The Cleveland Indians placed Corey Kluber on the 10-day disabled list Wednesday with a lower back strain, meaning the right-hander will miss at least his next turn in the rotation.
Kluber (3-2) was removed from his start against the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday after three innings with lower back discomfort. He allowed five runs, one walk and seven hits.
The Indians decided to play it safe and put Corey Kluber on the DL with lower back tightness that has bothered him and forced him out after three innings on Tuesday. The Indians remain the heavy favorite in the Central and keeping Kluber healthy for the long-term is clearly the right move, especially given all his innings last season.
"It has been bothering me off and on for a few starts now, but this was the first time I couldn't pitch through it," Kluber told reporters after the game. "You have to balance trying to keep going against causing more damage."
Manager Terry Francona said missing only one start would be the best-case scenario for Kluber.
"But in fairness to Klube, I don't know if we need to expect that," Francona said Wednesday.
Kluber has a 5.06 ERA in six starts this season. He won the American League Cy Young Award in 2014 and finished third in the voting last season after going 18-9 and leading the Indians to the World Series.
Last year, Kluber threw 249⅓ innings, including the postseason. He is not off to a very good start in 2017, allowing at least five runs in three of his six starts.
The Indians, who entered Wednesday night's game against the Tigers a half-game out of first place in the AL Central, will have to make do without Kluber for at least a little while.
"Hopefully, it's sooner rather than later," Francona said. "But we're going to do what's right because we don't want him to have to go through the year like this."
To replace Kluber on the active roster, the Indians promoted right-hander Joe Colon from Triple-A Columbus.
The 27-year-old Colon has made nine relief appearances at Columbus this year, posting an ERA of 0.87. He made his major league debut for the Indians last season, going 1-3 with a 7.20 ERA in 11 relief appearances.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.