NEW YORK -- Bradley Zimmer woke up Sunday morning with soreness in his left shoulder and hip following a violent crash into Yankee Stadium's center-field wall one day earlier. The Indians do not believe a trip to the disabled list will be necessary, but the young outfielder could use a couple days off.
With that in mind, the Indians recalled outfielder Greg Allen from Triple-A Columbus prior to Sunday's game and gave him the nod in center field for the series finale against the Yankees. To clear a spot on the active roster, Cleveland optioned right-hander Ben Taylor to the same Minor League affiliate.
One thing Indians manager Terry Francona does not want is to have Zimmer ever alter his style of play based on situations like this one.
"I love it. I think there's a right way and a wrong way to play," Francona said. "I think that's the way you play the game. Obviously, you don't want guys to get hurt, but I don't know where you draw that line. Like, we say to a guy, 'Well, just try to catch these balls.' It just doesn't work that way. You just let guys play. Over the course of playing the game right, sometimes guys are going to get nicked up."
During the seventh inning of Saturday's 5-2 loss to New York, Zimmer exited the game with a left shoulder contusion after crashing hard into the wall in an effort to catch a deep fly from Austin Romine. According to Statcast™, the play had a catch probability of just 37 percent, but Zimmer got a glove on the ball before losing control of it upon impact with the wall.
Francona noted that Zimmer has passed all concussion tests over the past two days. With an off-day looming on Monday, Zimmer will have two days to recover leading up to the upcoming road series against the Brewers.
Allen appeared in 25 games for the Indians down the stretch last season and served as the team's 26th man during its April 17-18 series against the Twins in Puerto Rico earlier this year. In 21 games for Columbus this season, Allen has hit .260 with eight doubles, 11 walks, six stolen bases and a .778 OPS.
Miller on target for Friday
Indians relief ace Andrew Miller, who is on the 10-day DL with a left hamstring issue, got through a bullpen session with no issues on Saturday at Yankee Stadium. Francona said the left-hander is scheduled for another mound workout on Tuesday in Milwaukee and, barring any setbacks, appears on pace to be activated as early as Friday.
Worth noting
• Thanks to a pair of off-days coming up on Monday and Thursday, the Indians do not need a fifth starter until May 15 against the Tigers. Under the circumstances, righty Josh Tomlin will shift to the bullpen temporarily for the Tribe.
• Right-hander Oliver Drake, who was acquired from the Brewers via trade on Saturday, will join the Indians on Tuesday when the team is in Milwaukee for the two-game series.