What It Means:

Kipnis has already been ruled out of being ready for Opening Day and is facing an indefinite shutdown until the Indians find out the reason his shoulder is bothering him. The second baseman says if it were the regular season he would be able to play through the ailment but expect Cleveland to be extra cautious to start the season.

Kipnis crushed a career-high 23 home runs in 2016 while slashing .275/.343/.469 in 610 at-bats.