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Cleveland Indians' newly acquired infielder Chris Johnson missed the weekend series with the Minnesota Twins due to an infected spider bite, and he could miss even more time. The bite happened during his stay in a Minnesota hotel. Based on my passing knowledge of comic books and some completely made-up calculations, Johnson has at least a 20% chance of becoming baseball’s first known Spider-Man.
Obvious superhero jokes aside, the injury to Johnson could be enough to sideline him for a few more days. Paul Hoynes is reporting that Johnson’s hand was so swollen Saturday that he could not even bend his finger, and the apparent infection got bad enough that it required a hospital visit where it was treated with antibiotics.
"The doctor said they were going try and get the swelling and infection out of there," said Johnson. "I guess whatever bit me got (me) infected. I'm hoping the swelling goes down and in a couple of days and I can start swing a bat again."
The Indians acquired Johnson as part of a post-deadline deal that sent Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn to the Atlanta Braves for some salary relief. In his short stint six-game stint on the field with the Tribe thus far, Johnson has nine hits in 21 at-bats playing a mix of first and third base.
Johnson's absence has been especially felt because the Indians bench is already sparse with Jason Kipnis and Michael Brantley working their way back from injuries of their own. Maybe Johnson should share some of his newfound healing factor?