Travis Hafner Injury: Indians Slugger Activated, Will Face Twins

Cleveland Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner has been activated from the 15-day disabled list and will play for the team on Wednesday night against the Minnesota Twins, as the team announced. He'll be starting at DH and batting sixth for the Indians.

Hafner, 35, has been on the disabled list since Aug. 6 with lower back inflammation. In between DL stints this season, he has hit .239/.355/.453 with 11 homers in 242 plate appearances. This is the fifth straight season that Hafner has lost time due to an injury.

With the activation, the Indians' active roster now sits at 35 players entering Wednesday's game.

Cleveland's lineup:

Minnesota's lineup:

Travis Hafner Injury Update: Indians Slugger Could Return In Final 2 Weeks

Cleveland Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner could return to the lineup before Friday.

Paul Hoynes of The Plain Dealer reported Tuesday that Hafner — who went to the disabled list for the second time this season on Aug. 6, this time with a herniated disc in his back — could return before the beginning of the Indians' final road trip of the season.

Indians manager Manny Acta said Hafner has been in the batting cage simulating at bats and is gearing up in hopes of returning before the Indians leave Friday to play three games on the road against the Kansas City Royals and three games at the Chicago White Sox in the team's final road trip of the year.

From Hoynes' article:

When asked what could be accomplished by bringing Hafner back with just 15 games left, Acta said, "If you're [healthy], you should play, regardless of who you are. The season is not over. We're obviously a better ballclub when he's in our lineup and producing."

Hafner has only appeared in 60 games so far this season, and it's guaranteed he'll appear in less than 100 games for the fourth time in the last five years. In 242 plate appearances, his triple-slash line is .239/.355/.453. Hafner made $13 million this season and has a $13 million team option for next season that the Indians can buy out for $2.75 million. Hoynes said the Indians will not pick up the option.

First pitch between the Indians and the Minnesota Twins at 7:05 ET Wednesday.

Take a look at Let's Go Tribe for some more info on the Indians. Head over to Twinkie Town for more Minnesota Twins coverage and check out Baseball Nation for even more news from around the league.

Travis Hafner, Roberto Hernandez Will Join Indians Next Week During Rehab

Cleveland Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner, who has been out since Aug. 6 with lower back inflammation, is preparing to rejoin the Indians in the near future.

DH Travis Hafner (back) has been hitting and doing core/cardio work. Will likely take BP with team when it returns home.

— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) September 12, 2012

Hafner missed over a month earlier this year with a torn meniscus and has only appeared in 60 games this season, going .239 with 11 home runs and an .808 OPS.

The Indians are also making progress with other injured players. Roberto Hernandez (formerly known as Fausto Carmona) is throwing long tosses this week and is scheduled to throw off the mound next week as he comes back from an ankle injury. Relief pitcher Rafael Perez, who has been on the DL since April 26, is scheduled to throw a simulated game when the Indians return to Cleveland on Friday.

For more on the Cleveland Indians, check out Let's Go Tribe. For coverage from all around the league be sure to visit Baseball Nation.

Travis Hafner Injury: Indians DH Activated, Will Play Against Angels

As many expected, the Cleveland Indians activated designated hitter Travis Hafner on Wednesday afternoon. Pronk has been on the shelf since the end of May after undergoing arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. Jordan Bastian reports that the corresponding move with Hafner's activation was putting Shelley Duncan on paternity leave, so the Indians will have another decision to make this week.

Manny Acta put Hafner right back in the heat of order, hitting cleanup as the DH. The complete Indians lineup for Game 3 of the Angels' series:

Today's Tribe 9: Choo RF, Cabrera SS, Kipnis 2B, Hafner DH, Brantley CF, Kotchman 1B, Hannahan 3B, Damon LF, Marson C. SP: Lowe.

— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) July 4, 2012

For more on the Indians, head over to Let's Go Tribe. For more on the Angels, visit Halos Haven. And for more MLB news and analysis, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Travis Hafner Injury: Rehab Assignment Will Begin Wednesday

It has been a little over a month since Travis Hafner had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee. Now recovered, he will begin a rehab assignment on Wednesday.

#Indians DH Travis Hafner will begin rehab assignment tomorrow vs. Norfolk.

— Nick Camino (@CaminoTribe) June 26, 2012

Hafner will likely play four or five games for Triple-A Columbus before rejoining the Cleveland Indians. The team hosts the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on Monday.

In 39 games this season, Hafner is hitting .242 with six home runs and 23 RBI. In his absence, the team has struggled to find a bat that can replace his. Lonnie Chisenhall is penciled in at designated hitter for Tuesday's game.

Hafner has played more than 100 games in a season just once since 2007. He also has not had more than 57 RBI in any season since then.

For more on Hafner's injury, check out Let's Go Tribe.

Travis Hafner Injury: Indians DH Has Brief Surgery To Repair Meniscus

Travis Hafner underwent a brief arthroscopic knee surgery on Thursday morning at the Cleveland Clinic. The Indians' designated hitter needed a quick scope to repair damaged meniscus in the right knee. MLB.com's Jordan Bastian reports that the surgery lasted all of 30 minutes, via @MLBastian:

Travis Hafner's medial meniscectomy for his right knee took all of 30 minutes today at Cleveland Clinic. Return timetable remains 4-6 weeks.

— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) May 31, 2012

With the Indians struggling, it's a big blow to lose Hafner for at least a month, especially with Carlos Santana's bat absent from the middle of the lineup for a week as he recovers from a concussion. Hafner was listed as day-to-day as recently as Tuesday, when he took batting practice and did some running in the outfield, but the knee remained inflamed and Pronk was forced to go under the knife.

For more on Hafner's injury, check out Let's Go Tribe.

Travis Hafner Injury: Indians DH Out 4 To 6 Weeks, Will Undergo Arthroscopic Surgery

Cleveland Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner will need arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and is expected to miss four to six weeks. Hafner was hobbled during last week's sweep of the Tigers and did not make the trip to Chicago for the weekend series against the White Sox. Before Tuesday night's game against the Royals, he did take batting practice and did some running in the outfield. All reports indicated that he looked fine during the running drills and he appeared to be on the mend.

But Wednesday morning the Tribe announced that he was headed to the 15-day DL and that reliever Scott Barnes had been called up to help out a shorthanded and overworked bullpen. Then Hafner told Jordan Bastian he would likely need a scope and would be on the shelf longer. The club confirmed the news shortly thereafter:

Travis Hafner will have arthroscopic surgery tomorrow on his right knee to repair damaged meniscus. Expected recovery is 4 to 6 weeks

— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) May 30, 2012

For more on Hafner's injury, check out Let's Go Tribe.

Indians Recall Scott Barnes, Place Travis Hafner On Disabled List

The Cleveland Indians announced in a tweet on Wednesday morning that they made two moves after Tuesday night's loss to the Kansas City Royals. DH/1B Travis Hafner has been placed on the 15 day disabled list with right knee inflammation and in his place, LHP Scott Barnes has been called up from AAA Columbus.

The Barnes move was likely because the team is very short on bullpen arms at the moment -- Barnes is a hot prospect and has been 0-2 with a 3.81 ERA this season for Cleveland's AAA squad.

Hafner has been mediocre but not bad at the plate in his 39 games so far this season, hitting only .242/.380/.439 in a solid season overall for the Indians.

Stick with this StoryStream throughout the week for more news and updates on the Indians series against the Royals. For all your Indians analysis, news, and discussion, head over to Let's Go Tribe. And for the opponent's perspective, check out Royals Review.

Travis Hafner Injury: Indians DH Will Miss 6th Straight Game, Available Off Bench

Designated hitter Travis Hafner took full batting practice Tuesday before the Indians game two matchup against the Kansas City Royals. The DH also did some running in the outfield, which is an encouraging sign for his imminent return. But manager Manny Acta did say he would hold Hafner out at least one more day, with the North Dakota slugger missing his sixth straight game. Acta did indicate that Pronk would be available off the bench if he's absolutely needed. Via Daryl Ruiter:

Manny Acta said Hafner still day to day but available off the bench tonight ifneeded

— Daryl Ruiter (@RuiterWrongFAN) May 29, 2012

Hafner is dealing with a sore right knee, which hobbled him last week in the middle of the Tribe's sweep of the Tigers. He did not make the trip with the team to Chicago for their series against the White Sox and a trip to the DL was a possibility. Now it looks like he's on the mend and should return to the lineup this week.

Stick with this StoryStream throughout the week for more news and updates on the Indians series against the Royals. For all your Indians analysis, news, and discussion, head over toLet's Go Tribe. And for the opponent's perspective, check out Royals Review.

Travis Hafner Injury: Indians Hope DH Can Avoid Surgery With Rest, Treatment

Cleveland Indians DH Travis Hafner did not travel with the team for their weekend series with the Chicago White Sox. Right knee soreness following Cleveland's Wednesday win over Detroit in which Hafner homered led to an MRI and cortisone treatment for the big DH on Thursday.

Now the team's medical staff wants to keep Hafner out of the lineup and try to treat the knee soreness and get the DH back in the game without having to resort to surgery. According to this report from Paul Hoynes, Indians head trainer Lonnie Solof has yet to rule out the possibility of surgery if things don't improve.

Asked about the possibility of surgery, Soloff said, "In the event that the medication and rest isn't sufficient, that introduces a different scenario and we'd provide an update on that early next week if it went that route."

Solof went on to say that Hafner was feeling better on Friday. Cleveland will miss the power threat Hafner poses in the lineup but with six home runs this season, the team needs him to healthy first and foremost.

For more on the Cleveland Indians, head over to Let's Go Tribe. More on the Chicago White Sox can be found over at South Side Sox. News and analysis on the world of baseball can be found over at Baseball Nation.