Indians lose Carlos Carrasco for the season due to a broken hand
Cleveland's not having a good day
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1 min read
So much has gone right this season for the Indians. Cleveland entered Saturday seven games up in the American League Central, with a chance to pad that lead against the Tigers.
Yet not everything is going Cleveland's way. Earlier on Saturday, the Indians learned that Yan Gomes would miss the rest of the season -- this just days after Danny Salazar was effectively ruled out for the regular season as well.
In spite of the urban legend, these things don't tend to come in threes. But sure enough, the Indians received more bad news on Saturday afternoon, as Carlos Carrasco left his start against the Tigers two pitches in after taking a liner off the hand.
The initial diagnosis wasn't good ...
Carlos Carrasco has a nondisplaced fracture of the fifth metacarpal on right hand, Indians announce. No timetable for return.
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) September 17, 2016
If that injury sounds familiar, it's same as Nick Castellanos, but on his throwing hand. Castellanos has been out since early August.
— Jason Beck (@beckjason) September 17, 2016
... and Carrasco has since been deemed out for the rest of the season.
The Indians will play at least one postseason round without two of their top three starters, per ERA+ and FIP and just about every other metric.
| Pitcher | IP | ERA+ | FIP |
| Corey Kluber | 204.2 | 153 | 3.26 |
| Trevor Bauer | 170.2 | 118 | 3.93 |
| Josh Tomlin | 153.1 | 101 | 5.11 |
| Carlos Carrasco | 146.1 | 144 | 3.72 |
| Danny Salazar | 137.1 | 124 | 3.73 |
| Mike Clevinger | 45.1 | 101 | 4.62 |
Logistically, that means that the Indians will follow Corey Kluber and Trevor Bauer with Josh Tomlin and Mike Clevinger, as opposed to the one or the other arrangement that appeared to be in place before Carrasco's injury. It also means the Indians' strength -- a quartet of above-average starters -- has been muted over the last several weeks by injuries. That's a tough break for the Indians, who seemed prime to make a deep postseason run behind one of the game's best run prevention units.
We'll see if the Tribe can overcome these injuries the way they have those to Michael Brantley and Gomes. But right now, Cleveland fans are justified in their sadness.
