KANSAS CITY -- Indians third baseman Juan Uribe walked gingerly across the room and took a seat at his locker inside the visitors' clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium on Monday afternoon. Uribe then wore a smirk as he discussed his status following a one-hopper to the groin that knocked him out of Sunday's game against the Angels.
"I feel a lot better today," Uribe said. "But, I don't think I'll have any more babies."
The technical term given by Cleveland's medical staff for Uribe's injury was a testicular contusion and was the result of a 106-mph chopper off the bat of Mike Trout. The baseball eluded Uribe's glove, struck him between the legs and led to him being carted off the field and taken to a local hospital in Anaheim.
Uribe said the tests at the hospital went fine and the Indians described his condition as day to day prior to Monday's game against the Royals. The 37-year-old played catch during pregame, but said he will wait until at least Tuesday before resuming batting practice. Jose Ramirez started at third base in place of Uribe for the opener of the three-game set.
"He's doing a lot better," manager Terry Francona said. "Shoot, man, they had to cart him off the field. He went and got an ultrasound. ... I think we were kind of braced for maybe the worst, because it smoked him. But, he's doing better. He's going to move around a little bit more as the day goes."
Worth noting
• After eight days' rest between starts due to right shoulder fatigue, Danny Salazar (7-3, 2.19 ERA) returned Sunday and logged 102 pitches in 5 2/3 innings of a win over the Angels. Salazar was not at his best in terms of control, but Francona was pleased with the results and said the righty felt strong.

"He was really firing the ball, just a little bit a lack of command, which I think comes with it," Francona said. "Danny, the one thing this year, he hasn't commanded quite like he wants to, but he had that extra gear [Sunday] and now he feels fine. He would've been OK anyway. We're just trying to take care of our pitching."
• Francona noted that outfielder Michael Brantley (on the 15-day disabled list with a right shoulder injury) has continued a soft-toss hitting program at home. Said the manager: "It'll be nice when we get off this trip to kind of get our eyes on him, because he's progressing just like he's supposed to and he feels really good about it."
• The Indians announced on Monday that they have extended their player-development contract with the Class A Mahoning Valley Scrappers (short-season) for two more years (through 2018). Cleveland has partnered with Mahoning Valley since its inaugural season in 1999.