Highlights from manager Terry Francona’s Sunday media session…

Q: Bruce Maxwell took a knee during the national anthem on Saturday. Did any of your players alert you that they may follow suit here today?

“No, I talked to a couple guys, and I’ve talked to them before. My point to them was, one, I wanted to listen. But, I just kind of wanted to express that I wasn’t talking to them to dissuade somebody. I just think, if somebody felt strong enough about it, there would be a way as a team to show support, because we do things together. It’s easy for me to sit here and say, ‘Well, I think this is the greatest country in the world,’ because I do. But, I also haven’t walked in other peoples’ shoes. So, until I think, not just our country, but our world, until we realize that, hey, people are actually equal — it shouldn’t be a revelation — and the different doesn’t mean less. It’s just different. We’ve got work to do. So, I just wanted to make sure that they understood, like if they felt pressure or whatever was on their minds, that as a team we can support each other. That was kind of all it was.”

Q: Your son served in the military. What’re your thoughts on players kneeling?

“You know what? I think we all have thoughts. I don’t know enough, you know what I mean? … I’m happy to stand for the anthem. I think it’s an honorable thing to do. I also know that things aren’t perfect, so other than that, I don’t know if I’m deep enough. I don’t ever want to turn being the manager of the Indians into something that I’m not qualified [to speak on]. I think I’m qualified to care about people. Other than that, I don’t think I’m going to be the next selection at an embassy or something like that.”

Q: Wasn’t this issue part of the inspiration behind creating the Larry Doby Fund a year ago?

“Right. I felt like that was our way, as a team, to show our maybe support for other things, other people who are less fortunate, or however you want to say it. I always feel like trying to turn something that could be a negative into a positive is a good way to do it. But, I also see that people are trying to spur conversation. I get that. Sometimes, the only way to spur it is to do something that maybe gets under peoples’ skin. And I don’t have hardly any answers — let alone all the answers. I just know how I feel about things.”

Q: You have a really diverse group in the clubhouse. How proud were you that they came together to form the Larry Doby Fund so quickly last year?

“That was one of the proudest moments of my life. I’ll always feel that way. I think politicians would do well to come into a Major League clubhouse, because you have people from everywhere. You talk about diverse backgrounds. Yet, if you have our uniform on, it’s ‘we.’ I think people could learn a lot.”

Q: We do have some baseball questions, too…

“Yeah, before my head explodes.” [laughing]

Q: Did the X-ray on Carlos Santana’s left shoulder come back OK?

“He’s good. He showed up today. He is stiff, which we expected, but he tested out really well. Good strength. He’ll get treatment all day today. He’ll come in tomorrow and get treated, but my guess is he’ll probably play on Tuesday. He’s doing fine. We made him go up and swing in the cage before we let him hit and, you saw it, his swings were pretty aggressive. So, that was good. That’s a scary-looking play. You’re kind of vulnerable there when you’re open like that.”

Q: What have you thought of Santana’s turnaround in the second half?

“And his defense has been like — he’s taken it to another level. And he’s proud of it. And he should be. I say it all the time, but I don’t think people realize how athletic he is. As things have progressed and he’s played more, he has taken a lot of pride in it and it’s made a big difference. He’s been really good over there.”

Q: How proud would you be to see him up for a Gold Glove?

“Ohh. On so many fronts, he has made so many gains. The guys love him. They should. He plays every day — except for today. He’s worked hard and it shows.”

Q: Even after the collision at first base, Santana stayed in the game…

“He wanted to. The one thing that you can piss him off is by not playing him, which, in my book, that’s OK. He likes to play. He’s not even really that big on coming out in blowouts. He likes to play. In Spring Training, you always give those guys, ‘Hey, one or two?’ [He’ll say], ‘Three.’ He wants to play.”

Q: Jay Bruce said he’s dealt with this heel issue for a long time?

“He’s had it on and off for a while. At times, it bothers him more. We could have kept him in the game, I just don’t think at this point in the year it made much sense.”

Q: With three off-days before the ALDS, how challenging is this for your pitching staff?

“We’ve done a lot of thinking about it. We did it last year. You’ll probably see a lot of the relievers pitch on Sunday, because that’s the last game action. Then we’ll have Monday off — we’ll probably have an optional [workout]. Tuesday, we’ll have some pitchers throwing and we’ll have hitters hitting off of them. And then Wednesday we’ll have a workout at whatever time our game is.”

Q: Would you do a bullpen day on final home game on Sunday to make sure certain guys pitch?

“No, that’ll be Tomlin’s day, and he needs to pitch. But he’s not going to go — we’ll make sure we cover what we want to.”

Q: Would you look to tape off Corey Kluber’s workload in his last start?

“If he wants to. When he gets in a rhythm, he feels pretty good about that, so we’ll keep an eye on him. He’ll get an extra day [for his first playoff start], but he doesn’t want any more than that.”

Q: Have you been impressed with Greg Allen’s maturity level?

“Beyond his years. Yes. He’s just a wonderful kid. Talk about his hitting or whatever, but he’s just a great kid. Hard not to like him.”

Q: How much do you think it helped that he played for Tony Gwynn in college?

“As a hitter? Yeah. I didn’t know Tony great, I just played against him a lot and watched him a lot. If you wanted to get pointers from a hitter, it seems like a pretty good way to go.”

— JB