Cleveland's Aaron Civale out four to five weeks with sprained finger
Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona knew Tuesday that a specialist was going to deliver bad news regarding the issue that forced starting right-hander Aaron Civale out of Monday's game at the Chicago Cubs in the bottom of the fifth inning.
On Wednesday, Cleveland confirmed Civale will miss at least a month of action with a sprained middle finger on his throwing hand:
It's a brutal blow for a Cleveland side that is without both reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Shane Bieber and Zach Plesac because of injuries. While Bieber remains on track to be sidelined through the All-Star break with a right shoulder subscapularis muscle strain, Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com noted Tuesday that Plesac will complete a latest bullpen session Thursday and could be eligible to return to the rotation from a non-displaced fracture in his right thumb earlier in July.
Civale is tied for the MLB lead with 10 wins on the season. Cleveland, meanwhile, is 40-31 and 2.5 games back of the first-place Chicago White Sox in the AL Central standings.
More must-reads: