Carlos Carrasco has elbow swelling, though the Indians say it's not serious

An MRI showed that there is no structural damage to Carrasco's elbow

First things first, Indians fans: Don’t panic. This isn’t all bad. 

OK, you ready? Here we go. 

Carlos Carrasco has swelling in his throwing elbow and underwent an MRI on Tuesday. 

Hey, stop that. I said not to panic. 

The MRI, per the team’s official website, showed swelling but no structural damage. For now, the Indians are formulating a plan on how to proceed with Carrasco, but he’s likely to miss at least one spring start. If he’s able to only miss the one start, he’s probably going to be fine to start the season. If anything, maybe the Indians need to slot him fourth or miss just one start to begin the year. 

Still, it’s a fluid situation. 

For those interested, Carrasco missed the last several weeks and then all of the postseason in 2016 due to a broken hand, so it had nothing to do with his elbow. That doesn’t make this less concerning, per se, but it’s notable information that this isn’t anything lingering or related to what ended his season. 

Also of note, Carrasco coughed up eight runs on eight hits in just 1 2/3 innings in his last spring start and that’s why the Indians decided to have his elbow examined. 

Carrasco, 29, was 11-8 with a 3.32 ERA (141 ERA+), 1.15 WHIP and 150 strikeouts in 146 1/3 innings last season. He slots as the No. 2 in Cleveland’s strong rotation behind Corey Kluber.