Indians starting pitcher Danny Salazar is progressing in his rehab from a strained forearm and reports that he now is beginning to feel better physically. The big question, though, is how much impact, if any, will Salazar be able to have on a potential American League Division Series should the Indians hold on to clinch their division.
Salazar threw from 75 feet on Wednesday and expects to progress to 90 feet on Thursday. He’ll then continue that progression up to 120 feet in the next few days.
“It feels good just to be able to throw a little bit,” he said. “Feeling great, taking it easy right now, throwing easy, trying to get back on track. We’re on it. I’m trying to get back and I know I will. By the way I feel right now, it’s good and I’m really positive about it.”
It’s possible Salazar could only be ready to appear out of the bullpen in the ALDS. The Indians are hopeful he can progress quickly but are also having to balance long-term effects of multiple injuries to one of their top, young assets.
“I don’t think you’re going to see him go 0-to-100,” said Indians manager Terry Francona. “I think the last few days have been to get the blood flowing again. And I’m sure some of it is going to depend on how he feels, how aggressive they get, how quickly they get aggressive, and if they need to go slow, they will. Again, the priority is to have him feeling good. If he starts to feel real good, they can speed it up.”
Salazar said he’s feeling “way better” and added he’s been coming to the ballpark early each day to receive treatment. He’s also having to weigh his rehab with not pushing too hard following multiple arm injuries this season. The Indians have a terrible need for his return but also can ill afford a setback that would render him sidelined for all of October.
“When you come back, you might not know it but you might be doing something different,” Salazar said. “Not just because you want to, your body is just doing it to try to hide the pain in one part of the body and then you start using another one. That’s why I think, not only me but a lot of people, they get hurt after an injury and get a different injury in another part of the body.”
Walk the line
The Indians registered their 11th walk-off win Tuesday night against the Kansas City Royals, the most in the majors this season. The Indians were tied with the Houston Astros with 10 prior to that.
The 11 walk-off wins have also come courtesy of nine different hitters, the most recent being Brandon Guyer on Tuesday.
“It says on any given night, it could be anybody,” Guyer said. “[Tuesday night] it was me. But really any night, if anyone’s got the opportunity, we all have full confidence that anyone can come through. It’s just really fun to be on a team like that.”
The Indians have made walk-off wins a habit recently, considering they didn’t have any prior to June 1. They’ve also had six since Aug. 18. And they’ve ended each with the baseball tradition of beating up the poor soul who delivers the winning hit.
“That’s my first walk-off, my first time getting beat up like that but I’ll take it any day,” Guyer said. “It’s a cool feeling. During it you don’t really feel anything, you just are happy in the moment and stuff. At the end of the day, we got a win, that’s really all that matters.”
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Danny Salazar working to return in some form for postseason; Indians lead majors in walk-off wins
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