Indians manager Terry Francona undergoes heart procedure

This morning, the Cleveland Indians announced that Terry Francona underwent a heart procedure at the Cleveland Clinic that will keep him out until Friday, July 14th. As a result, Francona will not manage the American League All-Star team.

Ken Rosenthal, who broke the news, also provided more in-depth information regarding the procedure.

In Francona’s absence, bench coach Brad Mills will continue to manage the Cleveland Indians. He also inherits managerial duties for the All-Star game, along with the rest of the Indians coaching staff and Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash. Cash played for Francona in Boston for three years, coached alongside him in Cleveland, and the two remain close friends.

Indians fans can breathe some sighs of relief this morning. For much of the past week fans haven’t been sure how concerned to be about Francona’s health. He left or completely missed several games due to, “an elevated heart rate” according to the team. Poor circulation already required that he wear long sleeve compression shirts and pants, and an additional heart problem on top of that had some fans fearing the worst. Fortunately, the timetable for Francona’s return is short, and the odds of complete success from such procedures are well above 90%.

Any fans who wish to send their regards to Francona may do so by signing cards on the concourse of Progressive Field before today’s game.