CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Indians second baseman Jason Kipnis, on the disabled list since Aug. 19 because of a strained right hamstring, said Thursday morning that he is feeling "much better"' and hopes to return next week. He also has been dealing with a right oblique injury.

Kipnis said his situation improved significantly Tuesday into Wednesday.

"The oblique is great, and I've turned the corner on the hamstring," he said, saying he ran several sprints at 80 percent capacity Thursday morning without pain or discomfort.

"It went very well -- as well as I could have hoped," he said. "Now it's a matter of rebuilding the strength and having the confidence to cut it loose.

"I hope to be back next week, preferably for the Detroit series [Monday through Wednesday]. At the same time, you don't want to rush it. All I know is, I feel a lot better about everything now than I did two days ago."

Kipnis's DL stint is retroactive to Aug. 14.

Back on the DL: Indians right fielder Shin-Soo Choo was placed on the 15-day disabled list Thursday because of a left oblique strain. The Indians recalled right-hander Corey Kluber and lefty Nick Hagadone from Class AAA Columbus.

Choo's DL stint is retroactive to Aug. 28. He was placed on the DL in order to allow Hagadone back on the roster. Hagadone had been with the Indians from Aug. 26-28, but he did not appear in a game and was optioned to Columbus. Hagadone was in the minors fewer than 10 days, so a DL move was required to get him to Cleveland, regardless of rosters having expanded Thursday.

The Indians needed arms after a 16-inning victory over Oakland on Wednesday night at Progressive Field. The game ended at 12:07 a.m. Frank Herrmann, who pitched the final four innings for the Tribe, was unavailable for Thursday's 12:06 p.m. series finale.

Choo wants to play again this season. The Indians said the DL move does not change the prognosis that he might return in September.

Choo originally injured the oblique on a checked swing Aug. 23 against Seattle. He returned late in a game Aug. 26 and aggravated the oblique in his second at-bat Aug. 27. He had been day-to-day.

Choo is hitting .260 (81-for-312) with eight homers and 36 RBI in 84 games. He missed the last week of June, all of July and the first two weeks in August because of a broken left thumb, the result of wayward pitch from Giants lefty Jonathan Sanchez.

In each of the previous two seasons, Choo hit .300 and appeared in at least 144 games.

Last winter, the Indians projected an outfield of Michael Brantley, Grady Sizemore and Choo. All are on the DL, as is reserve Trevor Crowe.

Hagadone, 25, has split the season between Class AA Akron and Columbus, where he is a combined 6-4 with a 2.83 ERA in 45 relief appearances. Kluber, 25, has spent the season at Columbus, where he is 7-10 with a 5.65 ERA in 26 starts.

Both made their major-league debuts Thursday.

Locking it down: Chris Perez has been superb in his first full season as closer, 3-6 with a 2.73 ERA and 30 saves in 34 opportunities.

"For the most part, I feel like I've done my job to this point in the season," he said. "My goals were to be consistent and not go on the DL. Obviously, we'd all like to not have blown saves or losses, but that's baseball."

Four of Perez's losses have come in non-save situations. One of the victories came after a blown save.

Perez worked a scoreless inning Wednesday night against Oakland to finish August with 12 consecutive scoreless appearances. Except for a rough stretch in July and early August, Perez has been sharp. His ERAs by month: April -- 2.45; May -- 2.79; June -- 1.86; July -- 5.68; August -- 2.25.

In 63 appearances in 2010, Perez was 2-2 with a 1.71 ERA and 23 saves in 27 chances. He took over as full-time closer in the last three months.

"Last year was a great year, and I can always look back on that," he said. "But part of it was, I had a lot of good luck. A lot of stuff went my way. This year, not so much. But I've been able to stay productive."

Unlike last season, when the Indians were out of it early, this season has been fun for Perez and his teammates. They led the AL Central by seven games in May, then fell hard, but have rallied enough to hang around.

"Would we like to be a few games up right now? Of course," Perez said. "When you consider, though, where everybody picked us to finish, the fact that we're still in it makes this a successful season so far. We've been playing in meaningful games.

"Our ability to stay alive despite all the injuries is impressive. It speaks to the depth of our organization, because we've had so many guys contribute."

Perez said his arm feels as good as at any time this season.

"Any pitcher heading into September is going to have some type of pain or soreness or stiffness," he said. "It comes with the territory. I can't complain, though. My fastball velocity is maintaining and my slider's actually getting better the deeper we get into the season."