The Cleveland Indians hope to get the better of the Baltimore Orioles during their weekend four-game series, but will be forced to play without power-hitting catcher Carlos Santana until at least Sunday according to manager Manny Acta.
As reported by MLB.com's Jordan Bastian, Santana, who has not reported any post-concussion symptoms since returning from the disabled list, will remain out of the lineup until Sunday afternoon with prolonged tightness in his back and right side.
Acta said Indians catcher Carlos Santana (back /right side tightness) will be out until Sunday. And he'll likely DH in return to lineup.
— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) June 29, 2012
The 26-year-old Santana played in 155 of Cleveland's 162 games this past year, but clearly seems to be breaking down a bit as he enters his third big league campaign. Hitting just .220 through 63 games so far in 2012, it's entirely possible that the promising youngster might benefit from a platoon role at designated hitter in the short-term until he can prove that he's 100% back to health.
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