The Indians have officially welcomed back a key member of their starting rotation, activating right-handed pitcher Carlos Carrasco from the 10-day disabled list Friday.
Carrasco missed roughly three weeks after taking a line drive off his pitching elbow back on June 16, but suffered only a bruise. He tossed four shutout innings last Saturday in a rehab appearance for Double-A Akron, and will start for the Tribe tonight in Cleveland against the Oakland Athletics.
Though not as dominant as in years past, "Cookie" has still been solid in 2018, going 8-5 with 96 strikeouts in 91 1/3 innings. He also leads all of baseball with two complete games.
To make room for Carrasco, the Indians designated relieved George Kontos for assignment. Kontos pitched just six games for Cleveland, allowing two runs and striking out four in 5 1/3 innings.
While Kontos is gone, the Tribe also made a trade for another potential bullpen piece, acquiring 31-year-old James Hoyt from the Houston Astros for minor league prospect Tommy DeJuneas. Hoyt has a 4.40 ERA in 66 career big league games, and will be assigned to Triple-A Columbus.
