CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Right-hander Carlos Carrasco threw a bullpen session Thursday during the Indians’ workout at Progressive Field in preparation for the second half of the season. In fact, he’s been throwing them regularly at Classic Park in Eastlake, home of the Class A Lake County Captains.

Carrasco says his velocity and strength feel the same as before he was placed on the injured list in June after being diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. But Carrasco has no idea when or if he’ll be able to pitch again this season.

“Man, I don’t know," said Carrasco, speaking of his illness publicly for the first time. “I’m just going to take it day by day. I don’t have the answer. But I’m glad to be here around my teammates and just come here and practice.”

When asked about his velocity during his bullpen sessions, Carrasco said, “I feel great. There’s no difference.”

Regarding his physical conditioning, Carrasco said he isn’t limited.

“I’ve been working like normal,” he said. “I never put anything bad in my mind. Everything is good. I don’t feel different. I just push myself to work more and get stronger.”

He said he never felt weak during the 12 starts he made this season.

“The only difference was in the blood test," he said. “I never felt any difference.”

Manager Terry Francona said there is no timetable for Carrasco to return to the mound.

“He’s been throwing bullpens,” said Francona. "The last couple of days he’s been going to Lake County because there has been so much going on here (with the All-Star Game). There isn’t a plan -- and I don’t mean that like we don’t care. The idea is for him to do as much as he can tolerate because it will be good for him.

“Other than that we’re not pushing. We’re just trying to be supportive.”

An abnormal blood test in spring training led to Carrasco undergoing more blood tests during the season. In June the Indians announced that Carrasco was stepping away from the game to get treatment for a blood condition. On Saturday, the Indians released a video of Carrasco talking about being diagnosed with leukemia.

On Sunday, the team said Carrasco was suffering from chronic myeloid leukemia.

When asked what kind of treatment he was receiving, Carrasco said, “I ask you to respect my privacy. I don’t want to talk about that."

The Indians held a team meeting on June 5 to tell Carrasco’s teammates why he was going on the injured list. After that meeting, Carlos Santana, Francisco Lindor, Roberto Perez and others met.

“We said we were going to play hard and win for Cookie,” said Santana, referring to Carrasco’s nickname.

When asked what that meant to him, Carrasco said, "That feels great. Like I said before I always have the support of my teammates. To hear that made me really happy. Santana has always been there for me.

"I can show 300 to 500 texts from my teammates. They text me every day. How do you feel? It’s really special for me. They feel like family.

“Even the guys who played here before send me a text every day. It feels great.”

Before the sixth inning of Tuesday’s All-Star Game at Progressive Field, MLB held it "Stand Up To Cancer’ initiative. In front the the American League’s dugout Francona and the Tribe’s four All-Stars -- Santana, Lindor, Brad Hand and Shane Bieber -- stood next to Carrasco as the crowd of over 36,000 cheered.

“It was a powerful moment in the game. ... It was incredible," said Francona.

Said Carrasco, “It was great. My teammates were there. Tito was there. It was a great moment for me. I really enjoyed that.”

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