BOSTON (AP) — Cleveland Indians outfielder Leonys Martin will sit out the rest of the season because of a bacterial infection.
Manager Terry Francona revealed the news Wednesday before Cleveland’s game against the Boston Red Sox.
The 30-year-old Cuban player became ill following a game Aug. 8. Doctors determined he had the life-threatening bacterial infection that entered his bloodstream and created toxins that damaged his internal organs, compromising their function.
“The news is really good, he is doing fantastic, but he not going to play baseball this year,” Francona said, adding that the players were updated about his health during a brief meeting. “Overall, he has done so well. We’re so thrilled that he’s OK.”
Martin was released from the hospital Sunday.
The club said he was rechecked by doctors Wednesday in Cleveland.
“All testing and imaging shows that Leonys’ body continues to recover and while his prognosis remains positive for a full recovery, doctors feel that Leonys’ heart and other organs will require an additional one to two months to allow for this to happen,” they said in the update.
Also Wednesday, the club activated slugger Edwin Encarnacion from the 10-day disabled list. He had been sidelined since Aug. 12 with a right wrist contusion. Encarnacion homered in his first at-bat against left-hander Brian Johnson.
He was expected to return Thursday, but they placed outfielder Rajai Davis on the 10-day DL with a non-baseball-related, not-life-threatening medical condition. The move is retroactive to Monday.
Davis is scheduled to have outpatient surgery Monday and is expected to rejoin the club when rosters are expanded on Sept. 1.
Martin was acquired from Detroit on July 31 to added depth to the outfield and appeared in six games.
Francona said he hoped to come back, but doctors decided it was best for him to rest.
“I think he wanted to play, but I think the doctors thought with what happened, he needs some time to let his body heal and we fully support that,” Francona said. “Even though we miss him a lot, it’s the right thing to do.”
Francona said Martin’s expected to have some more doctor appointments in Cleveland next week.
The club has gotten a boost by the play of rookie Greg Allen in center field in the first two games of a scheduled four-game series between two of the AL’s division leaders at Fenway Park.
Allen hit a tiebreaking homer in the seventh inning of Monday’s win and had a nice running catch before diving to the ground. In Tuesday’s victory, he made a pair of stellar catches; the second thwarted Boston’s rally.
“It’s been fun to watch him develop in the middle of pennant race,” Francona said.
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AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed to this report.
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