CLEVELAND -- One day after it looked like the Indians had their outfield back in order, another setback struck a group that has been hit with plenty through this season's first three months.
Prior to Tuesday's game against the Rangers, Cleveland placed outfielder Austin Jackson on the 10-day disabled list with a left quad strain. The Indians had hoped that the issue was not serious, but Jackson underwent an MRI exam on Monday and the damage was bad enough to keep him out of big league games for at least the next few weeks.
"The MRI revealed a mild strain," said Chris Antonetti, the Indians' president of baseball operations. "I think our best guess at this point before he's back into Major League games is probably three to four weeks. He'll be back on a rehab assignment sooner than that, hopefully."
With Jackson removed from the roster, the Indians recalled reliever Shawn Armstrong from Triple-A Columbus.
The development with Jackson comes 24 hours after the Tribe activated both Michael Brantley and Brandon Guyer from the 10-day DL. Now that Jackson is temporarily out of the mix, rookie Bradley Zimmer figures to get the everyday role in center after platooning with the veteran.
Through 37 games this season, Jackson is hitting .304 with three homers, nine doubles, one triple and 15 RBIs in his first tour with the Tribe, while playing mostly against left-handed pitching. He sustained the quad injury while running the bases during Sunday's loss to the Twins.
This marks the fifth stint in the big leagues this season for Armstrong, who has turned in a 5.02 ERA with 14 strikeouts, six walks and a .222 opponents' average in 14 1/3 innings with the Indians. He gives Cleveland an eight-man bullpen for now.