CLEVELAND – Indians reliever James Karinchak was optioned to Triple-A Columbus on Aug. 28, but has yet to work his way into a game for the Clippers. But this isn’t any reason to spark concern; this is all part of Cleveland’s plan to get him back to the pitcher he once was.

The Indians communicated with Karinchak when he was sent down that he’d take some time to work through some of the mechanical issues that pitching coach Carl Willis and the rest of his coaching staff found over the last few months in the big leagues before he’d make any appearances in Triple-A. As of Tuesday, he has yet to get into a game.

“I know he's getting into a game here soon,” Indians acting manager DeMarlo Hale said. “But he understands. We had a very good conversation when we optioned him down. He was very straightforward. He said, 'OK, I'm going to go do my work and I'll get back up there.' It's good to hear players in that mindset.”

That mindset has worked for a handful of Cleveland players already this season. Triston McKenzie was struggling mightily with his command early in the year and found a way to get himself straightened out with Columbus. Since his return, he’s been nearly untouchable. Strides have been made for lefty Logan Allen as well, after he could not go beyond the fifth inning in any of his first seven starts of the year. Since his most recent callup, he’s shown flashes of the pitcher he was in Spring Training.

Now, the Indians are hoping that Karinchak will follow suit.

“You think about it, we've had a few to go down and come back and make some adjustments, come back up here and perform well,” Hale said. “It's a positive thing that they know that they're going to get some work down there and get better and work themselves back up to the Major Leagues.”

Maybe there’s not enough time left in the 2021 season for the team to get its answer in the immediate future, but that re-emphasizes just how important it is that the Minor League season will continue through the end of September this year, giving Karinchak a place to continue to right the ship if it’s not in the Majors prior to the offseason.

“With the Minor League season continuing,” Hale said, “they can get some work in and really still pitch in competition at the Triple-A level and be able to be evaluated and when an opportunity comes to get back here, come back up and feel good about yourself going into the offseason knowing that you're healthy and knowing that you have made some adjustments and keep doing that throughout the offseason.”

Tito undergoes surgery
On Tuesday, Indians manager Terry Francona underwent his second -- and what he’s hoping to be his final -- surgery since he stepped away from the team. He already had hip surgery and recovered well enough to get back to the ballpark to watch a few innings with front office personnel in the suites. Now, he’ll be starting the process of bouncing back from a staph infection in his left foot that’s been troubling him since last offseason.

His procedure was scheduled for Tuesday morning, but the Indians hadn’t heard an update as of the early evening.

“No news is good news in a sense,” Hale said. “I think it’s the right thing to do because he’ll be able to have time in the offseason when he’s not up against the clock trying to get to Spring Training, and you know, if there’s any setbacks, here he is in Spring Training trying to function the way he does, so I thought it was the right thing to do. This is a big step today and he’ll get through this and he’s kind of on the rehab period and I think it’s going to work well. Get around the holidays and Thanksgiving, all should be good and that’s what I’m praying for and hoping for, for sure.”