Image credit: Roberto Carlo
Carlos Carrasco has endured quite the journey over the last few years. An adversarial rollercoaster, to be exact. And his first year in Queens didn’t stray far from those wobbly rails.
From 2016 through 2018 with Cleveland, the now-34-year-old was among the cream of the game’s pitching crop, putting up a 3.33 ERA with 607 strikeouts, 2.06 walks per nine innings (10th in MLB), 1.12 WHIP, 1.06 home runs allowed per nine, and 12.8 wins above replacement (FanGraphs; eighth in MLB).
Carrasco’s multi-faceted, command-minded approach combined with veteran guile gave way to elite results. It was bound to happen, actually.
Looking back through present-day lenses, in retrospect, Cookie finally breaking out as a 28-year-old in 2015 (after debuting in 2009 and missing all of 2012; UCL) was a clear precursor to the level of grit and determination Carrasco possessed as a player and as a person.
Cleveland saw his potential and thought enough of his work ethic to see the process through. And their investment paid off handsomely.
In early-July 2019, all of that hard work — and then some — was thrown into jeopardy via an unexpected medical diagnosis: chronic myeloid leukemia, a form of blood cancer.
Following treatment (chemotherapy and radiation were not necessary, thankfully) and rehab that kept him away from the game for a full calendar year, on July 26, 2020, Carrasco returned to the mound, striking out 10 Royals over six-plus frames. Heroic stuff.
Cookie cruised through the COVID-shortened campaign, putting up a 2.21 ERA over 12 starts before hitching a ride to Flushing with Francisco Lindor via trade (a year ago Friday, actually). Naturally, the fan base was over the moon. Adding Carrasco to the existing rotation was a solidifying move, to say the least.
Unfortunately, things went off the tracks pretty much from the start.
Elbow soreness early in spring training (par for the course, per Carrasco at the time) led to a torn hamstring during a late-camp live bullpen session, and it was on from there. The injury was expected to shelve him for six-to-eight weeks, or May, but that downtime was stretched through July due to setbacks.
Carrasco rolled through his final rehab start with Triple-A Syracuse on July 25, allowing two hits and striking out six over three scoreless innings (38 pitches, 32 strikes), and was on the Citi Field mound five days later to make his team debut against the Reds. At the time, if you remember, this was all a very big deal.
Heading into the series, the Mets were four games up in the division. Jacob deGrom was still expected to return from his elbow ailment. Marcus Stroman was having a career year. Taijuan Walker just concluded an All-Star first-half. The Bench Mob was mobbing. Things were [expletive] wild, but they were good.
And Cookie was the quintessential getting an injured player back is like adding through a trade that every Mets GM over the last 20 years has so often referred to. Until he wasn't, of course.
Things began well (8.1 IP, 3 ER, 9 K, BB over his first two starts), but there was no consistency to be found down the stretch as Carrasco was lit up for 10 earned runs over his next two outings, then a respectable 3.51 ERA and .216/.265/.376 slash against over his next six, before getting tattooed for 10 more runs over his final two starts (9 IP).
Shortly after the season’s conclusion (6.04 ERA over 12 starts), it was reported that Carrasco was inflicted by a loose bone fragment in his right elbow, necessitating surgery. Yeah, that kinda made sense. Something clearly wasn’t right.
But how about that work ethic, huh? The Mets were technically alive until the last two weeks or so, and Carrasco presumably felt the need to do all he could to get them over the finish line, injury and all. Incredible stuff. And the Mets are likely counting on more of those intangibles moving forward, too.
With a year left on the four-year, $47 million deal Carrasco signed with Cleveland ahead of 2019 (plus a vested $14 million option for 2023 enacted by 170-plus IP in 2022 and an anticipated healthy start in 2023), as well as the sky-high expectations in Queens heading into the future, Cookie’s getting another chance to be the glue guy the Mets envisioned he’d be when they acquired him.
With deGrom, Max Scherzer, Walker, Tylor Megill, David Peterson, and Trevor Williams all currently in the rotational mix, Carrasco’s skill-set, expected production levels, and veteran presence would be an ideal complement to the group.
Even if the Mets go out and add another starter, pushing the latter three into depth roles (we discussed SP options on this week’s pod), having Carrasco, Walker, and, oh I don’t know, Matthew Boyd as your three-through-five guys is a FLEX.
Exciting stuff. Onward.
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