WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Juan Lara, working his way back from an auto accident that threatens to end his baseball career, remains part of the Indians.
Cleveland cleared a spot on its 40-man roster Wednesday by releasing the injured pitcher. The team then re-signed him to a minor-league contract.
Lara was seriously injured in a Nov. 26 auto accident in the Dominican Republic. The Indians said he is undergoing occupational therapy at Lutheran Hospital in Cleveland. The left-hander appeared in 10 games for the Indians in 2006 and 2007.
“He’s doing very well,” Indians assistant general manager Chris Antonetti said. “He’s starting to return to normal activities. We’ll continue to be optimistic and remain hopeful that, at some point, he will be able to pitch again.”
Antonetti said the 27-year-old Lara will be paid the same amount under the new deal as in the major-league contract he signed two weeks ago — just under $400,000.
“This puts Juan in the same position he would have been in,” Antonetti said. “We looked at multiple options. We felt this was the right thing to do for Juan, who has been a part of the Indians family for a while.”
n TODAY — The Indians host Toronto this afternoon at 1:05. Fausto Carmona is scheduled to start against Shaun Marcum. Aaron Laffey is scheduled to follow Carmona.
n SLOCUM INJURED — Right-hander Brian Slocum left his start Wednesday night due to a mild strain of the right groin. Slocum had just given up a two-out RBI single to Atlanta’s Mark Teixiera in the first inning.
n NECK AND NECK — Manager Eric Wedge said no one has yet taken hold of the race for the lone open spot in the Cleveland bullpen. “It’s still wide open,” Wedge said. “I think it will probably go to the end of camp.”
n CATCH THE BALL — Andy Marte’s defense at first and third base has been uncharacteristically rough this spring. “I think he’s been a little tentative defensively,” Wedge said. “I want to see him become consistent with both his offense and defense.”
n FAMILIAR FACES — Former Indians right-hander Charles Nagy and catcher Einar Diaz are in camp as guest instructors. Nagy was the pitching coach for the Angels’ Triple-A Salt Lake City affiliate in 2007. Former Cleveland first baseman Wil Cordero is also in camp as an instructor.
Sports
Related Photos
Discussion
Tribe Notebook: Tribe releases, re-signs Lara
Injured hurler’s status unchanged as move amounts to paper work to clear roster spot
- Sports
-
-
Riverside sneaks past Edgewood
Riverside wrestling coach Scott Blank learned a good deal of what he knows from Edgewood coach Greg Stolfer as a former Warrior great. Thursday, he used a bit of that knowledge to get the better of his old coach as the Beavers bested the Warriors, 31-28, at Edgewood.
-
Madison rolls past Geneva
Madison recovered from coming out on the short end of a pin in the first match of the night by taking six of the next seven matches against Geneva and capped the night with pins from their last pair of grapplers in dismantling the Eagles, 49-17.
-
Boys tourney returning to county
On Feb. 27, for the first time in 20 years, postseason boys basketball will return to Ashtabula County when the Division II sectional-district tournament comes to Lakeside high school.
-
Dragons dump Lakers in drink
Despite the fact his girls have been through a tough season, Lakeside coach Rob Livingston spoke as though he had sensed that better things might be around the corner.
-
Mustangs dominate Heralds
In their last home game of the season, the Grand Valley Mustangs rose to the occasion on Senior Night, defeating the SS. John and Paul Heralds, 59-28.
-
Clark, Francis help give Falcons Liberty
Paige Clark led an attack that saw three Jefferson players reach double figures and Rachel Francis had a triple-double as the Falcons blasted visiting Liberty, 59-17, in an All-American Conference game Thursday night in Falcon Gym.
-
Scholastic Statistics:
WRESTLING
NON-CONFERENCE
Riverside 31, Edgewood 28
at Edgewood -
Scholastic Schedule:
FRIDAY, FEB. 10
Boys Basketball
n Lakeside at Madison
n Conneaut at Edgewood
n Liberty at Jefferson (WFUN)
n South at Geneva
n PV at Bloomfield
n Grand Valley at Southington
n Riverside at North
n Harvey at Perry -
PV prevails
Cody Miller and Zach Campbell knew what they had to do in order for the Pymatuning Valley wrestling team to complete a come-from-behind victory over Jefferson on Wednesday at triangular match at PV.
The pair delivered exactly that and the Lakers pulled off the win, 37-36. -
Eagles bounce back
The Geneva girls didn’t have much time to regroup. But just one day after a heartbreaking defeat, they were able to knock off a strong Perry team on the road, 39-33.
- More Sports Headlines
-
