Indians place Jason Kipnis on 15-day DL

The Indians made a few roster moves Monday evening, most notably placing All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis on the 15-day disabled list with soreness in his right shoulder.

While the shoulder has been bothering him off and on throughout the season, rumors that Kipnis may spend some time on the DL started circulating during the team’s current West Coast swing. After he spent two consecutive days batting DH, manager Terry Francona confirmed on Saturday that Kipnis was experiencing soreness in his right shoulder, but that it was “nothing serious.”

According to cleveland.com, an MRI on Sunday morning may have changed things, as Kipnis was pulled from the team’s lineup completely, replaced in the order by Lonnie Chisenhall. “He went and got the shoulder scanned (MRI) this morning,” said Francona. “We’ll talk to Shick (head team physician Dr. Mark Schickendantz) and the trainers. We’ll put our heads together and see what we want to do about it.”

After “putting their heads together,” the team officially placed Kipnis on the DL around 6:30 Monday evening. To fill his spot in the lineup, the Tribe has recalled infielder José Ramírez from Triple-A Columbus, who has some big cleats to fill. Kipnis has been the Indians’ best hitter all season, currently hitting .326 with 31 doubles, six triples, six homers and 39 RBI.

Also on Monday evening, the Indians called up left-handed pitcher Kyle Crockett from the Clippers, optioning fellow lefty Michael Roth back to Triple-A. Crockett has a 3.00 ERA over six innings of work earlier this season, while Roth produced a 8.76 ERA over 12 1/3 innings.