh Willingham, Reed Johnson, and Scott Hairston in my opinion. And Pence is considered a long shot to be dealt.

Rosenthal, as well as Danny Knobler of CBS Sports, feel the Indians will also go after a starting pitcher. Here's a look at what's out there, with the Marlins' top starters probably off the board. SI's Jon Heyman reports that the Indians inquired on the Dodgers' Hiroki Kuroda, as have the Tigers, Red Sox, Rangers, and Yankees.

On the positive side, the team might be better off (in the short term) without Grady. It's not like he was tearing it up, by any means.

Hopefully Carrera can provide a spark, he certainly has the legs and speed Grady doesn't have any more.

Carrera is like a flashback to the days of Alex Cole.

Good comparison.

Does Grady Sizemore's injury alter the Cleveland Indians' trade strategy? Terry Pluto's scribbles

Published: Monday, July 18, 2011, 6:15 PM Updated: Monday, July 18, 2011, 6:16 PM
By Terry Pluto, The Plain Dealer


CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Scribbles in my Tribe notebook...

1. Grady Sizemore is going to be out for quite a while, if not the season, with his latest knee injury -- and that has the Indians trying to figure out what should be the best approach to the trade market. It's the middle of July, and they remain in contention. But it's also very possible they may have to play the month of August without Sizemore and Shin-Soo Choo, unless Choo returns faster than expected from his thumb surgery.

2. Suppose the Indians do trade for Ryan Ludwick. Can an outfield of Michael Brantley, Ludwick and a player to be picked from Ezequiel Carrera, Travis Buck or Austin Kearns produce enough offense to contend, even in the mediocre Central Division? That's a question they are pondering.

3. Another factor is so many teams remain in contention. Teams are in no hurry to sell off prime talent. Minnesota resisted trade offers because it wanted to contend -- and the Twins are doing just that. Teams also know that the Indians are very hungry to finish off this improbable season and make the playoffs.

4. This is Chris Antonetti's first season as a general manager in a playoff race -- and some teams will see if they can force him into making a poor deal for a veteran who is perhaps in the final year of his contract.

5. Money is not the major issue preventing a deal. I wrote on Monday that the Indians can add $3 million to the payroll in a deal. I was told they can go "considerably beyond that" for "the right guy." The problem is that this is not the off-season with free agents. Trades have to be made. The real issue for the Indians is trading prospects. They are willing to pick up more money in a contract if it cost them less in young talent.

6. Last season, the Indians dealt Kearns to the Yankees for Zach McAllister, who certainly is in serious consideration for a rotation spot in 2012, if not sooner. They traded Russell Branyan to Seattle for Carrera, a player they now rate as the best defensive outfielder in the farm system. Carrera is in the mix to start with Sizemore injured. The Indians hit gold with two seemingly minor deals with Seattle in 2006 (Ben Broussard for Shin-Soo Choo and Eduardo Perez for Asdrubal Cabrera).

7. The Indians do seem to have several attractive "B" level prospects -- Jeanmar Gomez, David Huff, Cord Phelps and possibly McAllister -- available. Scott Barnes (out for the season with a knee injury) also could be on that list. So there are four starting pitchers (McAllister, Barnes, Huff and Gomez). They certainly don't want to trade more than one. But a starter, Phelps (made expendable by Jason Kipnis) and a lower minor-league prospect could bring real value.

8. It's very easy to make the case for doing nothing -- for waiting for next year. After all, no one expected the Indians to contend this season. But they are in contention. The division is lame, every contender has significant flaws. And who knows what next year will bring? The front office remembers 2007, when they won 96 games and came within a game of a trip to the World Series. They certainly expected to contend in 2008. Instead, they started slow, rallied to finish 81-81 and traded CC Sabathia. They didn't see that coming. Just as they never would have imagined at the end of 2007 that they'd lose more than 90 games in 2009 and 2010.

9. The fact is the Indians not only need to find an outfielder for this season, but also for next year. Who knows how Sizemore will come back. They have Brantley and Carrera, both capable of playing center. They have Choo under control. That's it. Buck, Kearns, Shelley Duncan and about anyone else in the upper levels of the minors are just fill-ins.

10. That's why I mentioned Washington's Michael Morse as a trade possibility, even though the price will be high. He is under contract until 2014. He is a corner outfielder, and he is 29. Seems like that is what they need now, and they'll still need it in the winter unless they address it this season.

Grady has been a major disappointment.

Carrera, a player they now rate as the best defensive outfielder in the farm system.

Which is vastly different from Alex Cole who couldn't throw and wasn't all that great at catching fly balls either.

I remember that they front office talked about building the team around Alex Cole. Didn't they even adjust the fences because of him?

Tigers, Indians Interested In Aaron Harang

By Ben Nicholson-Smith [July 18 at 5:26pm CST]

The top two teams in the American League Central are both looking for starting pitching depth and, in at least one instance, they're interested in the exact same pitcher. The Indians and Tigers have interest in Aaron Harang, according to Jon Heyman of SI.com (on Twitter).

The Indians, who lead the Tigers by a half game after today's win, are looking to add a starting pitcher (here's a look at who's available). The Tigers hope to do the same and have some interest in Ubaldo Jimenez, Hiroki Kuroda, Jeremy Guthrie, Derek Lowe and others.

Harang, 33, has a 3.19 ERA with 6.3 K/9 and 2.8 BB/9 through 93 innings this year. He may be profiting from pitcher-friendly Petco Park and the fact that opponents are hitting just .281 against him on balls in play (26 points below his career mark).

The ten-year veteran earns $4MM this season with a $5MM mutual option for 2012 ($500K buyout). He doesn't project as a ranked free agent under the Elias formula, so draft pick compensation does not appear to factor in to Harang's trade value.

Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports confirms that the Tigers are interested in Harang and adds that Detroit is not taking serious looks at Mark Reynolds or Wilson Betemit at the moment (Twitter links).

Would the Tribe try to pull in both HArang and Ludwick in the same deal?

TFIR wrote:I generally like Pluto, but that Michael Morse piece seemed clueless to me.

Why would Washington ever be interested in trading him? IMO, not a freaking chance.

I agree 100 %. Pluto has been out of it for about 2 years.

The old switcheroo: Huff stays, Gomez goes
by Sheldon Ocker on July 18, 2011 - 9:01 pm


MINNEAPOLIS: David Huff’s seven scoreless innings against the Twins today forced manager Manny Acta and General Manager Chris Antonetti to change their minds about which starter to keep while Mitch Talbot is on the disabled list.

The plan was to keep Jeanmar Gomez as Talbot’s replacement and option Huff back to Columbus after making his spot start this afternoon. But Huff pitched so well and Gomez perfomed so poorly — giving up five runs (three homers) in 5 1/3 innings against the Orioles Sunday — that Gomez was sent back to Columbus.

Fortunately for the Tribe, it will be easy to fit Huff into the rotation because of off days Thursday. There are several directions Acta and pitching coach Tim Belcher can go, but the simplest might be to start Huff Sunday against the White Sox or Monday against the Angels.