Indians prospect Giovany Urshela injures knee in winter ball

Giovany Urshela was one of the surprise prospects in the Cleveland Indians organization in 2014. The third baseman appeared to have an outside shot for a possible major league roster spot next season. But an injured knee in the Venezuelan Winter League could cast that in serious doubt.

Urshela, a 23-year-old native of Colombia, injured his knee running the bases on Saturday. An MRI took place on Monday and the Indians expect to learn the results of that test later this week, reported MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian.

Early Twitter rumors, such as those via Venezuelan journalist Wilmer Reina, state that he may have torn his PCL and his meniscus. Such a devastating blow could sideline the up-and-coming prospect for about six months:

"@arturomoreno62: Resultados de RM de Urshela demuestran desgarro del LCP, lesion meniscal con derrame articular" #Águilas

— Wilmer Reina (@WilmerReina) November 17, 2014

Urshela batted .280/.334/.491 in 128 games between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus this season. He added 36 doubles, 18 home runs and 84 RBI, and is advertised as an above-average defensive third baseman. Add it up, and you can easily see why he was knocking on the door steps of the majors with Lonnie Chisenhall’s inconsistent play.

The Indians will have some uncertainties on the left side of their infield in 2015. Of course,, long-time shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera was traded to the Washington Nationals back in July. They picked up Mike Aviles’ $3.5 million team option. Speedster Jose Ramirez and hard-hitting Zach Walters got significant playing time down the stretch. Urshela had a decent chance to compete for a possible spot.

Now? Continue to see if the Indians are attracted to a possible third baseman on the open market. They should have about $8-10 million to spend, based on their usual player spending allotments. Every team could always use more pitching depth, but the left side of the infield is a tiny bit weaker today than it was last week.