GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- The Indians were hesitant to put any expectations on Carlos Carrasco over the offseason. The 32-year-old broke the news to his teammates that he had been diagnosed with leukemia on June 4 and was back on the mound as a reliever on Sept. 1. He and the team hoped he’d be able to return in 2020 as a starter following a normal offseason, but no one wanted to assume anything about his health until he arrived in Goodyear. Now, it’s safe to say he’s a lock for the rotation.
Carrasco arrived at camp last week and tested perfectly in all of his health evaluations. He began workouts last Thursday and threw live batting practice to Francisco Lindor, José Ramírez and Carlos Santana on Tuesday. The Indians have Jefry Rodriguez slated for Saturday’s spring opener against the Reds, and Scott Moss and Zach Plesac are scheduled to follow on Sunday and Monday, respectively. But it won’t be much longer until Carrasco toes the rubber as a starter once again.
“The hopeful plan is that we’re able to treat him like [the] Carlos Carrasco like we normally would,” manager Terry Francona said. “He showed up like he has in the past, which is a compliment to him. I think out of respect for him and what he’s been through, we have an obligation to check in with him from time to time and we told him that. Because last year, that was something that he kind of got tired of. He was like, ‘Man, every day everyone asks me how I am.’ I told him we kind of have an obligation and he said, ‘I get it.’”
Carrasco stepped away from baseball from the beginning of June until mid-August. At the time he was debating trying to come back, he and the Indians decided that returning to start again in 2019 would be too daunting of a task. But when the club offered him a spot in the bullpen, his eyes lit up. He made 11 relief appearances in September, posting a 6.60 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 15 innings.
“I think it was helpful for him,” Francona said. “I think for him to go home knowing that he had made it back and he could pitch in a Major League game, he could have a fairly normal winter as opposed to, ‘I haven’t thrown a pitch yet.’ I think it was very important for him.”
Carrasco’s health has become crucial now for a Tribe rotation that traded away Corey Kluber in the offseason and could possibly be missing Mike Clevinger at the beginning of the season due to a partial meniscus tear. Now that he’s officially a lock as one of the five starting pitchers, along with Shane Bieber, the rest of the rotation could be filled out with Plesac, Aaron Civale, Adam Plutko, Logan Allen, Rodriguez or Moss.
“The guys we’re transitioning to, the Clevingers, the Biebers of the world, we’re kind of excited about that,” Francona said. “They’ve shown there’s no reluctance to carry a little bit more of the load. And then the younger kids that we probably pushed like Plesac and Civale, they pitched right in the middle of a pennant race [last year] and it didn’t seem to faze them. We feel pretty fortunate. We’ve got to keep it coming.”
Lindor leading off?
On Monday, Francona discussed the possibility of shifting Francisco Lindor out of the leadoff spot after spending the majority of the last two seasons at the top of the order. And while Lindor seemed to agree that it may be a good idea when he was asked about it later that afternoon, Francona clarified on Wednesday that the two will be heavily involved in conversation about the lineup as we get closer to Opening Day.
“I love the idea of Frankie hitting leadoff,” Francona said. “One, he’s gonna get probably 50-60 at-bats more than the next guy. When you turn your lineup over, for the majority of the time, we’re playing American League rules, you have a bona fide guy right there, which I think helps, too. But if I thought there was a better situation or if he did, or if we did, we’ll talk through it. It’s not like I’m trying to coax him into a direction or anything like that. I just want to be open to listening and to talking about it, that’s all.”
Velazquez claimed
Infielder Andrew Velazquez, who was designated for assignment on Friday to make room for outfielder Domingo Santana on the 40-man roster, was claimed off waivers by the Orioles on Wednesday afternoon.
Mills away from team
Indians bench coach Brad Mills is currently away from the team for personal reasons. The club said he will be away for the foreseeable future.