Notes: Pérez's sore shoulder; Cookie's calf

A right shoulder problem that has been bothering Indians catcher Roberto Pérez while throwing this season is becoming more of an issue when he’s at the plate.

A problem that the Tribe hoped had gone away returned once again in Tuesday’s 6-5 loss to the Cubs, which caused Pérez to be kept out of Wednesday’s lineup.

“The issue that Roberto has is kind of bothering him now more hitting,” temporary Indians manager Sandy Alomar Jr. said. “It's kind of here back in the lat, so when he's engaged, he can't bring the elbow up to attack. He basically keeps the elbow down and the path of the swing tends to lag a little bit. That's been his problem lately. He says he feels pretty good throwing, it doesn't bother him throwing.”

The Indians backstop went on the injured list with a right shoulder strain after playing in just two games at the start of the year. After he returned, he felt some discomfort in the lat that kept him out of back-to-back games at the beginning of September.

Alomar said on Tuesday night that Pérez will either have to find ways to work through the discomfort or take a few days off to bounce back. However, because of his quick turnaround the last time he needed a spell, the team is optimistic that he may be back in the lineup again for the series opener against the Tigers in Detroit on Thursday.

“Today, he's going to get rested and get treatment,” Alomar said. “Hopefully he's ready to go tomorrow. He said he's available [for Wednesday], but we need him healthy for the rest of the way.”

Carrasco dealing with calf tightness
After Carlos Carrasco gave up three runs in six innings on 86 pitches on Tuesday, the Indians were ready to send him back to the mound for the seventh. That was until he came into the dugout and reported some tightness in his left calf.

In the fifth, he slipped while throwing a pitch and felt a cramping-like sensation in the calf, but it didn't bother him again until he broke from the mound to cover first base to make the final out of the sixth inning. In a time where the Indians need to rely on their starters more than ever, the club decided not to risk sending him back out for another frame.

“It’s really just being cautious,” Indians pitching coach Carl Willis said. “Didn’t want him to go out and be in a situation where he started to alter his delivery and get himself in a bad position. … He’s feeling better today. He’s gonna be treated, obviously, and at this point, I think we anticipate him making his next scheduled start. So that’s the good news.”

Spring Training 2021
The 2021 Spring Training schedule was released Wednesday afternoon for all 30 clubs. The Indians will open their Cactus League play on Feb. 27 at Goodyear Ballpark against the Reds.

The Tribe is slated for 29 days of exhibition games, with two split-squad series thrown in the mix. The spring schedule will end on March 28 against Cincinnati at Goodyear Ballpark before the Indians head to Detroit to prepare for Opening Day on April 1 at Comerica Park.

Lindor to be featured in Hispanic Heritage Month
MLB and its clubs will be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with different programs, events and content this weekend, and Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor, a native of Puerto Rico, will be hopping in front of the camera to talk about his professional journey.

Lindor will join Padres shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana and former Yankees closer and Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera in a roundtable discussion that will reveal details about the paths each player took in order to reach the big leagues and the impact of their heritage throughout the process.

MLB Originals, the league’s new slate of programming on MLB's YouTube page, is set to release the discussion on Friday.

Roster moves
Prior to Wednesday's game, the Indians activated Cesar Hernandez from the paternity list and optioned reliever Kyle Nelson to Lake County. Nelson pitched in just one game in his stint at the big league level, where he gave up four runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning in his debut against the Royals.