Carlos Carrasco left last night’s start against the Braves after just two innings, as the hurler felt some discomfort in his left side. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com was among those to relay that the right-hander will head for an MRI today to determine the cause and severity of the issue.
Carrasco started the game and made it through one inning before weather forced a 55-minute delay. The 35-year-old stayed in the contest despite the long layoff, throwing inside the facility while waiting for the rain to subside. That Carrasco felt discomfort within an inning of getting back on the mound has led to some speculation that manager Buck Showalter’s decision to stick with the veteran after the delay could’ve played a role in the injury. However, both the skipper and Carrasco told reporters they believed the injury to be coincidental, noting that Carrasco had kept himself loose and felt fine until his final pitch. (Braves manager Brian Snitker also stuck with his starter, Spencer Strider, who ended up throwing five innings and 87 pitches).
Regardless, the Mets have to hope the MRI doesn’t reveal any serious issues. Side discomfort can be a precursor to oblique strains — which often cost players upwards of a month on the injured list — but that won’t be known until the imaging results come back. Carrasco has been an effective mid-rotation arm during his second season in Queens, pitching to a 3.92 ERA with an above-average 23.4% strikeout rate over 23 starts. He missed most of his first year as a Met with a torn right hamstring, but he’s avoided the IL thus far in 2022.
Any kind of injury absence could also have contractual repercussions. Carrasco is in the final guaranteed year of his contract. The Mets hold a $14MM option on his services for 2023. That provision would vest (become guaranteed) if he throws 170 innings this season and finishes the year healthy. Carrasco has tallied 126 1/3 frames thus far, leaving him 43 2/3 innings shy of the threshold. The Mets have 46 regular season games remaining, setting them up for around 8-9 more turns through the rotation. Should Carrasco stay healthy, he’d have a chance at getting to 170 innings — he’d need around 4.85 frames per start over nine appearances, 5.46 innings over eight starts — but even a brief IL stay would all but foreclose that possibility.
Of course, the Mets could deem a $14MM price point reasonable enough they exercise Carrasco’s option even if it doesn’t vest. He’s been a valuable member of a team that could lose Jacob deGrom, Chris Bassitt, Taijuan Walker and Trevor Williams to free agency. New York will need to retain or add plenty of starting pitching this winter, and there could be value in simply keeping Carrasco around. At the same time, they already have an estimated $194MM in guaranteed commitments on the 2023 books and are facing a massive free agent class that also includes Brandon Nimmo and Edwin Díaz. Even with a payroll that may be the highest in the majors (and could well tip over $300MM), they’re likely to lose a couple key contributors from this year’s club.
I hope everything comes back normal and he’s just day-to-day. He’s had a tough injury history the last few years.
Yep just gotta hope for the best with these guys
Objects is the rear view mirror are closer than they appear.
Mets just lost a key cog in Luis Guillorme and Eduardo Escobar who is injured is looking worse and needs to be IL’d Mets won’t call up their top prospects who are ready or near ready. Middle relief looks poor along with their holes at 3B and C.
The 2018 Red Sox decimated baseball with about the same production as the Mets from C and 2B (as opposed to 3B). It can be done, you don’t need all superstars. But you’re right, the injuries are going to hurt them.
@Robrock30 I agree. The Mets didn’t want to deal top prospects for rentals, their offers of taking on bad contracts didn’t move the needle in trade talks, and they really don’t have any top grade pitching prospects of the type selling teams wanted. They didn’t have enough depth for a team this old and that is coming back on them now. This is a really good starting 6-7 but they have holes that needed addressing and better quality depth at AAA.
But despite it being a really good team on the field the Mets organization is still, while making great progress, is still a work in progress especially in the minors beyond their top prospects.
Health has been on their side most of the season but now we’re getting to the final weeks and the players start breaking down. It’s actually good that Scherzer missed six weeks because he will be less fatigued come playoff time and deGrom really rounding into form. This creates the option of pitching either on short rest if necessary in the playoffs.
dlw906,
I have watched more MLB and Mets baseball than anyone.
The Mets FO is too cautious and is not great at player talent evaluation. They overhype their prospects and are afraid of promoting them or trading them and they do too little. Go all in or go Home. This is their destiny.
Ideally, the Mets are trying to follow in the footsteps of the dodgers however the Mets do not have Andrew Friedman leading their front office. Alderson is no where near at Friedmans level and the Mets nibbling at the trade deadline is going to come back to bite them in the rear.
Steven Cohen is not the Guggenheims who I am Familiar with.
Older players get injured more often and take longer to recover than younger players. The injuries often occur as the season wears on. The Mets and Yankees are 2 teams that were built with veteran players acquired in trades and free agency as they try to buy championships.
It’s a young mans game. Always has been. Always will be.
Speaking of injuries, anyone know why a ‘healthy’ Kumar Rocker signed a month ago, but will not make his debut until the Fall instructional league? If he is healthy why hasn’t he been pitching this summer with one of the Rangers minor league teams? All the hype around him joining his Vanderbilt teammate Jack Leiter in AA, all hype, no action. Is he healthy or just stalling ?
David Peterson steps right into his slot for a turn or two.
Any kind of injury absence could also have contractual repercussions. Carrasco is in the final guaranteed year of his contract. The Mets hold a g$14MM option on his services for 2023. That provision would vest (become guaranteed) if he throws 170 innings this season and finishes the year healthy. Carrasco has tallied 126 1/3 frames thus far, leaving him 43 2/3 innings shy of the threshold. The Mets have 46 regular season games remaining, setting them up for around 8-9 more turns through the rotation. Should Carrasco stay healthy, he’d have a chance at getting to 170 innings — he’d need around 4.85 frames per start over nine appearances, 5.46 innings over eight starts — but even a brief IL stay would all but foreclose that possibility.
5 complete game victories would do it.
Just trying to help.
Mets have no more of a hole at C than they have had the whole year, McCann was on the IL for a long stint, now Nido, they went 75-41 anyway. Escobar is banged up a little now, prior to now it was Nimmo, McNeil, Lindor and Marte all dinged at one time or another, they went 75-41 anyway. deGrom and Scherzer had long stints on the IL, they went 75-41 anyway. The middle relief pitching has been the same all year, and they went 75-41 anyway. Their top prospects are not ready, neither has sustained success in AAA, and they went 75-41 anyway. Guillorme and Carrasco hurt, this too shall pass, and the Mets will roll on anyway……
Mets don’t have a Jerry Grote, Gary Carter or Mike Piazza behind the plate. They have McCann who is horrible and Nido who seems to always have Covid and is only a backup. Fans in the know, recognize the difference.
Mike Piazza was an impressive hitter but he does not belong in the same sentence with Grote and Carter when referring to skill behind the plate. Yeager, Sundberg, Bench, Boone, those guys had serious behind the plate skills.
I agree with you as a defensive Catcher Grote, Johnny Bench, and Yadier Molina are tops.
If the Astros had not traded Grote to the Mets, they would not have traded Dave Giusti to the Cards years later to get back Johnny Edwards, and 1969 might not have worked out the same for the Mets, or the Astros.
Uh….
Pudge?
Any team that Matthew Broderick roots for is doomed.
It feels like Carrasco’s best days are behind him. Hopefully he recovers and gives the Mets some decent return on their money, but his contract sure is looking like some sunk cost
Talking about the Mets getting value for the money they pay in salaries is ridiculous. Mr. Cohen paid out that money to make the team a contender. In this case he ate the salaries of Corrasco and Lindor. Now is not the time to discuss their salaries – it’s the only way the Mets could have acquired them.
As for Cleveland – they got back 2 young, controlled middle infielders (as well as salary relief). If you don’t watch the games, check out the offensive stats of Amed Rosario and Andrés Giménez. For what it’s worth, they’re both outhitting Lindor, and they play above average D. Plus they have a prospect in the lower minors. Call it a win-win.
I stand corrected
Enter David Peterson, who could arguably be just as good, if not better than Carrasco.
Hey Mets can you guys beat the Braves a few more times? – everyone in the NL Wild Card race.
The team to beat now in the WC isn’t the Braves, they’ve IMO more or less locked it in. It’s time to target the Padres and crush morale for next season and let the brewcrew sneak in. As a dodger fan, I hope my team does their part!
Will be hilarious if MIL gets in because Hader continues to crap the bed.
We were all calling the trade stupid, when I’m reality Hader was really a double agent for the Brewers
Do baseball players get hurt breathing?
The ball players of decades ago that stayed out drinking and didn’t see a workout room or have a conditioning coach didn’t seem to get hurt near as often as today’s ball player that seems almost brittle with all the workouts. I cannot recall a single oblique injury and very few pulled muscles.
Wasn’t it John Kruk who once said during an oblique injury conversation “You can’t pull fat” ?
That’s a clown question bro!
But seriously I remember Sammy Sosa getting hurt by sneezing.
Many Mets fans can’t grasp that Baty basically can’t play 3B defense very well
If he was very good defensively at 3B he’d be up. The bat doesn’t matter basically
Fans need to realize also that 99% of the prospects are not going to step in and produce offensively
In the unlikely event they do produce consistently, the league will eventually adjust
The idea Baty should be called up is laughable. The defense is a major liability at 3B
It’s amazing how quickly they dismiss Buck’s decision to keep him in after an hour long rain delay as the cause of the injury. Buck has been a media darling this year where each and every decision he makes produces gold. I’m sorry, but bringing a 35 year old with injury history back out after sitting through a rain delay was a bad decision.
This guy is 36? Still feels like he’s a youngster.
I thought it was a mistake bringing the 35 year old Carrasco back out there last night
You have to know which pitchers can go back out and which ones can’t. Walker, Carrasco, and Megill are the types you don’t really want to bring back out there. It’s harder for them to get warmed up
I know they desperately needed to save the bullpen but at that point I think you just roll the dice and go with Medina
Carrasco was clearly incensed on the mound he was back out there
Last night’s loss to the Braves doesn’t really count because by Strider’s own rules it’s not October. So it’s meaningless.
Look how little it takes for your guys to revert back to the good ‘ol LOLMets
Look how dumb your comment is
Very witty retort. My point was, and you want to read this part slow, is that all it took to illicit a bunch of posts complaining about Buck and Eppler and calling for other players was a one-night beatdown and an injury to an injury-prone pitcher. Mets fans, despite all of the false bravado, have no confidence still.
Scherzer missed 6 weeks and deGrom more than half the season. 75-41 is hardly LOL able. I’m sure you don’t think Carrasco is better than Mad Max and deGrom right? These Mets have survived far worse and no matter what happens the next three days in Atlanta, they will still be in 1st place. Find a new hobby.
Read the above comment to Bill. You aren’t wrong.
Everytime Carrasco has a bad outing, he blames it on an injury just about everytime. Dude knows how to play in a contract year. When he tries for a new contract, he will just ssy in the outings he did bad in, he was injured. What a phony