Indians’ Carlos Carrasco diagnosed with leukemia

Indians right-handed pitcher Carlos Carrasco has been diagnosed with leukemia, as he revealed to Dominican TV station CDN 37. The club released a video on Twitter Saturday morning which featured Carrasco explaining the diagnosis:

There had been speculation that Carrasco, a veteran of 10 major league seasons who has spent his entire big-league career in Cleveland, was battling the blood cancer since he was placed on the injured list in early June. The team announced at that point that Carrasco had been diagnosed with a blood condition after feeling lethargic for weeks, but the specific nature of the condition was not specified. As The Athletic’s Zack Meisel reported Saturday morning, Carrasco has been in good spirits recently and received touching support from teammate Jason Kipnis following his diagnosis:

The 32-year-old Carrasco, who has been playing catch recently at Progressive Field, told CDN that he plans to begin pitching again at the end of July. After missing almost two full months, he’ll obviously have to go on a rehab assignment before pitching in the big leagues, but the fact he’s planning a return to the mound in short order is a huge testament to Carrasco’s strength and positivity in the midst of fighting such a major obstacle. The return of Carrasco, one of the AL’s best starting pitchers for the last half-decade, clearly would have the potential to be a major plus for an Indians team that has fought through injuries in the rotation all season long.

We at MLB Daily Dish wish Carrasco the best of luck in his treatment and recovery.