Indians Slugger Jason Kipnis to Undergo Wrist Surgery and Will Miss Rest of the Season
By Chris Russo
The Indians were already having a tough time catching the Minnesota Twins in pursuit of the AL Central title, as well as the A's and Rays in the AL Wild Card race, and now both of those tasks have gotten even taller, following an injury to a key player.
Jason Kipnis' season has come to an unfortunate end, as he will undergo surgery to repair a fractured right wrist.
A roster move and a not so great medical update on Jason Kipnis. pic.twitter.com/EDH4wGmwN1
— Tribeinsider (@tribeinsider) September 17, 2019
Cleveland's second baseman was hitting .245 with 17 home runs and 65 RBIs in 121 games this season prior to the injury, which he picked up on Sept. 15 after feeling discomfort following a swing and miss. He underwent tests on his wrist and it was revealed that he had a fracture on his hamate bone.
Jason Kipnis fractured his hook of the hamate bone in his right wrist. He's expected to need surgery. The typical time frame for return to Major League game activity is four-to-six weeks. His season is over.
— Mandy Bell (@MandyBell02) September 17, 2019
The Indians sit five games behind the Twins in the division and 1.5 games behind the Rays. If the Tribe makes the playoffs, they will have some decisions to make, including potentially putting Bradley Zimmer on the roster.
Considering Tyler Naquin tore his ACL just last week, the loss of Kipnis could not have come at a worse time for the already-shallow Indians outfield. It's do or die time in Cleveland, and they'll have to scrape together some wins without Kip to help the cause.