Waiting on Carlos Carrasco’s MRI and 4 other things about the Cleveland Indians

GOODYEAR, Ariz. -- Mike Clevinger is already on crutches because of the surgery that was performed on his left knee a week ago. Thursday morning Carlos Carrasco was spotted in the locker room leaning on a crutch to support an injured right leg.

While Clevinger’s injury is common knowledge, the extent of Carrasco’s injury has yet to be revealed. The second member of the Tribe’s starting rotation had an MRI on his upper right leg on Thursday morning. Manager Terry Francona said after practice that the MRI had been sent to California to be read by doctors and that the Indians should know more Friday about what exactly is bothering Carrasco.

“He was squatting and he felt something in his upper leg area,” said Francona. "I know it’s a little vague but that’s what we know. So rather than give out something we don’t know, we’ll wait to hear what they say and, like I said, we’ll pass it along.”

The Indians, who traded starters Trevor Bauer and Corey Kluber within the last seven months, still felt the rotation was the strength of their team when they opened spring training on Feb. 11. But that was before Clevinger tore a meniscus in his left knee and Carrasco’s to-be-determined injury.

Depth in the rotation saved the Indians last year when they were able to dive into their minor league system and pull out Jefry Rodriguez, Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale. Clevinger isn’t expected to rejoin the rotation for six or eight weeks. If Carrasco is shut down for an extended time, he may miss the start of the regular season on March 26.

The rotation, without Clevinger or Carrasco, looks like this: Shane Bieber, Adam Plutko, Plesac, Civale and, perhaps, Rodriguez. Possibilities after that include Logan Allen, Scott Moss, Sam Hentges and Triston McKenzie.

“Well, you find out when you need it because if you don’t have it, it hurts," said Francona, concerning starting pitching depth. "How many times have you heard me say, ‘When you think you have enough pitching, go get more.’ If you are in a situation where you have to aggravate a pitcher because you have too many good ones, that’s not the worst problem.”

Cleveland Indians Spring Training day 4, February 20, 2020

Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez is slow to get up after getting hit in the left foot by a pitch from Cameron Hill during batting practice Thursday.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

No.1: Now that’s not funny

Near the end of practice Thursday, right-hander Cam Hill threw a pitch with Jose Ramirez at the plate. Ramirez swung and missed and the pitch hit him in the left foot. Ramirez yelled and went down in a heap.

He stayed down for several minutes before being helped to his feet and limping to the dugout. He was greeted by Francisco Lindor, Francona and others. They were laughing.

“He’ll be fine,” said Francona. “I think the reason guys were laughing so much, myself included, was earlier on Field 1, we were kind of reliving the (Jose) Uribe incident in Anaheim and so compassion didn’t seem to be the first thing people were feeling right then."

Uribe, playing third base for the Tribe in 2016, was hit in the groin by a 106 mph grounder off Mike Trout’s bat. He was not wearing a cup.

“I’m fine," said Ramirez. “It’s only my foot.”

Cleveland Indians pitcher Triston McKenzie throws

Indians right-hander Triston McKenzie throws during batting practice at spring training in Goodyear, Arizona. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

No. 2: That’s going to cost more than a broken window

Not sure if Lindor will be getting a bill or not, but he demolished a Trackman device located behind the plate Thursday when he fouled off a pitch from McKenzie. Trackman is used to measure the vital signs of pitching.

McKenzie is in his first big-league camp after missing about the last 1 1/2 years because of injury. He did not pitch last season because of shoulder and pectoral injuries.

“He’s a guy that we wanted to obviously watch, because this is his first big-league camp anyway, so we always give that group of kids a little extra stern warning about not trying to do too much too quick," said Francona. "So I don’t know when you’ll see him in a game or how much you’ll see him in a game, but I thought he looked really good today. I mean the ball had a lot of life to it, which was nice to see.”

McKenzie is 6-5 and listed at 175 pounds, with the latter measurement likely a bit generous.

“I think he’s gained four or five pounds, which for him is kind of substantial," said Francona. "He’s kind of built like he is. Some day he might be trying to shed a few when he gets older.

"But guys are built like they’re built. They work hard and I’m not sure you want to artificially get him bigger. Hopefully he has the quick twitch (muscles) in his hips and things like that that will play into his having velocity as opposed to maybe overall strength.”

Cleveland Indians Spring Training day 4, February 20, 2020

Indians infielder Mike Freeman. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

No. 3: Oh, the utility of it all

Mike Freeman, Yu Chang and Christian Arroyo are the contenders for the Indians’ utility infielder’s job. Freeman excelled in that role last year so he would have to be considered the favorite.

Francona told reporters Thursday how he intended to use the three players this spring.

“Freeman is going to play all four infield positions and go to the outfield, too, but not right away," said Francona. “Chang is going to play second, third and short. Just for him to have the best chance of making the team, that’s the fairest way to treat him this spring. Arroyo will play second, third and a little bit of short also.”

Freeman hit .277 (49-for-177) with eight doubles, four homers and 24 RBI in 75 games last year. If he makes the club, he’ll have to be added to the 40-man roster.

Cleveland Indians Spring Training day 4, February 20, 2020

Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

No. 4: Open for discussion

One day this spring, probably sooner rather than later, Francona and Lindor are going to sit down and talk about whether or not he’s going to bat leadoff this season.

“I’m not trying to move him out of that spot,” said Francona. “I want to be open to what could be our best lineup. I don’t think anybody knows that until you have a better idea of what your team is going to look like.”

Lindor has been the Tribe’s leadoff hitter for the last two seasons. He’s hit 70 homers and scored 230 runs in those two years. When asked about whether he wanted to hit there again this year, however, Lindor said it might not be the best thing for the Indians.

“I love the idea of Frankie hitting leadoff,” said Francona. "He’s going to get 50 to 60 more at-bats than the next guy. When you turn your lineup over -- for the majority of the time we’re playing American League rules -- you have a bonafide guy sitting right there.

“But if I thought there was a better situation, or he did, we’ll talk through it. I’m not trying to coax him in a different direction. I just want to be open to listening and talking about it. That’s all.”

In the last two years, Lindor has collected 1,259 at-bats, despite missing the first 18 games of last season with calf and ankle injuries. The Tribe’s No. 3 hitters in those two years have had 1,207 at-bats.

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