CLEVELAND — Indians Starter Carlos Carrasco has been activated form the 60-day injured list, joining the active major league roster for the first time since being diagnosed with leukemia.
Carrasco, who was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia in early June, began throwing bullpen sessions in July.
In his rehab stints with the Akron RubberDucks and Columbus Clippers, Carrasco pitched for 5 total innings, recording a 1.80 ERA with two hits and eight strikeouts.
He recorded a strikeout in his first outing with the RubberDucks and four strikeouts in his second, allowing no walks, runs or hits. He threw 25 pitches and 17 strikes with his pitching velocity above 90 mph in that second outing.
Carrasco’s last Major League start was on May 30, but in this 12 starts with Cleveland this season he posted a 4-6 record with a 4.98 ERA and 79 strikeouts.
Indians manager Terry Francona said that the team will use Carrasco out of the bullpen.
“When he started throwing bullpens, just to see his face light up and have him in the dugout and see our guys react to him was really cool,” Francona told MLB Radio Network. “And we said, ‘If these bullpens lead to him pitching for us, that’s kind of icing on the cake,’ but what’s really more important, and by a big distance, is his wellness. And he just seems so excited to be back pitching again, and we’re excited to have him. He’s a big part of us and he knows that. He knows he’s cared about, but it’s going to be fun having him back.”
After a long and scary journey, Carlos Carrasco will be activated on Sunday.
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) August 28, 2019
🎙️Terry Francona🎙️@Indians | #Indians | #RallyTogether pic.twitter.com/IKZRQSOgBn
After a hard-fought battle, Carrasco has officially made his way back to the Tribe.
RELATED: How Carlos Carrasco is fighting his way back to the Tribe
Camryn Justice is a digital content producer at News 5 Cleveland. Follow her on Twitter @camijustice.
