Francona misses two-game set in Cincinnati

The Indians will be without Terry Francona in Cincinnati on Monday and Tuesday. The club’s manager returned home Sunday night, and he is waiting to be checked out at the Cleveland Clinic.

Francona had to leave the ballpark about an hour before first pitch on Sunday in Minneapolis due to a minor gastrointestinal condition. His appointments were originally expected to take place on Monday morning, but they didn't happen until later in the afternoon. Because he couldn't get the team an update before the series opener at Great American Ball Park, it was much easier for Francona to remain in Cleveland.

Indians president of baseball operations Chris Antonetti said that it’s too soon to determine if Francona will be able to manage on Wednesday, when the team returns to Progressive Field.

“I think we want to take it one step at a time,” Antonetti said. “First, let's get the information from his visit and then chart a course from there. But the thing we'll continue to prioritize is Tito's health and well-being. That will always be first and foremost.”

The club remains confident that his ailment is not related to COVID-19. Francona has battled similar issues on and off since the start of Spring Training in February. Because Francona always wants to put the team first, Antonetti continued to encourage him to get his condition checked out.

“It's concerning in the fact that it makes Tito really uncomfortable,” Antonetti said. “So it's just something that we want to try to navigate and help him feel better. … As you can imagine, and you guys know, how much Tito loves being around the team and his high pain tolerance. But the continual discomfort was something we wanted to get checked out. I did have to nudge him and push him towards that end to make sure he prioritized getting it checked out and not just trying to continue to tough through it.”

As on Sunday against the Twins, first-base and catching coach Sandy Alomar Jr. will be Francona’s managerial replacement in Cincinnati, and Kyle Hudson will fill in as the first-base coach. An hour before the first pitch of the series finale at Target Field, Alomar Jr. was informed that Francona was not feeling well and was asked to step in to manage.

“I know in Spring Training, it was a rough period of time for a few days,” Alomar Jr. said of Francona’s health condition, “but I didn’t know during the season he was going through this, because those are private conversations between Chris and Tito. I know Tito has been through some rough times in the past, but he’s going to get himself checked, and hopefully he’s here in a few days.”

Collaborative effort
Though Alomar Jr. is technically the man in charge, he’s been relying on the rest of the coaching staff to help make group decisions. For the lineup for Monday's 3-2 loss to the Reds, he called Francona, who told him to keep the regular top five guys in batting order, but left the rest for Alomar Jr. and his coaching staff to piece together.

“That’s something we discussed last night to try and bring more athleticism to the lineup with Greg [Allen],” Alomar Jr. said. “Get Greg an opportunity to go out there and hit at the bottom of the lineup, also Daniel Johnson and put him in the lineup, give him an opportunity.”

Get your cardboard cutout
For a limited time, fans will have the opportunity to submit photos to be used as cardboard cutouts in the stands at Progressive Field. Each cutout costs $100 and will be placed in a randomly selected seat. There will be a limit of four cutouts per transaction, and they’ll be in place for the Aug. 21 home game against the Tigers and will remain there for the rest of the season. All proceeds will benefit Cleveland Indians Charities.

To learn more or submit a photo, visit indians.com/cutouts.

Addition to the 60-man
Catcher Cameron Rupp was added to the Tribe’s 60-man player pool on Monday afternoon. The team’s pool is at 58 players.