Indians Spring Baseball

Indians rookie right-hander Adam Plutko goes through a fielding drill during spring training in Goodyear, Ariz.

(Morry Gash, Associated Press)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - Adam Plutko was at his friend's wedding in California when Carter Hawkins, the Indians' director of player personnel, called him and told him to get to Cleveland.

"I had a pair of baseball pants with me, so I just threw them on right away," said Plutko on Monday at Progressive Field.

Plutko was kidding, but only about the baseball pants.

"They had literally just got done saying I do and taking pictures and everything," said Plutko, who joined the Indians on Sunday. "I was in the middle of the wedding.'"

Plutko's wife, parents and several high school friends were at the wedding to share the news of his first trip to the big leagues.

"It was pretty awesome to have that moment in person," said Plutko, drafted by the Indians in the 11th round on 2013. "There was crying and hugging. I'm pretty sure everyone was crying, including myself. It was a moment I'll remember for a long time."

Left-hander TJ House was designated for assignment to make room for Plutko on the 40-man roster.

Plutko, 24, split the season between Class AAA Columbus and Class AA Akron. He went a combined 9-8 with a 3.73 ERA in 28 starts. He was promoted to Columbus on June 18.

Manager Terry Francona said the earliest Plutko would pitch would be Saturday against the White Sox. Cody Anderson will start in what is expected to be another bullpen game.

"We had talked about bringing Adam up originally when Columbus was done with its season," said Francona. "But we didn't want to bring guys that we didn't think we're going to pitch.

"Now with (Carlos) Carrasco down, I think it's a lot more realistic that he will pitch. He won't be just sitting around. He'd been home a week, but hadn't done a lot of throwing. He'll throw a bullpen and get his legs back under him. It shouldn't take that long."

Carrasco is out for the year with a broken right hand after getting hit by a line drive Saturday against Detroit.

Plutko is sharing a locker with Perci Garner, a teammate from Columbus. Trevor Bauer is in the next locker. Plutko and Bauer pitched at UCLA together.

"We only saw him a couple of times in relief in spring training," said Francona. "One day he came in blowing about 96 mph. That's not him. He's a lot like Tomlin - he needs to command.

"He's not scared. He'll be a guy who gets every bit out of what he is because of his competitiveness. He's pitched at UCLA. He was a high-profile guy in college. There was a reason we called him up."

The Indians are carrying 37 players, including 14 relievers.

Testing, testing: Danny Salazar, who strained the flexor muscle in his right forearm on Sept. 9 against the Twins, played catch at 60 feet Tuesday. It's the first time he's played catch since being shut down for 10 days and receiving a PRP (platelet rich plasma) injection.

If the Indians make the postseason, pitching coach Mickey Callaway said, "There is a small chance he could be in our bullpen."

The diagnosis for Salazar's injury called for 10 days of rest and three or four weeks of throwing before he could pitch in games again.

"This was just to shake the cobwebs off," said Francona. "He'll do roughly the same thing on Wednesday. Then we'll see how he feels."

Asked about the possibility of Salazar being able to pitch "down the road," Francona said, "You're always hoping for the best. I know the No.1 priority is to get him healthy and feeling good. If it ends up being more than that, boy, that would be wonderful."

Finally: Ray 'Boom, Boom' Mancini, the pride of Youngstown and former WBA lightweight champion of the world, threw out the first pitch Tuesday night. Mancini threw a strike from the rubber. ... Ayanna "AJ' Andrews of the Akron Racers received a Rawlings Gold Glove award before Tuesday's game. Andrews is the first woman to receive a Gold Glove. This is the first year Rawlings has honored a female fastpitch softball player.