The Cleveland Indians are planning on activating Yan Gomes from the disabled list Sunday, just over six weeks after the slugging catcher suffered a potentially serious knee injury.
Manager Terry Francona said the Indians considered activating Gomes for Saturday's game against the Reds after he caught nine innings Friday at Triple-A Columbus.
A Saturday activation would mean Gomes would return in time to catch ace Corey Kluber. But Francona said the Indians ultimately decided to exercise caution with Gomes.
"If we ever brought him back too soon, we would be kicking ourselves," Francona told reporters Friday. "We need to try to use common sense, and it's hard when you have a player that's that good and has worked so hard."
Gomes suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee on April 11 when Tigers outfielder Rajai Davis slid into leg on a play at the plate. Francona said at the time that the long-term loss of Gomes could have been "a season-killer" for the Indians.
The 27-year-old Gomes had 21 home runs and 74 RBIs last season, his first year as Cleveland's starting catcher.
Roberto Perez, who has been the No. 1 catcher during Gomes' absence, threw out two runners trying to steal and had his first career triple in Friday's 7-3 victory over Cincinnati.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.