Indians closer Perez is injured

Associated Press

GOODYEAR, Ariz.

Chris Perez couldn’t even finish his first bullpen session without trouble.

Now he has to save opening day.

Cleveland’s All-Star closer will miss at least one month and possibly six weeks with a strained left side muscle he injured throwing off the mound for the first time in spring training. Perez said Sunday he had thrown about 30 pitches on Thursday when he pulled up with what he thought was a cramp.

Instead, he strained an oblique muscle.

“Just one of those fluke things,” he said.

It’s the second significant medical setback in camp already for the Indians, who were ravaged by injuries last season. On Friday, the club announced that center fielder Grady Sizemore will not be ready for opening day because of a strained lower back.

Trainer Lonnie Soloff said there’s still a chance Perez will be ready for opening day on April 5, depending on how he does with treatments.

Asked if Perez would miss the opener against Toronto, Soloff said, “I wouldn’t say that.”

“We’ll have to see how things go and how he responds with his throwing sessions once he gets back on a mound,” he said.

Soloff said Perez will need four to six weeks to recover and the hope is the hard-throwing right-hander will be able to pitch in games “toward the end” of the exhibition season.

Perez, who had 36 saves in 40 chances and a 3.32 ERA in 64 games last season, believes he can return in time to start the season.