CLEVELAND -- The silver lining to Andrew Miller's latest injury setback is that it is not hindering his ability to work through a throwing program. Prior to Monday's 9-6 win against the White Sox, the Indians' relief ace was playing catch in the outfield at Progressive Field.
While witnessing Miller throwing is a good sign for the Tribe, there remains no timetable for his return to a mound or from the 10-day disabled list. Given how Miller's right knee has troubled him this year -- similar to the issue that sidelined him for roughly a month in the second half last season -- the Indians plan on taking a conservative approach to the left-hander's comeback.
"For the first couple days, the idea is to let him take a deep breath," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "You want to keep your arm in shape. That's all that is right there. Right now, today was just playing catch. We don't have anything mapped out yet, officially. We're still working through some of that."
Miller, who was placed on the DL on Saturday with inflammation in his right knee, has posted a 4.40 ERA with 23 strikeouts against 10 walks in 14 1/3 innings this season. Seven runs and six walks allowed by the lefty came within the six appearances after he was activated from an unrelated DL stint earlier this month, following a bout with a left hamstring strain.
Francona, Indians honor fallen veterans
Throughout this Memorial Day weekend, Francona has been wearing an Army green bracelet around his right wrist. It was part of a personal project by the manager's son, Nick, to honor fallen soldiers. Other members of the Indians' coaching staff and a few of the players also had the wristbands.
"I'm obviously really proud of my son," Francona said of Nick, who served with the Marines in Afghanistan. "Not just for serving, but for caring enough to do this, because it had to take him a lot of time. It was so organized and he kind of put it on a platter for us."
The bracelets featured the names of soldiers who had some tie to the person wearing it. For example, Francona's honored Christopher Moon, a baseball star from Tucson, Ariz., who walked away from a sports scholarship to the Unversity of Arizona to enlist in the Army. Francona resides in Tucson and played baseball at Arizona.
"[Nick Francona] researched it and he sent me an e-mail that had the link with every story from every kid," Francona said. "So, we're going to wear them this weekend, get a picture and then send it to the families. Like, I called my family and I just said, 'Are you OK if I do this?' And they were like, yeah, it's one of the nicest [gestures], one of the best things is to get it out there."
Worth noting
• Injured outfielders Bradley Zimmer (10-day DL, rib contusion), Lonnie Chisenhall (10-day DL, right calf) and Brandon Guyer (10-day DL, neck strain) all continued their Minor League rehab assignments with Double-A Akron on Sunday. Zimmer went 1-for-3 while manning center, Chisenhall went 1-for-3 with a homer while playing right field, and Guyer went 0-for-4 with a run scored as the left fielder.
• Outfielder Tyler Naquin (10-day DL, left hamstring) ran the bases prior to Monday's game against the White Sox and continues to work through an assortment of other baseball activities and rehab drills. Francona said Naquin is closing in on a Minor League rehab assignment.
• Francona said "there's a decent chance" that the Indians give starter Trevor Bauer an extra day off before his next outing. Bauer logged a career-high 127 pitches in Sunday's 10-9, 12-inning win over the Astros.