ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) - The Cleveland Indians have moved starter Carlos Carrasco to the bullpen and replaced him with Zach McAllister for Wednesday’s series finale against the Los Angeles Angels.
Carrasco, in his fifth season with the Indians, -is 0-3 with a 6.95 ERA in four starts, allowing 17 earned runs, 24 hits and nine walks in 22 innings.
Last year, he was 1-4 with a 6.75 ERA in 15 appearances, including seven starts.
“Even if he was in the bullpen the rest of the year, I don’t know that it means he has to be a reliever,” manager Terry Francona said.
“You try to do what you think is best for the players and the team and you balance that out. This doesn’t have to be a career move. It’s just, for now, this is what we’re doing. We’re trying to balance a number of things.”
“Hopefully, we’ll get him on a roll and he can help us out there. When we talked to him yesterday, we didn’t say he couldn’t start, because I don’t think we believe that,” Francona added. “We just, ’Hey man, for now, you’re in the bullpen. Attack it when you’re asked to pitch. Help us win. And we’ll always communicate with you.”
McAllister will pitch on three days’ rest for the first time in his career after throwing 75 pitches on Saturday at San Francisco and allowing four runs in five innings of a 5-3 loss. He is 3-1 with a 3.14 ERA in five starts.
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