Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera left Monday's game early with a back injury, while the club promoted its shortstop of the future, Francisco Lindor, to Triple-A.
Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera had to leave Monday's game against the Twins with lower back spasms, according to MLB.com's Alex M. Smith.
Cabrera appeared to tweak his back while fielding a ground ball in the second inning and was pinch-hit for during his next scheduled at-bat.
With Cabrera's contract set to expire after the 2014 campaign, speculation has increased that he could be dealt prior to the trade deadline. Per Jon Morosi of Fox Sports, the Giants have expressed interest in Cabrera and fellow Indians infielder Mike Aviles.
The Indians currently sit six games behind the Tigers in the AL Central with a 50-49 record, though they are just 2½ games back from the AL's second wild-card spot. Cleveland's brass has yet to decide whether the team will be buyers or sellers at the deadline.
It is unknown whether Cabrera will miss an extended period of time, but obviously the injury makes any potential trades more complicated. The 28-year-old Venezuelan native has hit .247/.308/.392 with nine home runs in 2014.
Indians promote top prospect Lindor to Triple-A
On the same night Cleveland's current big league shortstop suffered an injury, the Indians promoted their top prospect Francisco Lindor to Triple-A Columbus, according to August Fagerstrom of the Akron Beacon Journal.
Lindor has long been on the prospect radar, with Baseball Prospectus ranking him as baseball's fourth-best prospect in its midseason rankings, and Baseball America tabbing him as the sixth-best prospect in the minors.
The Puerto Rican native's defense has drawn raves, and scouts also expect him to hit for a high average and get on base at a steady clip once he reaches the majors.
Per Fagerstrom, the timing of Lindor's promotion and Cabrera's injury was purely coincidental, with the Indians deciding to promote the young shortstop Sunday night. In 383 plate appearances at Double-A in 2014, Lindor batted .281/.356/.393 with 22 extra-base hits.