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: Indians Slugger Has Bulging Disc In Back, Team Hoping To Avoid Surgery

Placed on the 15-day disabled list on Thursday, injured Indians slugger Travis Hafner was given an epidural to treat his bulging disc on Friday as reported by MLB.com's Jordan Bastian:

While it's clear that the Indians don't want to go with the surgery route, the man they call 'Pronk' has hardly been able to stay on the field this season for manager Manny Acta. And with an unmistakably-poor .239 average on the that includes 44 strikeouts in just 60 games, Hafner has hardly been a productive member of the Indians' lineup even when he has actually been healthy enough to suit up.

With the Indians continuing to fall further and further out of contention, the team appears to be facing an interesting dilemma considering that Hafner's contract is set to expire after the season. Early indications are that Cleveland does not plan to re-up his deal, which, if true, would make it hard to believe the club would rush him back in favor of getting an extended look at some youngsters.

Stay with this StoryStream for more news on Hafner's injury. Be sure to check out Let's Go Tribe for more Indians coverage, and head over to Baseball Nation for more MLB analysis.

Travis Hafner Injury: Indians Place DH On 15-Day Disabled List

The Cleveland Indians didn't have much time with Travis Hafner back in the lineup. The team's designated hitter saw himself on the disabled list from May 24 to July 4 after getting arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, and now he's on it again. According to The Plain Dealer, the Indians have placed him on the 15-day disabled list again:

The Cleveland Indians have placed designated hitter Travis Hafner on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 6, with lower back inflammation.

As noted above, it's retroactive to Aug. 6, so he would be eligible to return on Tuesday, Aug. 21. Hafner has been playing well when he's in the lineup: hitting .239 with 32 RBI and 11 home runs in 60 games. He missed the past two games with this minor back injury, so the Indians are able to back-date it as they've done.

Hafner recently came off of the Paternity List, where he was excused for a few days, so the team had just got him back. It's been a run of bad luck for the Indians, who just can't seem to keep up with other teams right now, as they're losers in 11 of their last 12 games. They've been out-scored 97-42 over those 12 games.

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