The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Carrasco looking to bounce back
Owns a spot in starting rotation
After a star-crossed 2016 season, Carlos Carrasco is confident he will be one of the anchors of a starting rotation many analysts believe will propel the Indians to a second straight American League pennant and a return engagement in the World Series.
The 29-year-old righthander from Venezuela said he is fully recovered from the broken finger on his right hand that sent him to the disabled list in the middle of September last season. He missed all of his team’s exciting playoff run that ended with 10th-inning loss to the Chicago Cubs in Game 7 of the World Series.
Carrasco is convinced his season-ending injury, coupled with the forearm strain that limited fellow starter Danny Salazar to two relief appearances covering three innings late in the World Series, kept the Indians from ending the franchise’s 68-year title drought.
“If we don’t get hurt, I don’t think the World Series gets to a seventh game,” Carrasco said during an interview in Cleveland in late January.
He also spent five weeks on the disabled list after straining a hamstring covering first base in an April 24 game against the Tigers in Detroit.
Despite those setbacks, Carrasco finished the 2016 season with an 11-8 record and 3.32 ERA in 25 starts.
Carrasco said he was “100 percent ready” for spring training in Arizona.
“I feel more strong now,” he said. “Every day, I get better. Every day, I learn a new thing. Every day, I watch video of a different pitcher. I can watch (fellow Tribe starter Corey) Kluber. He’s one of the best pitchers in baseball right now. All of our starters are great pitchers. That’s why we have one of the best starting staffs in baseball.”
Originally signed by Philadelphia in November 2003 as an amateur free agent, Carrasco was one of the Phillies’ top prospects when he was traded to the Indians on July 29, 2009, for then-reigning American League Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee and outfielder Ben Francisco.
For the Indians, Carrasco was the main man in the controversial trade-deadline deal that also brought catcher Lou Marson, minorleague pitcher Jason Knapp and infielder Jason Donald to Cleveland.
Carrasco had six starts at Triple-A Columbus, then made his big-league debut in September 2009. He was 0-4 with an 8.87 ERA in six starts with the Indians.
He was back in Columbus for most of the 2010 season before earning another lateseason promotion to the Indians. He was 2-2 with a 3.83 ERA in seven starts.
The 2011 season got off to a promising start for Carrasco. He earned a spot in the starting rotation out of spring training but was placed on the disabled list in late April with elbow inflammation. Later that season, with an 8-9 record and 4.62 ERA in 21 starts, he was shut down for good with elbow issues that required Tommy John surgery.
After missing the 2012 season while recovering from the surgery, Carrasco returned in 2013 and again earned a spot in the starting rotation out of spring training. It was an up-and-down season, however, marked by two suspensions for throwing at batters and a demotion to Columbus.
He spent all of the 2014 with the Indians, opening the season in the bullpen before moving back into the starting rotation for good in August and September.
The breakthrough for Carrasco came in 2014. He finally blossomed as a fulltime starter with a 14-12 record and 3.63 ERA.
He has hurled three onehitters since 2015 while refining an arsenal that features two-seam and fourseam fastballs, curve and slider.
“Every time, I go out there to throw a no-hitter. That’s the best way to think for me,” Carrasco said.
His first appearance of this spring training came on Feb. 27 against Texas. He surrendered a two-run home run but otherwise was solid in two innings.
“We need to come in this year, work hard and play hard every day,” Carrasco said. “We’re better now and we have unfinished business.”