Atchison placed on DL with ankle injury

SEATTLE -- Scott Atchison was one of the Indians' most reliable relief arms a season ago, but the veteran right-hander has dealt with uncharacteristic struggles through two months this season. An injury issue is going to give the laboring reliever a chance to regroup.

On Thursday, Cleveland placed Atchison on the 15-day disabled list with a sprained left ankle, and promoted right-hander Austin Adams from Triple-A Columbus to take his place in the bullpen for the time being.

Atchison said he rolled his ankle during a conditioning drill about a month ago, but tried to pitch through the issue.

"I felt like I could pitch through it, get through it and do things," Atchison said. "Maybe I tried to be a little protective of it when I'm throwing and things, so we felt like this was a good time maybe to nip it in the bud now, instead of trying to fight through it the rest of the year and causing more problems. It's unfortunate."

Video: CLE@TEX: Adams induces bases-loaded double play

Atchison set career highs in both appearances (70) and innings (72) last season, when the right-hander turned in a 2.75 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP for the Tribe. That showing convinced Cleveland to sign the veteran to a one-year extension with a club option for the 2016 campaign.

Through 19 games and 15 2/3 innings this year, though, Atchison has posted a 5.74 ERA with 9.8 hits allowed per nine innings on average. The bulk of the damage has come in Atchison's most recent 12 appearances, in which he has turned in a 9.31 ERA with a 1.107 opponents' OPS. In that span, which included 9 2/3 innings, the righty has given up 10 runs, 16 hits and four homers.

Atchison will be eligible to return to the Indians on June 12, when the team opens a three-game series in Detroit.

"I give him a lot of credit," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "Guys, they want to pitch and they want to pitch through it, but I finally told him [on Wednesday], I said, 'Atch, you mean too much to us. We need to get you [right].'"

For the 28-year-old Adams, this will mark his fourth stint with Cleveland this season. The hard-throwing right-hander was in the Opening Day bullpen for the Indians and, following an initial option back to Triple-A on April 10, later had stops with the Tribe from April 12-18 and May 16-18. Adams had a 1.59 ERA in three games (5 2/3 innings) with Cleveland and a 5.40 ERA in 10 games at Triple-A this year.