Indians catcher Yan Gomes (knee) nearing return
Indians manager Terry Francona said catcher Yan Gomes is close to returning to the team, but he needs to catch nine innings in a rehab game before being activated, reports the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
"Well, he's closing in on it," manager Terry Francona said to MLB.com. "I think that's stating the obvious, but in fairness to him, we probably need to get him out there nine [innings]. He probably doesn't feel like he needs to, but as bad as we'd like to have him -- and we do -- doing something a day or two early, that would be a bad mistake."
Gomes is on the disabled list with a sprain in his right MCL. He is scheduled to catch seven innings in a rehab game Wednesday.
"I think when you really boil it down, we need to make sure that this kid has every chance to be not just healthy with his knee … you don't want another part of his body breaking down squatting for nine innings," Francona said. "There's some common sense that [trainer] James [Quinlan] used that I wasn't seeing."
