The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Carrasco news is good; Zimmer news is not
Injured starter Carlos Carrasco is already throwing, and the Indians are hopeful for his return, but Bradley Zimmer is hurt at Triple-A Columbus and could be out until August.
Takeaways on a rainy June 22 at Progressive Field:
• Terry Francona feared the worst on June 16 when starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco was hit on the right elbow by a line drive hit by Minnesota Twins first baseman Joe Mauer, but the Indians manager was smiling with relief on June 22.
“He’s out throwing to 90 feet,” Francona said before rain delayed the start of the Indians-Tigers game at Progressive Field. “He’ll do that for the foreseeable future. Then at some point, he’ll be ready to throw a bullpen. The best guesstimate we can give you is next week.
“Is it early next week, is it late next week? We don’t know that yet, but that’s kind of where we are. I think the good side of it is, he’s up and throwing, and he’s probably going to come quick because he’s in shape and everything, but when he throws a bullpen, I’ll let you guys know.”
Francona first thought Carrasco was hit in the face. Then he feared the blow might have resulted in a fractured elbow. All tests came back negative, but Carrasco’s elbow remained swollen. That is beginning to subside.
“Kind of hard to (throw) when you’ve got swelling in there,” Francona said. “So I think they did a good job with that and now that he’s out throwing, that should help too, just moving, get the blood flowing.”
Carrasco is 8-5. He is on the 10-day disabled list.
• The news is not as encouraging for center fielder Bradley Zimmer.
Zimmer was sent down to the Columbus Clippers on June 5 because the Indians wanted him to cut down on his strikeouts (44 strikeouts in 106 at-bats over 34 games).
Zimmer suffered a right shoulder injury during a routine one-handed swinging drill on June 11. The Indians thought he would be out only a few days, but now he might be out of commission until August.
“The way that was explained to me was, he’s got shoulder inflammation,” Francona said. “He got the (anti-inflammatory) shot, and it’ll be four to six weeks return to game activity. Now that’s very general, but that’s kind of the best we can do.
“We know he’s a tough kid and all that, but it’s going to be a little while until he’s back playing. Good news is he’s going to be OK. Bad news is that he’s missing out on the at-bats we really want him to get.”
Tyler Naquin started in center field against the Tigers on June 22.
• Jose Ramirez is on fire. The Indians infielder has 22 home runs through the first 73 games of 2018. That puts him in elite company, tying Albert Belle (22 in 1994) and Jim Thome (22 in 1997) for home runs in the same span of games.
Only Al Rosen (25 in 1950), Belle (25 in 1996) and Rocky Colavito (23 in 1959) had more homers for the Indians in 73 games.
“In spring training, he really didn’t swing the bat very well at all,” Francona said. “Not that anybody was worried, but he didn’t. And then when the season started, he didn’t swing the bat very well. But then, once he got going, it’s both sides of the plate. It’s power. It’s consistent contact. Not a lot of strikeouts. Good baserunner. The whole package. Man. it’s really exciting.”
Ramirez was riding a streak of reaching base safely in 28 straight games heading into the game with the Tigers on June 22. He made it 29 straight with a walk in the first inning.
• The Indians are tough to beat at Progressive Field. Since the 2017 All-Star break, they have the best home record in the Major League — 52-21. That’s a .712 winning percentage.