The banged up Indians have lost yet another important player to injury prior to the postseason.

Staff ace Corey Kluber will miss 7-10 days with a quad injury, the team announced Tuesday night. Kluber left Monday's start after four innings with what was originally called a groin injury. An MRI confirmed the actual injury is to his quad.

The Indians have already clinched the AL Central title, so their postseason spot is secure. They can afford to take it easy on Kluber these next few days to make sure he's healthy.

The ALDS begins Thursday, Oct. 6, so nine days from now. Game 2 is the following day. The Indians could start Trevor Bauer in Game 1 and Kluber in Game 2 to give him that extra day of rest. It's hard to think they'd push him all the way back to Game 3 on Oct. 9. He'd only be able to start one game in the series in that case.

Needless to say, the Indians and Kluber are going to be cutting it close. Any sort of setback could push him out of the ALDS entirely. The good news is this seems to be a minor strain. As long as he's ready to go for Game 1 or 2, this is little more than a nice breather before the postseason.

Corey Kluber will miss 7-10 days with a quad injury. USATSI

The Indians are already without Carlos Carrasco (hand) and Danny Salazar (forearm), so losing Kluber for the ALDS would have been a devastating blow. They were talking about using Kluber on three days' rest in the postseason, but I imagine that is off the table now.

The Indians, Red Sox, and Rangers are all currently battling for the best record in the AL. Cleveland and Texas have already clinched division titles. The BoSox should do the same very soon.