CINCINNATI, Ohio -- An MRI on closer Chris Perez's right shoulder shows he has tendinitis in the rotator cuff. He will not pick up a baseball for the next five to seven days.

Perez, placed on the 15-day disabled list Monday by the Indians for the first time in his career, will be re-evaluated after that down time. If he's pain free, he will start a throwing program.

The damage to Perez's rotator cuff is not believed to be seriious, although it has lingered since spring training. He is expected to return at or a short time after his 15-day stay on the DL expires on June 11.

Perez will probably have to throw one or two rehab games.

It has been a tough start to the season for the All-Star closer. He came down with a sore right shoulder in spring training and missed a big chunk of camp. The shoulder flared again on May 12 when he couldn't pitch in a save situation against Detroit.

On Sunday he turned a 5-2 lead into a 6-5 loss to Boston at Fenway Park in the ninth inning. Perez left with shoulder pain after throwing a 1-1 pitch to Jacoby Ellsbury. Joe Smith relieved and gave up a game-winning double.

Before that, his struggles on the mound led him to shut down his Twitter account because of negative reaction by fans.

Vinnie Pestano has replaced Perez as the Tribe's closer. Perez is 6-for-8 in save situations this season. In his last five appearances, he's allowed eight runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.