Cleveland Indians Dealt a Tough Blow with Carrasco Injury

The Cleveland Indians will have to get creative after losing Carlos Carrasco to an injury after throwing two pitches in his start Saturday.

The Cleveland Indians are on pace to win the team’s first AL Central title since 2007, but optimism heading into the potential postseason berth took a hit early on in Saturday’s win over the Detroit Tigers.

Carlos Carrasco was hit by a line drive after throwing only two pitches, sustaining an injury that will keep him out for the rest of the season.

The Indians ended up winning the game, getting a shutout performance from eight relievers, but this is some terrible news. With Danny Salazar out for at least the rest of the regular season, Carrasco was the second-best pitcher in the rotation, behind ace Corey Kluber. Trevor Bauer now slides into that role, while Josh Tomlin and Mike Clevinger each have a shot to end up in the postseason rotation.

The best-case scenario would be for Tomlin to find his early-season form during his next few starts, becoming a reliable option for the postseason. This is the storybook ending to his tumultuous year, but this is Cleveland so expect literally anything else.

A likely option for Terry Francona to replace Carrasco, at least for the rest of the regular season, is to continue the bullpenning ways. With so many relievers on the September roster, Francona can have eight pitchers take the mound, as he did Saturday, and not have to worry about having no fresh arms for the next day.

This is a solid fix to Carrasco’s absence for the rest of the regular season, but it will be harder to do in the postseason with a smaller roster. That makes Tomlin or Clevinger that much more important, as a bad start from either could lead to the bullpen having to use all their arms in the middle of a playoff series.

The focus now has to remain on actually clinching the division. Once that happens, Francona can begin reviewing all his options for the postseason rotation. Tomlin and Clevinger will be closely watched as they will be pitching for their chances to be a part of the rotation in October if Salazar does not come back in time.

Something always seems to go wrong with the Indians, but this team has been able to bounce back from injuries all season. Michael Brantley went out and the outfield responded with help from a slew of players. Then Yan Gomes missed time and Roberto Perez and Chris Gimenez filled the catcher role.

Next: Takeaways from the 1-0 win over Detroit

It may be wishful thinking to expect this magical resiliency to carry over into the postseason, but it is all fans can do as the injuries continue to pile up.