Danny Salazar Ruled Out For ALDS; Could Return Later in Playoffs

The Indians will be without starting pitcher Danny Salazar for the entire ALDS against the Boston Red Sox.

It is possible that if the Indians advance to the ALCS, Salazar might return.

“Danny wasn’t ready to go and impact our team for the first series,” Indians President of Baseball Operations Chris Antonetti said on Tuesday night at Progressive Field.

“But, that does not mean that he won’t have a chance to impact our team if we move on. Right now, he’ll continue on a throwing program, try to build up his arm strength, feel completely healthy and we’ll see where it goes from there.”

Manager Terry Francona elaborated on the status of Salazar.

“We’re being pretty consistent in what we’ve said all along,” Francona said. “The first priority is to get him healthy. When that happens where it takes us, we’ll see. This puts him in the best position to do that.”

“He’s making significant progress,” Francona said. “And we think that there’s a possibility that a game might not be too off in the horizon.”

For the Indians to get to that point, they’ll need to get through Boston with a rotation of Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber, and Josh Tomlin.

It’s far from an ideal situation, but given all the adversity this club has overcome throughout 2016, it’d be foolish to write them off.

Salazar will rehab in Goodyear, Arizona and we’ll see if he gets the chance to contribute in this October run.