SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — Cleveland Indians reliever Juan Lara suffered a spinal fracture and severe brain trauma in a weekend car accident, a hospital spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Lara, diagnosed previously with two fractured ribs, has been hospitalized in critical condition since the sports utility vehicle he was driving was hit by a motorcycle Saturday night.
“Juan’s condition is very fragile,” said Dashira Martinez, a spokeswoman for the Plaza de la Salud Hospital in Santo Domingo.
Martinez said doctors have not determined whether Lara, 26, will suffer any paralysis from the spinal injury.
“For the moment the doctors’ prognosis is reserved, which means we should give it time to see how it evolves before making reference to that possibility,” she said.
Lara, who pitched in one game for Cleveland last season, was returning from a winter league game in San Pedro de Macoris at the time of the accident. He was stopped at an intersection when the SUV was struck on the driver’s side. He was pinned inside the vehicle.
The motorcycle driver and passenger were killed. Lara’s girlfriend, who was with him at the time, also was taken to the hospital but her injuries are not as serious as Lara’s.
Lara, originally signed by the Indians in 1999 out of their Dominican Academy, spent most of last season with Triple-A Buffalo. He was recalled from the minors on Sept. 4 and made his only appearance for the Indians two days later, working 1 1/3 innings against the Los Angeles Angels.
The left-hander had seven scoreless outings in nine appearances for the Indians in 2006. That year, Lara also pitched for Buffalo and Double-A Akron, compiling a 5-3 record before making his major-league debut Sept. 8 against the Chicago White Sox.
Minor matters
Infielder Asdrubal Cabrera, who took over as Cleveland’s starting second baseman and sparked the Indians to the AL Central title, was named the club’s minor-league player of the year on Tuesday.
Aaron Laffey was named the club’s top minor-league pitcher.
Cabrera began the season at Double-A Akron and played briefly at Triple-A Buffalo before his contract was purchased by the Indians on Aug. 7. He soon replaced Josh Barfield at second and batted .283 in 45 games while helping the Indians make the AL playoffs for the first time since 2001.
Cleveland went 28-12 when Cabrera, a shortstop in the minors, started at second.
He batted a combined .303 with 114 runs, 35 doubles, five triples, 11 homers and 79 RBI in 150 games with Akron, Buffalo and Cleveland.
Laffey went 17-6 with a 3.34 ERA in 31 games at two minor-league levels and with the Indians. He was 9-0 in his last 12 starts with Buffalo, and led all Indians minor-league pitchers with 13 wins.
Laffey made his major-league debut on Aug. 4 against Minnesota. He finished the season as the fifth starter in Cleveland’s rotation and went 4-2 with a 4.56 ERA in nine starts. Manager Eric Wedge said Laffey will compete for one of Cleveland’s starting spots during training camp.
The Indians’ postseason awards are named for Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Lou Boudreau.
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