CLEVELAND — Guardians first baseman Josh Naylor has been placed on the 10-day injured list with an oblique strain, leaving Cleveland without one of its top power hitters for the time being.
Naylor sat out the team’s past two games in Houston with the injury, which had been bothering him for longer.
The Guardians, who enter the weekend 2 1/2 games behind first-place Minnesota in the AL Central, made the move with Naylor – retroactive to Tuesday – on Friday before opening a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox.
Naylor has been Cleveland’s most productive middle-of-the-lineup hitter. He’s batting .306 with 15 homers and a team-high 79 RBI.
Earlier this week, the Guardians traded slugger Josh Bell to Miami.
The Guardians also placed infielder Tyler Freeman on the injured list with a strained right shoulder.
Needing some immediate help, Cleveland acquired outfielder Kole Calhoun in a trade from the Los Angeles Dodgers for cash and recalled infielder Jose Tena from Triple-A Columbus.
Calhoun, 35, split the season in Triple-A with the New York Yankees and Dodgers. He batted a combined .297 with nine homers and 46 RBI in 58 games.