Carrasco out indefinitely with medical condition

CLEVELAND -- As if the Indians’ starting rotation hasn’t been through enough, the Tribe has suffered another big loss.

Carlos Carrasco who was slated to make Wednesday’s start against the Twins, has been placed on the 10-day injured list, retroactive to Sunday, due to a blood condition not sustained on the field. The Indians are not releasing any further details until Carrasco and his family are ready.

“After talking to Carlos yesterday, knowing that he was going on the [injured] list and not pitching, we tried to be respectful to you guys,” Indians manager Terry Francona said. “But at the same time, we have to err on the side of being respectful to Carlos and his family.

“When Carlos is comfortable talking more, he will. But that is strictly when he is comfortable doing that. He had been feeling sluggish, and because he’s had some heart issues in the past, he had some blood tests that led to this conclusion.”

Those heart issues occurred in the fall of 2014, after the season, when the righty underwent non-invasive heart surgery after experiencing heart palpitations. While his current condition is not tied to his heart, his medical history assisted in getting him checked. Carrasco’s timetable to return is unknown as he steps away from baseball to address his condition, but the Indians said in a release that they believe he’ll return at some point this season.

“We show up here, and we spend so much time here,” Francona said. “Our one thought of the day is how we’re going to win a game. And I don’t apologize for that. At the same time, it’s kind of amazing how quickly you can shift gears.”

The Tribe’s skipper brought his team together in the afternoon before Tuesday’s game, Carrasco included, to address the situation.

We do a pretty good job of closing ranks. Not that you can ever take the place of a guy’s own family, but the guys in that room are pretty special to each other. They look out for each other. At times like this, they’ve risen to the occasion before, and they will again.

Goody, Anderson recalled

Because Carrasco was set to be Wednesday’s starter, the Indians chose to use Tyler Clippard as an opener for what became a bullpen day. To have enough arms available in the ‘pen, the team also optioned outfielder Greg Allen back to Triple-A Columbus and recalled right-handers Jon Edwards and Nick Goody from Columbus.

Edwards has split the 2019 season between Cleveland and Columbus, posting an ERA of 2.45 in eight relief outings with the big league club.

“I think one of the biggest things is trying to get his confidence back,” Francona said. “When he came up to us last year, he was on such a roll that he just kept going. I think now when he made the club out of Spring Training all of a sudden there’s that added responsibility. It’s a little different, and I think he took a few lumps. Sometimes you gotta kinda fight back from that and that’s why we sent him down.”

Goody got off to a shaky start in Triple-A after missing the majority of last season due to right elbow surgery. But in his last eight appearances with the Clippers, he’s posted a 1.69 ERA.

“April was really a tough month for him, I mean really tough,” Francona said. “And to his credit he’s starting to kinda now fight back and show more of being closer to who he is.”

Plutko to start Saturday

Now that the Indians have four starting pitchers on the injured list -- Corey Kluber (fractured right arm), Mike Clevinger (upper back strain), Jefry Rodriguez (shoulder strain) and Carrasco -- the Tribe will call on Adam Plutko for Saturday’s start against the Yankees.

“After that, because of days off, we only need one fifth starter one day until [Clevinger] potentially comes back,” Francona said. “We don’t need to make that decision now. Depending on what shape we’re in, we could maybe have a bullpen day. That might be a reach. Again, we don’t have to do that yet.”

The Indians are hoping Clevinger only needs two rehab starts, including Thursday’s planned outing for Triple-A Columbus.