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Carrasco sees light at end of elbow rehab | indians.com: News
It's still very unlikely that Carrasco will pitch in the majors this season, but if there's no setbacks he may get some innings in in the minors before the year is out. Losing Carrasco to Tommy John surgery was a big loss; Carrasco had (and has) the potential to be a top-of-the-rotation starting pitcher, and was just starting to grow into that role before he went onto the shelf.
Contract altered, Hernandez eager to rejoin Tribe | indians.com: News
Speaking of missing pitchers, the pitcher formerly known as Fausto Carmona has still not been allowed entry into the US, but Chris Antonetti seems fairly confident that that may be changing shortly:
"It's certainly a possibility that he could be back in the United States by the All-Star break," Antonetti said. "But I can't sit here and say with certainty that that's going to happen. Until he's actually granted his visa and permitted access to the United State, no one really knows for sure."
So what if the State Department signed off on Hernandez's visa tomorrow? Hernandez has been throwing in the Dominican Republic, so it's not like he's going to need to get his arm in shape, but he's not going to go from throwing simulated games in the DR straight to the majors. He'd at the very least have to start some games in the minors. Four starts equals 20 days, so perhaps he could be back by the end of July if everything works out (visa is approved, no further punishment).
I believe that if Hernandez accrues another month or so of major-league service time, he would be eligible for free agency after the season, but the Indians have a fairly reasonable $6M team option on him for the 2013 season. The 2014 option was removed when the Indians and Hernandez altered their contract in the wake of the identity revelations.