Cleveland Indians outfielder Michael Brantley will start the season on the disabled list as he continues to recover from ankle surgery.
The Indians announced the decision Sunday, four days after Brantley made his spring training debut. The move means outfielder Tyler Naquin will make the Indians' 25-man roster to start the season.
Brantley, who underwent right ankle surgery shortly after last season ended, homered in his first start of the spring on Wednesday night. The Indians are taking it slowly with the two-time All-Star, who has been limited to 101 games over the past two seasons because of injuries.
Mike Napoli, meanwhile, has agreed to go to Triple-A Columbus, manager Terry Francona announced Sunday.
Napoli, 36, signed a minor league deal with the Indians last month despite not having a roster spot. The team signed him to give him a chance to showcase himself for other teams during spring training games, but no opportunities opened elsewhere.
"In my opinion, he can still be a major league player," Francona said, according to cleveland.com. "Even like he said, even platooning or something. But while we have him, his influence will be much appreciated."
Brantley, 30, batted .299 with nine home runs and 52 RBIs in 90 games last season.
Naquin, who had an outstanding rookie year in 2016 but played just 19 games last season, is batting .294 with two homers in 21 games this spring.
Napoli became one of the Indians' most popular players in 2016, when he connected for a career-high 34 homers and 101 RBIs. However, when the club signed prized free agent Edwin Encarnacion last winter, there was not enough money to also retain Napoli, who wound up signing with Texas.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
