Tag Archives: Carlos Carrasco

Indians season review at the All-Star Break

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The Cleveland Indians season has not exactly gone to plan thus far but even with all the adversity they are still in the thick of the playoff hunt.

Maybe the All-Star Break is not the best thing for the Cleveland Indians at this moment in time. The Tribe are one of the hottest teams in baseball, winners of six straight including 23 of their past 31 games. After trailing the Twins by double-digits in the standings, Cleveland is only 5.5 games back of Minnesota. The Indians are up by 1.5 games over Oakland for the second Wild Card spot. The postseason is not out of the question at the All-Star Break after multiple instances that may have derailed other teams.

Pitching Rotation

Cleveland’s pitching staff was thought to be the strength of the team. The Indians would rally behind the likes of Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Mike Clevinger and Trevor Bauer. The only problem is that has not been the case. Clevinger has missed the majority of the season and only just returned to the rotation recently Corey Kluber is still recovering from a right arm fracture and any contribution from Kluber going forward is bonus. Trevor Bauer has not pitched up to the level that most expected. Bauer is one to always be working and tinkering with his mechanics and pitches. His regression form past season may be due to a bit of overwork on his pitches.

Then there is Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco went on the injured list in early-June with an undisclosed blood disorder. It is only know that Carrasco informed everyone that he has diagnosed with Leukemia. The reality of the situation is that Cleveland should be prepared to not have Carrasco for the remainder of the season. Carrasco’s health comes first, baseball is a distant second. Carrasco need to make sure that he is right for himself and his family before even considering making a return to baseball.

Cleveland has called upon Shane Bieber to step up his game this season and he has certainly delivered. In 19 games Bieber has an ERA of 3.45 while striking out an average 11.3 batters per nine innings. Bieber has been the best pitcher for the Indians so far this season. Even if the others were available, Bieber still has outperformed the other Indians pitchers.

Bullpen

The Tribe bullpen was quite the contentious area coming into the season. The departures of Andrew Miller and Cody Allen did not sit well with many and most thought the weak spot of the team would be the bullpen. Surprisingly Cleveland’s bullpen has been one of the best in baseball. With a league leading 3.45 ERA, this group has surprised many due to the lack of big names. Outside of Brad Hand, the names in the bullpen are not household names. Names such as Tyler Olson, Adam Cimber, Oliver Perez, Nick Wittgren and Tyler Clippard have held their own this season. The collective 1.24 WHIP (sixth best in baseball) has certainly helped he Cleveland bullpen limit damage so far this season.

Offense

Several players the Indians gave a chance to this season have found themselves phased out. Players such as Hanley Ramirez, Carlos Gonzalez and Leonys Martin saw play time earlier this season. All three are no longer with the club. A disappointing campaign from Jose Ramirez did not help things in the early going, but things have been heading in the right direction as of late.

Carlos Santana has enjoyed one of his best seasons of his career in 2019. Batting just under .300 with 19 home runs and 17 doubles, Santana has been one of the best hitters in the Indians lineup this season. Cleveland will need Santana to continue to produce at the plate moving forward.

The surge of Roberto Perez is a bit surprising. Coming into this season not many thought “Bebo” was capable of this. Slashing .256/.345/.527.872 with 16 home runs and driving in 36 runs. Perez has more than proved that trading Yan Gomes was not the Tribe waving the white flag. In fact the team had confidence that Perez could improve at the plate and take over regular catching duties.

The addition of Oscar Mercado to the lineup has provided a bit more clarity to an outfield that was in limbo coming into the season. Mercado has slashed .281/.328/.427/.755 in 43 games this season. Mercado’s performance has dipped a bit lately, but a break should allow himself to refocus and get ready for the remainder of the season.

After the break outlook

There is a very critical stretch right after the All-Star Break. The Indians begin a 10 game home stand against the Twins, Tigers and Royals. It will be crucial to continue their winning ways, especially against Minnesota. Every win against the Twins closes the gap in the standings by one game and that is truly needed right now.

If things go sideways at any point between that initial home stand and the end of the month, the Indians could find themselves trading players such as Trevor Bauer and Brad Hand. As long as the Indians can keep winning and the Twins lose, the race in the American League Central is not over.

Carlos Carrasco placed on injured list

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Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco has been placed on the 10-day injured list with an undisclosed blood condition. Cleveland also sends down Greg Allen and call up Jon Edwards and Nick Goody.

Carlos Carrasco was originally slated to start Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Twins. Things have since changed. The Indians announced that they are placing Carlos Carrasco on the injured list with a non-baseball medical condition. This move is retroactive to June 2nd.

Carrasco is described as having a blood condition and feeling lethargic. All baseball activities are on hold as he explores treatment and recovery options. While the team also states they are unsure when he will return, this type of condition does not sound like a return is imminent. The statement uses very careful language when releasing the information. Most notably that Carrasco and his family will release information at their discretion. In terms of on the field results, anything the team gets from Carlos Carrasco the rest of the season needs to be seen as a bonus. This is not pessimism, it is just realizing that this matter appears to much more serious than anyone could have predicted.

Corresponding moves from the Tribe

In addition to placing Carrasco on the injured list the team made some more roster moves. Sending Greg Allen down to AAA Columbus while calling up relief pitchers Jon Edwards and Nick Goody. With Wednesday’s game now being a bullpen affair, their participation seems almost guaranteed. Tyler Clippard is getting his first start of the season and many more bullpen arms will follow. Edwards and Goody may have a limited shelf life in Cleveland. Their spots on the roster came out of necessity and not necessarily due to their performance.

While sending down Greg Allen is not a popular move, it seemed inevitable. There are more outfielders currently on the roster than Tito knows what to do with. Although moving on from Leonys Martin most likely would have been a better move. Martin has been hot and cold all season long, with the cold streaks lasting longer than the hot ones. If Martin’s playing time is not that of a regular starter, that is fine. If the team plays Martin the majority of the time, this is a problem. There are other, more productive bats currently on the roster and down in Columbus. Columbus being the next place the Indians could turn to when looking to give the offense a boost.

Indians slug their way past White Sox

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The Cleveland Indians hit five home runs in a much needed offensive explosion in their 9-0 win over the Chicago White Sox.

It has not been a secret that the Cleveland Indians offense has struggle so far this season. Cleveland slugged their way to a 9-0 victory over the Chicago White Sox Tuesday. This is a far cry from the disastrous outing the day before where Francisco Lindor got the only two hits for the Tribe.

Jordan Luplow continues to crush White Sox pitching. Luplow had a two home run performance yet again and led the Cleveland offense. Just last week Luplow also hit two home runs against Chicago. This is exactly what the Indians need at this point in time with their inconsistent offense. Luplow has been quite impressive since his return from AAA Columbus.

Cleveland also got some production from other key players in their lineup. Jose Ramirez, Jake Bauers and Roberto Perez all hit home runs. These types of contributions will be crucial moving forward. The key for the Indians to turn things around will be getting Jose Ramirez going. Any sort of winning streak be dependent on Ramirez’ performance at the plate.

Jason Kipnis also had a good day at the plate. Kipnis went 2-5 including an RBI double in the fifth inning. Kipnis is still not quite where he needs to be, but days like this are encouraging.

Carlos Carrasco got the start for Cleveland and was absolutely phenomenal. Carrasco allowed six hits over seven innings while striking out six. This is the second straight shutdown performance from Carrasco against the White Sox.

The Indians bullpen continued their surprisingly good run. Oliver Perez, Dan Otero and A.J. Cole pitched the final two innings and only allowed one hit.

Cleveland has an off day Wednesday before beginning a four game series at home against the Baltimore Orioles.

Indians split series with White Sox

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The Cleveland Indians defeated the Chicago White Sox in the final game of the series by a score of 5-0 in five innings.

It was a rain shortened affair but the Cleveland Indians came out on top. Due to rain the game only went five innings and was called after a 2:34 rain delay. Cleveland managed to pull ahead just in time so they could come away with a win before the rainstorm came.

Carlos Carrasco had a much needed shutdown performance. Carrasco pitched five shutout innings and only allowed two hits while striking out six. This is an improvement over his last outing where Carrasco allowed four solo home runs against Seattle.

The offense was led by the surprising performance of Jordan Luplow. Luplow hit two home runs in the contest. Both were solo shots including his first with the Indians. This is an encouraging sign for the Cleveland outfielder who has shown he can hit in the minors but was yet to display that ability in the majors.

Jake Bauers would score twice, once on a wild pitch in the second inning and again when Francisco Lindor doubled in the fifth. Bauers went 1-1 with two walks. Lindor would go 1-3, his only hit being the double in the fifth.

Roberto Perez also contributed to the Indians scoring effort, driving in Carlos Gonzalez in the fifth inning. Perez went 2-2 with a walk on the day while Gonzalez went 1-3.

The only two Indians without hits were Jason Kipnis and Tyler Naquin. Kipnis went 0-3 with a walk and Naquin went 0-1, also with a walk. Naquin also did lay down a sacrifice bunt to advance runners in the fourth inning but none would score.

Cleveland now heads out on the road to take on the Oakland Athletics for a three game series.

Indians take on Seattle in weekend series

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The Cleveland Indians are taking on the Seattle Mariners in a three game weekend series. Cleveland swept Seattle on the road in their previous meeting.

The bad news for the Cleveland Indians is they are without Corey Kluber for this series. On the other hand when Cleveland swept Seattle in mid-April they had the same three pitchers who are pitching in this series shut down Seattle in the previous series.

Game 1: May 3 7:10 P.M. Shane Bieber (2-1) versus Yusei Kikuchi (1-1)

Back on April 16 Shane Bieber shut down Seattle en route to a 4-2 victory. Bieber allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Unfortunately Bieber has not pitched well since that outing. In the last 8.1 innings Bieber has allowed eight runs on nine hits and has walked five batters. The bright side is that Bieber struck out nine in the loss to Houston.

Yusei Kikuchi pitched fairly well against Cleveland the last time out, but the Indians came out victorious. Cleveland managed to score three runs on five hits against Kikuchi. Like Bieber, Kikuchi struggled in his next start, but he did end up getting the win. The Angels scored four runs on 10 hits and only struck out three times against Seattle. Hopefully the Indians can come through in a similar fashion against Kikuchi in the series opener.

Game 2: May 4 4:10 P.M. Carlos Carrasco (2-3) versus Mike Leake (2-3)

Carlos Carrasco has not had the best of starts to start the year but his outing against the Mariners was absolutely dominant. Cookie shut down the Seattle offense and ended their record home run streak to start a season. Carrasco allowed three hits over seven innings while striking out 12 Mariners. Although Carrasco did not have a good outing against Houston, there is the possibility he can put together a similar performance against Seattle.

Mike Leake surrendered two runs on eight hits in his matchup against Cleveland. This is tied for the second-fewest baserunners he has allowed this season. Leake has not pitched particularly well this season even with his “peak performance” against Cleveland. The Indians should be able to take advantage of a pitcher who is liable to give up a large amount of both hits and runs.

Game 3: May 5 1:10 P.M. Cody Anderson (0-0) versus Erik Swanson (0-3)

Trevor Bauer was originally scheduled to pitch the final game of the series. However the Indians decided to push Bauer to Sunday and have Cody Anderson start. Anderson has appeared in three games so far this season. Anderson has allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings while striking out five.

Mariners starter Erik Swanson came out on the losing end of Carlos Carrasco’s 1-0 victory. Swanson allowed one run on two hits and struck out five batters. Swanson has not pitched well since this outing, allowing 10 runs on 18 in 9.2 innings pitched. Hopefully the Indians will be able to find similar success against Swanson that both San Diego and Texas have and came out victorious in the series finale.

Carlos Carrasco exits game with injury

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Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco exited Tuesday’s game against the Miami Marlins after a knee injury in the fourth inning.

An injury to a starting pitcher is the last thing that the Cleveland Indians need at this point in time. Unfortunately that is just what happened in Tuesday’s loss to the Miami Marlins. While attempting to cover first on a routine groundout Carlos Carrasco stumbled and injured his knee. Carrasco was able to finish the fourth inning on the mound but was removed due to some discomfort in his knee. Carrasco is getting an MRI on his knee, but it is for precautionary reasons.

Before suffering the injury Carlos Carrasco was pitching quite well. Carrasco allowed two hits in four inning while striking out four. Of Carrasco’s 62 pitches, 41 were strikes. Carrasco definitely looked locked in and was dominating Miami. Unfortunately things were not the same for Neil Ramirez. Ramirez gave up a solo home run on the first pitch he threw. Ramirez would allow three runs in the contest.

It is easy to imagine that if Carlos Carrasco did not get injured that his dominance on the mound would have continued. Carrasco was fantastic in his last start in Seattle and kept on rolling Tuesday. Over his last 11 innings Carrasco has allowed five hits and struck out 16 batters while walking two. Carrasco was building off his start against the Mariners were he shut down a much better offense than the Marlins.

Cleveland needs Carrasco’s MRI to come back clean. After losing Mike Clevinger for the majority of the season they cannot afford to lose another starting pitcher. The Indians margin for error at this current point in time is razor thin and losing another starter is not optimal. If Carlos Carrasco is fine health-wise there is no reason to panic.

Wednesday Morning Update

Per Zack Meisel of The Athletic Carlos Carrasco is fine and intends to make his next start.

The Indians dodged a huge bullet with this one. A serious injury to Carlos Carrasco could have absolutely derailed this season, even though this season is not off to the best of starts thus far.

Indians finish sweep of Mariners

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The Cleveland Indians won their third straight game and completed their three-game sweep of the Mariners on the road in Seattle.

The Cleveland Indians won a close game Wednesday, a 1-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners. Carlos Carrasco and Nick Wittgren shut down the homer happy Mariners as Cleveland finished off the sweep.

Carlos Carrasco got the start and rebounded nicely after failing to get out of the first inning in his last start. Carrasco struck out 12 over seven innings and only allowed three hits. There was a brief moment when it appeared that Seattle would continue their record home run streak, but alas it was not meant to be. What was thought to be a Ryon Healy home run was determined to be foul and Carrasco would strike him out looking on the very next pitch.

Nick Wittgren got the old school two-inning save Wednesday. Wittgren pitched both the eighth and ninth innings to close the game. Wittgren would strike out two batters and not allow a hit in two innings of work. The regular closer Brad Hand got the night off due to pitching in three consecutive games previously.

The Indians only mustered one run but that was all they needed. Jake Bauers hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning to put Cleveland on top. Bauers would get two of the Tribe’s three hits on the day, the other coming off the bat of Carlos Gonzalez.

While the offense did not light up the scoreboard, they did just enough to win the game. Sometimes that is how it is going to go. The offense will struggle and the pitching will have to carry the team to victory. Luckily the combination of Carrasco and Wittgren shut down Seattle to secure the victory. It was not pretty, but a win is a win.

The Indians have an off day before returning home to face Atlanta in a weekend series.

Cookie crumbles in Indians loss

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Cleveland Indians starting pitcher Carlos “Cookie” Carrasco was unable to get out of the first inning in Friday’s 8-1 loss in Kansas City.

The last thing the Cleveland Indians needed with Jefry Rodriguez making his debut Saturday was a short outing from Carlos Carrasco. Unfortunately that is just what they got. Carrasco was only able to go 2/3 of an inning in Friday’s loss. Cookie allowed six runs on six hits while only striking out one. Carrasco’s velocity on his fastball was down and his breaking pitches did not break. Just about everything was over the heart of the plate and Kansas City made him pay. With Carrasco’s short outing the Indians bullpen is in a rough spot.

After Carrasco’s exit the Indians went with a parade of bullpen arms. Nick Wittgren, Tyler Olson, Dan Otero, Oliver Perez, Jon Edwards and Neil Ramirez all followed Carrasco. Olson was the only reliever to allow a run. An unearned run did come across to score with Perez on the mound in the sixth inning.

Cleveland’s extensive bullpen usage in the first game of the series does not bode well for the rest of the weekend. Since Jefry Rodriguez is starting Saturday there was already the chance that the bullpen would see extensive work. Now if Rodriguez struggles, Cleveland will be in an even worse spot,

The Indians offense only scored one run on the day. The run came courtesy of a Tyler Naquin solo shot in the top of the second. This was Naquin’s first of the season. Outside of Naquin’s home run, there was not a lot to write home about. Leonys Martin went 1-2 with two walks. Carlos Santana was 0-1 with three walks. Jose Ramirez was 1-4 with a double. Hanley Ramirez is 1-4.

Cleveland will look to even the series Saturday at 7:15 P.M.

Cleveland Indians open for trades

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The Cleveland Indians are open to trading just about anyone on their roster. The exceptions being Francisco Lindor and Jose Ramirez. ESPN’s Buster Olney Tweeted Friday in regards to the Indians.

The key phrase in Olney’s Tweet is market constraints. Cleveland is a small market baseball club and has to operate as such. Recently Cleveland has made bids at capturing that elusive World Series title. Most notably the three-year $60 million deal handed out to Edwin Encarnacion prior to the 2017 season.

Potential players the Indians may trade

Deals like the one handed out to Encarnacion are exactly what the Indians are looking to get out of. Encarnacion is due $20 million in 2019 and there is an option in 2020, which is also for $20 million. This is quite an expensive salary for a team like Cleveland. In fact Encarnacion is the highest-paid player on the team. Due to this fact he may be dealt rather soon in an effort to shade payroll while still being competitive.

Another player potentially on the trading block is Jason Kipnis. Kipnis is due $14.5 million next season, the third-highest on the team. A combination of declining play and being the odd man out in the infield could lead to Kipnis playing for a new ball club in 2019.

There have also been rumors about trading starting pitching. The Indians have plenty of depth at this position and a deal could be made to shed salary and improve the team at the same time. Corey Kluber will be 33 and is making $15 million in 2019. This is less than half of the deal that Clayton Kershaw just signed, but Cleveland may be persuaded to trade Kluber if the offer is right. Another pitcher that Cleveland may trade is Carlos Carrasco. Carrasco is 32 next season and could interest a contender looking to bolster their rotation, With his inexpensive salary ($9.75 million in 2019) he is easily movable. Although a  combination of low salary and Cleveland’s desire for a low payroll might keep Carrasco in an Indians uniform.

Shane Bieber and Danny Salazar may also be trade candidates. Cleveland held discussions about Bieber last season. Salazar was the subject of trade rumors prior to the 2018 season.

What does this all mean?

If Cleveland trades away any of the aforementioned players the return needs to be an outfield bat. Michael Brantley may not return. The same can be said about Lonnie Chisenhall. Brantley and Chisenahll may just be too expensive enough that Cleveland is unable to bring them back. While Bradley Zimmer, Leonys Martin and Tyler Naquin are still on the roster, this is not exactly an elite group. An upgrade is needed and a trade can provide that upgrade.

Parting ways with fan favorites such as Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco, Jason Kipnis or Edwin Encarnacion will be hard. In order to field a competitive and financially responsible team the Indians may have to do just that. For a small market club like Cleveland, it is just the cost of doing business.