CLEVELAND -- The Indians were without manager Terry Francona again on Tuesday night, but the good news is that his latest trip away from Progressive Field was not the result of any kind of health setback.
Chris Antonetti, the Indians' president of baseball operations, met with reporters in place of Francona prior to Cleveland's game against San Diego, and indicated that the manager was at Cleveland Clinic to undergo an array of tests. The idea behind the current trip to the hospital was to continue to search for answers about what has been ailing the manager over the past several weeks.
"Tito was actually at the ballpark today," Antonetti said. "He did his normal routine. He actually swam in the pool for a little while today. He felt fine, but he's now back at the Clinic to get some additional testing. There were no episodes today. It was just, again, in this effort of the doctors trying to narrow down exactly what's causing his symptoms, so he'll get some follow-up tests."
Francona's longtime bench coach Brad Mills served as the manager for Tuesday's game.
Antonetti said Francona would not return to the ballpark on Tuesday night and it remained to be determined whether he would manage Wednesday's game. Antonetti added that as things currently stand, Francona is still planning on managing the American League All-Star team July 11 in Miami.
"At this point, I don't have a reason to think otherwise," Antonetti said. "But again, we'll continue to allow the great doctors that are caring for him to guide that process. As I've continued to tell Tito, the most important thing is his health and that we focus mostly on that. If that means he has to spend a day or two away from the ballpark, then that's what he needs to do."
Francona left the Indians' 15-9 win over the Rangers on June 26 in the early innings after feeling light-headed and experiencing a rapid heart rate. The symptoms were similar to an episode on June 13, when the manager left late in Cleveland's 7-5 loss to the Dodgers. After both incidents, Francona was taken to the Cleveland Clinic for tests, and major health issues were ruled out both times.
Since the second setback, though, Francona has been wearing a heart rate monitor to help doctors gather information about his condition throughout the course of a day.
"Part of the expectation of that," Antonetti said, "is that he would have some additional tests once they started to narrow the area of focus. That's what he's doing now, is getting those additional tests."