Indians designated hitter Travis Hafner was advised by a doctor to continue treating his ailing right shoulder with strengthening exercise.
Hafner received a second opinion on his shoulder from renowned orthopedist Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday.
“Dr. Andrews was very straight forward,” Indians head trainer Lonnie Soloff said Thursday before Cleveland played the Colorado Rockies. “He didn’t think surgery would help his condition. He is doing isometric exercises, stability exercises, lifting weights.”
The Indians also said RHP Fausto Carmona (left hip strain) experienced soreness after throwing a three-inning simulated game Monday. He had an MRI Tuesday, which revealed there was inflammation in his hip, but it had gone down since late May. The Indians said Carmona will be shut down for three to five days and be re-evaluated after that.
Hafner has been on the disabled list since May 30 with a sore shoulder. He got a second opinion Wednesday from Andrews, who agreed with the Indians’ Dr. Mark Schickendantz that Hafner needs continued strengthening of the rotator cuff and shoulder girdle.
“In the absence of irritating that shoulder on a daily basis with game activities, our hope is that it will continue to get stronger,” Soloff said.
Hafner will be re-evaluated in a week to 10 days.
He is hitting .217 with four home runs this season, but has been bothered by the shoulder since spring training.
The 31-year-old Hafner is Cleveland’s career leader at DH with 134 home runs and 464 RBIs.

Catcher acquired from Braves

Looking for depth behind the plate following Victor Martinez’s injury, the Cleveland Indians acquired catcher Sal Fasano from the Atlanta Braves on Thursday for a player to be named.
The 36-year-old Fasano was hitting .193 with two home runs and nine RBIs in 26 games with Atlanta’s Triple-A Richmond affiliate. He was a non-roster invitee to spring training with the Toronto Blue Jays before being given his unconditional release on March 25.
Fasano signed a minor league deal with Atlanta on April 4.
“This was an opportunity for us to bring in a quality, veteran guy to help complement our current catching situation,” Indians assistant general manager John Mirabelli said. “Here is a guy that has a lot of experience, is a very good receiver, throws the ball well and handles the pitching staff exceptionally well.”
Fasano has played in 412 major league games over 10 seasons. He is a career .219 hitter with 47 home runs and 134 RBIs. He last appeared at the major league level with Toronto in 2007.
Kelly Shoppach is currently handling most of the catching duties while Martinez is recovering from right elbow surgery.
The operation was performed June 13 and Martinez is expected to be sidelined six to eight weeks.
To make room for Fasano on the roster, the Indians designated catcher Yamid Haad for assignment.

More draft signings

The Indians have come to terms with six more selections from the First-Year Player Draft.
They are infielder Jason Rodriguez (15th round, Nevada), left-handed pitcher Kaimi Mead (18th round, Hawaii Pacific), outfielder Ryan Blair (21st round, Cal State-Sacramento), infielder Kevin Fontanez (24 th round, Puerto Rican Baseball Academy), right-handed pitcher Steve Smith (28th round, Ouachita Baptist) and left-handed pitcher Russell Young (28th round, Dartmouth).
The team has signed 17 of its 50 selections. 

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