Indians place catcher Yan Gomes on 15-day disabled list

— -- CLEVELAND -- Yan Gomes' sprained right knee will sideline Cleveland's catcher for now. The Indians are bracing he could be out a lot longer than a few weeks.

Gomes was placed on the 15-day disabled list Sunday after injuring his knee on a play at the plate in Saturday's loss to Detroit. Gomes was unable to put any weight on his leg when he was helped off the field and the Indians are waiting for further tests.

Manager Terry Francona said the team will likely provide an update on Gomes during the series finale with the Tigers. He also hinted the injury could be serious.

"Losing Gomes, man, that can be a season-killer," he said.

The Indians also recalled right-handers Shaun Marcum and Austin Adams from Triple-A Columbus and optioned lefty Kyle Crockett to the minors.

Gomes got hurt when his leg was jolted violently by Detroit outfielder Rajai Davis, who made a hard slide on a force play. Gomes was extended like a first baseman making the catch when Davis knocked the legs out from under the catcher.

The loss of Gomes is a tough one since he's the club's top right-handed power hitter and a solid defensive player. Last season, Gomes led all AL catchers in average (.278) and extra-base hits (49). He was second in RBIs (74) and homers (21) and handled one of baseball's youngest starting staffs.

Not having Gomes in the lineup or behind the plate weakens the Indians.

"I think I used the word with Gomer a lot of times this spring where you like your catcher to be indispensable," Francona said. "I think that's a pretty big compliment to Gomer."

Marcum, 33, has not pitched in the majors since 2013, when he went 1-10 with the Mets. The two-time 13-game winner has worked as both a starter and reliever in parts of eight seasons with the Mets, Brewers and Blue Jays.

Roberto Perez will start in place of Gomes, and the team will call up Brett Hayes from Triple-A Columbus on Tuesday. The Indians are off Monday.

Francona is confident that Perez, who homered earlier this week in a win at Houston, can fill in capably while Gomes is out.

"We're so fortunate we have Roberto," Francona said. "I would say the biggest thing is that every single pitcher on the staff has not one single issue throwing with Roberto. He has a little bit less experience less than Gomes, not a ton, but some. But they all love throwing to him. We told him this spring, `Prepare like you're going to be an everyday guy because you're always one injury away from being an everyday guy.'

"Unfortunately that happened. The good side for us it that he can handle this."

Perez played in 29 games last season for the Indians, who brought up the 26-year-old in July. He batted .271 with one homer and four RBIs.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.