CLEVELAND -- It was only a bullpen session, but the way Carlos Carrasco threw off the mound on Monday afternoon had Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway excited. Callaway flashed a wide smile when asked about the pitcher's latest step forward in his rehab from a hamstring injury.
"[Carrasco] looked really good," Callaway said. "He was throwing like 100 out there. He's in a really good spot."
Prior to Cleveland's game against the Reds, Carrasco worked through a 40-pitch mound session, throwing all of his pitches. It marked the second bullpen workout for Carrasco since he injured his left hamstring while running to cover first base during the Tribe's April 24 game in Detroit.
Callaway noted that the tentative plan calls for Carrasco to throw a two-inning simulated game on Thursday. In the meantime, the right-hander will continue to do his strength and conditioning work behind the scenes, while ramping up the intensity of his agility drills.
"He's not feeling that at all, especially when he throws," Callaway said of the injury. "Obviously, we'll get to a point where we want to push him and try to get him to cover first and doing the [fielding drills], which he's not ready for yet, probably. He's probably ready for it, but we're not willing to test him on it yet."
Carrasco went 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA in four starts before landing on the 15-day disabled list with the hamstring injury, which came with an initial timetable of four to six weeks. It was a promising early showing for Carrasco, who went 14-10 with a 3.63 ERA and 216 strikeouts in 183 2/3 innings last season.
"The good news about it is his arm looks like you would think," Indians manager Terry Francona said. "When you watch him throw anyway, it's pretty electric."
Other items of note from Monday
• Francona noted that right fielder Lonnie Chisenhall is expected to arrive back in Cleveland on Monday evening. The Indians are expected to activate Chisenhall from baseball's bereavement list prior to Tuesday's game against the Reds.
• Outfielder Michael Brantley, who is on the 15-day DL due to right shoulder inflammation, is scheduled to meet with Dr. Craig Morgan on Tuesday in Wilmington, Del. Morgan performed the November surgery to repair a labral tear in Brantley's non-throwing shoulder.