Francona: Bauer confident finger will hold up in World Series

Barring any drone repairs from now until World Series rosters are finalized, Trevor Bauer is certain his injured finger will be healed in time for him to play.

Cleveland Indians manager Terry Francona said his starter's extremely confident about his availability to pitch in the World Series if, and when, the team needs him to.

"Dr. (Thomas) Graham is going to do a little more suture work on him just to tighten up that one area," Francona told Jeff Schudel of the Morning News.

"He thinks it’s healing really well. There’s just that one area down at the bottom where the skin isn’t quite as healthy as the rest of it. So he’s going to suture it back up so it won’t bleed. That’s really the only issue. And he’s very confident that this is not going to be an issue."

Bauer made headlines in Game 5 of the ALCS against the Toronto Blue Jays after the starter began bleeding profusely on the mound from a wound on his pinky finger, which he suffered fixing a drone five days earlier.

"I celebrated a couple days ago (after the Indians eliminated the Blue Jays)," Bauer said. "I took an off day yesterday. I came in and got treatment. I’ve played catch. Did weighted balls. Normal stuff that I would do.

"It’s healing, so we’re in a good spot. I’ll be able to pitch, no problem."