The Cleveland Guardians have been without right-hander Carlos Carrasco since August 9 (retroactive to August 8) with a left hip strain.
He had been continually battered in the games before the Guardians decided to send him to the injured list, taking his ERA to an unfathomable 5.64 in 103.2 innings.
He has been on the shelf for a month, but is actually in the last stages of his rehab.
In fact, the Guardians announced that he is starting for Double-A Akron on Friday.
Carrasco in Akron on Friday https://t.co/NoYjtuASbM
— Guardians of The Land (@OurCLEGuardians) September 9, 2024
Carrasco might be nearing the end of his productive career, but it doesn’t hurt to have him around and back to full health if he manages to achieve that status.
His upside, at this point, is fairly limited, but he could potentially become a backend/depth option for Cleveland in the stretch run.
He remains capable of returning solid performance over stretches.
For example, from June 21 to July 12, he posted a 3.33 ERA in 27 frames.
He is a respected Guardian due to his highly successful first stint with the team in the productive 2010s, and even though fans don’t expect much in the way of performance at this point, the team is short on depth and could use him.
The staff is currently full after Matthew Boyd and Alex Cobb’s resurgence, so Carrasco isn’t guaranteed a spot on the rotation if he makes a full recovery.
He is expected to require at least another start after Friday’s, depending on how he bounces back from the outing.
It looks like Cleveland will have another pitching option available in a week or two.
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