CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Indians set their opening-day roster. It wasn’t in stone.
As expected, the club placed center fielder Grady Sizemore on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday and made several other moves before Friday’s season opener at home against the Chicago White Sox. The deadline to finalize the roster was 11 a.m. on Thursday.
The Indians made their 25-man roster official shortly after their exhibition game in Columbus was canceled after two innings because of snow and unsafe playing conditions.
Sizemore, who played at Cascade High School, is still recovering from offseason microfracture surgery on his left knee, and is not likely to be ready to play with the Indians for a few more weeks. The club was pleased with the progress Sizemore made during training camp in Arizona, and he will be with the team during its first homestand.
Sizemore played in just 33 games last season before the three-time All-Star underwent surgery in June.
Also, the Indians placed Jason Donald (broken left hand) and reliever Joe Smith (abdominal strain) on the 15-day DL. Those moves were retroactive to March 22. With Donald out, Jack Hannahan, who was signed as a free agent in December, will start at third.
To clear roster spots, outfielder Trevor Crowe was placed on the 60-day disabled list with an injured right shoulder. The team also recalled infielder Jared Goedert (side muscle) and placed him on the 60-day DL.
The Indians are hoping for better health this season. Last year, they lost Sizemore, catcher Carlos Santana (knee ligament) and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera (broken arm) to major injuries, forcing them to bring up a long list of young players.
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