Cleveland Indians right-hander Carlos Carrasco has been diagnosed with a blood condition and "is stepping away from baseball activities to explore the optimal treatment and recovery options," the team announced Wednesday.
The team said that Carrasco had been feeling lethargic for several weeks and that details of his illness "will be conveyed at Carlos and his family's discretion."
It is not known when he might rejoin the club, but the team did say it expects him to return "at some point this season."
We have placed RHP Carlos Carrasco on the Injured List due to a non-baseball, medical condition.
— Cleveland Indians (@Indians) June 5, 2019
Please keep Cookie and his family in your thoughts during this challenging time.#RallyTogether pic.twitter.com/rA5tCyX2DL
"At this time, our primary concern is Carlos' health and we will respect his wishes to keep this a private matter," the team said.
Manager Terry Francona said Carrasco, 32, was included in a team meeting before Tuesday's game where his situation was discussed.
"He had been feeling sluggish, and because he's had some heart issues in the past, he had some blood tests that led to this conclusion," Francona said, referring to a non-invasive surgery Carrasco underwent for an irregular heartbeat in October 2014.
Said second baseman Jason Kipnis: "He knows that we're going to be with him every step of the way. He's not in this alone."
Carrasco, who signed a $47 million, four-year contract in December, was placed on the 10-day injured list retroactive to June 2. He is 4-6 with a 4.98 ERA in 12 starts this season and has played his entire 10-season big league career in Cleveland with an 83-68 record in 219 appearances (183 starts).
He went 17-10 in 2018 after posting an 18-6 mark in 2017.
Kipnis spoke to Carrasco on Monday night, and he said the usually happy-go-lucky pitcher is understandably nervous.
"I don't know if he had all the information," Kipnis said. "There's a couple of words in it that would cause anyone to not know how to handle it and almost freeze up and be like, what does this mean? I think the more he does research on it and the more people walk him through the process. I immediately Googled it and started asking him questions about what I was finding. He's just nervous because right now there's so much unknown.
"He'll get through this with the help of everybody. I know the city will be very supportive of him. Every time anyone sees him they will wish him well and ask him how he's doing. I'm sure he'll still have a big smile on his face. He's always in a good mood."
The Indians, who are 10½ games behind Minnesota in the American League Central entering Wednesday's games, also optioned outfielder Greg Allen to Triple-A Columbus and recalled right-handers Jon Edwards and Nick Goody from Triple-A.
Carrasco is the third Indians starter sidelined this season. Two-time Cy Young winner Corey Kluber has been out for more than month with a broken right arm, and Mike Clevinger is nearing a return after being out since early April with a strained back muscle.
Francona said the team's latest health scare -- outfielder Leonys Martin survived a life-threatening bacterial infection last year -- has helped put things in perspective.
"We show up here, and we spend so much time here," Francona said. "Our one thought of the day is how we're going to win a game. And I don't apologize for that. At the same time, it's kind of amazing how quickly you can shift gears. We talked about it as a team last night. Carlos was there. We do a pretty good job of closing ranks. Not that you can ever take the place of a guy's own family, but the guys in that room are pretty special to each other.
"They look out for each other. At times like this, they've risen to the occasion before, and they will again."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.