4:22pm: The Yankees officially announced the selection of Carrasco’s contract this afternoon. Right-hander Gerrit Cole was transferred to the 60-day injured list to open up a spot on the 40-man roster for Carrasco. That move is hardly a surprise, given that the club’s ace will miss the 2025 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery earlier this month.
11:31am: The Yankees will be selecting Carlos Carrasco’s minor league contract, as reported earlier today by Jack Curry of the YES Network. Yankees GM Brian Cashman confirmed the Carrasco move to reporters (including The New York Post’s Greg Joyce) while also noting that right-handers Clarke Schmidt and Ian Hamilton will both be starting the season on the injured list.
Schmidt has pitched in just one game this spring, and was tagged for three runs in 1 2/3 innings in that lone outing. His next start was scratched due to soreness in his throwing shoulder, and while the righty has since thrown a bullpen session and a live batting-practice session without discomfort, the IL stint will allow Schmidt extra time to properly build up his arm strength.
It looks as if Schmidt’s injury is fairly minor, which comes as some relief to a New York rotation that has already lost Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery) and Luis Gil (lat strain) to much longer-term problems. Cole will miss the entire season and Gil is expected to be out until at least June, plus depth starter JT Brubaker will miss time recovering from fractured ribs. All the injuries have rather quickly reduced what was an area of depth for the Yankees, opening up rotation spots for Marcus Stroman, Will Warren, and now Carrasco.
As an Article XX(b) free agent, Carrasco’s minor league deal contained opt-out clauses for today, May 1, and June 1 unless the Yankees added him to the big league roster. In making the team, Carrasco now locks in a guaranteed salary of $1.5MM, plus his deal includes another $1MM in potential incentives. It makes for a very nice birthday present for Carrasco, who just turned 38 yesterday.
While the rotation injuries obviously led to Carrasco’s selection, it shouldn’t be overlooked that Carrasco helped his own cause with an impressive spring camp, posting a 1.69 ERA across 16 innings of work. While all Spring Training numbers should naturally be taken with a grain of salt, it represents a nice early sign that the right-hander might have some gas left in the tank as he approaches his 16th Major League season.
A longtime anchor of the Cleveland rotation, Carrasco spent the 2021-23 seasons with the Mets before returning to the Guardians for the 2024 campaign. While he showed some signs of his old form in 2022, the last four years have been mostly a struggle for Carrasco, who has a 5.32 ERA across his last 399 1/3 innings in the big leagues. That includes a 5.64 ERA in 103 2/3 frames with the Guards last year, after Cleveland added Carrasco to its Opening Day roster on the heels of another minor league pact.
Hamilton has been sidelined by an infection for most of Spring Training, and he didn’t make his Grapefruit League debut until he made a one-inning appearance on Thursday. He might not need a ton of ramp-up time in preparation for a relief role, yet he’ll get at least 12 extra days (a 15-day IL placement with three days of backdating factored in) to get himself fully ready. Hamilton has a 3.10 ERA over 95 2/3 bullpen innings since coming to New York in the 2022-23 offseason, establishing himself as a reliable member of the relief corps.
Some of the Cashman choir seem sold on Cookie spring. We are about to find out if it was an illusion
That certainly didn’t take that long.
I informed you thusly.
It’s the lesser of two evils. Either roll the dice with Cookie’s spring or push Clarke at less than full strength. The latter being unnecessary. Seems like the logical move for a very long season.
I wouldn’t read too much into Carasco opening in the rotation. Barring setbacks Schmidt will return shortly. If he magically is good they’ll work it out, if not he’s easy to release. Brubaker and Gil should be options in a few months.
Schmidt can start now if this were mid-August and Cookie will get signed with another team within an hour of getting released right now.
Jerseyjohn type o negative is awesome
LaFleur: You’re the first to notice/recognize Pete. I agree obviously, RIP Pete.
His strikeout numbers don’t lie
10centBeerNight:
Yeah it’s bizarre. Clearly just a spring training product. The last two and half years don’t lie and he’s 38 years old.
This tells us the Yankees are truly worried about their rotation and pitching in general.
Or that they had a couple unexpected injuries and instead of pushing Schmidt in the first series of 52, rather have give him some more time off and have a guy, that although might not be but at his prime but has a lot of experience, covering meanwhile
@APD
Your reasoning assumes the Yankees are only reacting to short-term injuries and not making a deeper evaluation of their pitching staff. But consider the broader context:
Gerrit Cole is out for the season. This isn’t just a temporary setback—it’s a fundamental shift in their pitching outlook. Any team losing an ace for an entire year has to rethink its rotation strategy.
Their depth was already fragile. Before spring training even started, the Yankees were banking on a rotation with multiple question marks (Gil returning from surgery, Warren unproven, Schmidt lacking a full-season track record as a starter). Adding injuries to the mix only exposes how precarious their situation is.
They had to select Carrasco. If they truly believed in their rotation depth, they could’ve let Carrasco walk and relied on their in-house options. Instead, they guaranteed him $1.5M and a rotation spot, suggesting they weren’t confident in what they had.
Carrasco’s spring numbers are misleading. A 1.69 ERA in 16 innings sounds great, but small-sample spring stats often don’t translate to regular-season success. The fact that a pitcher with a 5.32 ERA over the last four seasons was their best option reinforces that this isn’t just about caution with Schmidt—it’s a sign of concern about their overall staff.
The Yankees aren’t just playing it safe with injuries. Their actions—relying on a nearly 38-year-old pitcher coming off multiple down years—demonstrate a deeper worry about their rotation sustainability for the season.
Not saying you’re wrong but if that was the case, wouldn’t they have called him way sooner?
I mean i don’t disagree with the part that they might not be fully confident with the in house options, but in this case, we are not talking about one substitute, we are talking about (at least) two, already counting with Warren, that like you said isn’t a certain shot yet. Guys like Gil don’t show up every year.
Calling Carrasco today, in the last day possible, in my opinion, is just them playing cautious and/or checking how he and Warren (or even possibly Stroman) respond. If Warren/Stroman start strong, i have no doubt Carrasco will be the one getting the sack… I mean 1.5M is a peanuts bag in a 200M budget.
They lucky no1 wanted Stroman now he is their 3rd starter.
Just goes to show how pitching goes.
In Stroman we trust? Hopefully the Padres have a bad year, and Michael King becomes available.
Probably more likely that the Yankees have a bad year and sell off.
When Mets Era dreams, he does dream big.
The MLB site predicted the Yankees to have a losing record yesterday. Nobody is dreaming about the Yankees.
It’s tough to go through life with a raging inferiority complex. Have some sympathy.
That’s not happening, but good luck with that though.
And how many wins were they predicted for last year?
That’s not entirely factual. Anthony Castrovince’s “prediction” was the Yankees *could* finish under .500 if Judge misses 25-30% of the Yankees games
Apparently you don’t know what a hot take is?
They haven’t had a losing season in over 25 seasons and that’s a crazy prediction.
So what, they will never have a losing season again then?
When was the last time the Yankees sold off and finished below .500 in the last 31 seasons? When was the last Mets WS Championship? How are the Wilpons doing?
You are comparing when the Yankees had a losing record to the Mets winning a World Series? A bit of a reach don’t you think? The Yankees won 82 games just two years ago. Not a very far stretch to think they are going back to that without Soto. And in the injuries and you are talking losing record.
I’ll believe it when either things actually happen. So go back to having fun playing out the Mets’ upcoming season on paper.
Isn’t that what you’re doing with the Yankees?
@Mets Era Nope. I’m not the one with the crystal ball.
The Mets starting 5 definitely looks exciting this year. It would funny if their a 3rd place team in that tough NL East.
And the Mets’ Opening Day starter is a converted reliever who got yanked as the Yankees’ closer last summer cos he led the league in blown saves.
99Captain Judge99:
Whether the Mets finish first or third is mostly inconsequential. Baseball is now about just making the playoffs.
ChuckyNJ:
Which might end up reflecting very poorly on the Yankees for not having the idea to convert him into a starter first.
Well he definitely was not a closer.
That’s just moronic. He was the best Yankee reliever over the last 4 years with a 2.69 ERA.
He blew 11 saves last year chief. That led the league. If he hadn’t lost the closer role, he would have blown more.
1992 was the last season the Yankees finished under .500, there was no sell-off however, as you never really saw that back in those days
Or it could reflect poorly on the Mets for overpaying someone to do a job they couldn’t handle.
TheTrotsky:
Yeah, you know what, I’ll trust David Stearn’s evaluation more than Brian Cashman‘s evaluation at this point… and by the way, if you had a little more foresight, you would realize that if he doesn’t work as a starter, as a set up guy he’s still valuable.
Hey man I was just throwing out a possibility just like you did. Holmes was definitely an asset with Yanks, just got a bad case of the yips after the All Star break.
Trotsky it was before the all star game. He already had the nickname Cardiac Clay for a reason. Even when he was carrying a low ERA, the 9th inning was a white knuckle event. Not sure what happened last year but he definitely went from sugar to poop.
You may find out that Soto isn’t as good as you think. But he puts on a great show. Enjoy.
I love Yankee fans that trash players as soon as they leave. I think you are going to find out how critical he was to your lineup this year and be devastated by the dramatic drop.
I think if you were paying attention you’d see that we were trashing him last year. Ever wonder why none of us were wanting him to be re-signed? Good luck with him and all but none of us are crying over him being gone.
That is a complete lie. No Yankee fan trashed him last year and almost every Yankee fan was most certainly crying after he left.
It’s your lie. Tell it like you want.
Yes I bet you loved an 8 WAR player walking out the door. They are a dime a dozen.
TheTrotsky:
Fair enough.
Mad Hatter:
No, he is as good as we think.
I doubt that. Worry about your Mutts
I don’t approve of this
@James Midway I know, right? Arraez is not part of the trade :p
Wow. So many injuries. Why does this happen
Is Gomez making the pen now with Hamilton down?
I think YoGo was making it no matter what. He’s looked pretty good this spring, out of options and is somewhat stretched out to give you more than an inning. I think it was Headrick, Yerry, Hartlieb, Wilking and Brewer vying for the last spot. Now most likely 2 of those make it or a last minute addition
Yankees are relying on Rodon and Fried to remain healthy. LOL
Good for Carlos
Although Yankee fans don’t approve of any player making less than 30 million a year
Yep us Yankee fans hate everyone but Judge and Cole…
us Yankee fans hate everyone
and grammar of course
That’s why they keep insisting we get that over the hill Nolan guy
8 hits in 16 innings
A big thumbs up for Carlos !!
Yanks should try DJL on the mound to get SOME value out of him. They have a few openings now.
The last several Yankees trades they have given up a lot of Pitching depth. Relying on Cookie seems like a desperate move. However, the Yankees refusing to add payroll complicates everything. I doubt highly the Yankees have the pieces to get M King back.
Not many teams have a solidified #5 starter. Not seeing desperation here at all. Even when Schmidt comes back, Cookie probably stays over Warren due to options.
Yanks need to sign Trevor Bauer and Julio Urias. They are healthy
Urias is suspended so doesnt help em at the start of the season.
I am curious what Urias will look like when he comes back in July. And will teams blacklist him?
Urias will have a tough time finding a job in MLB
Like Bauer I imagine
Very interesting situation. I’m thinking Trev will be following closely. YouTube channel at the ready.
foppert3:
lol…can we get a reality show for this?
The Yankees are looking for world-beaters as opposed to woman-beaters…
CarverAndrews:
Ok that’s a decent line. I’ll give it to you.
It’s a good line if a conviction was involved.
Given how DAs pile up charges to compel a plea, I’m less convinced in the US by no contest pleas.
JackStrawb:
Yeah, but this is not a court of law. It’s a message board. So it’s a decent line. And regardless, I wouldn’t be mad if the Mets took a look at him after the All-Star break.
@JackStraw – First, it was simply a line, humorous in intent and follow-through.
And you had to take it into the proud boy defenders of the he-man faith territory.
In response, the Yankees are looking for punchouts, but not like that. They need command and control, not demand and control. They are looking for fWar, not war on females; they want someone that is good in the clubhouse, not good with a club.
Bauer is simply not good enough for the PR trade-off…y’all should probably realize that tilting at this windmill is a battle lost and never worth supporting anyway.
Seriously excited here….you have a feeling it’s going to be a long and frustrating year.
As Casey Kasem would say “The hits keep coming”.
“And we won’t stop until we get to number one.”
Thats very polite of the Yanks. Carrasco is washed. But that is a kind gesture.
Yeah, this is not happy move. How do you not have someone on hand who has a projection superior to Cookie’s, even after the injuries—particularly given he’s not really even a 5-inning starter?
Good guy, CC, but this reeks of Cashman sniffing after another hit of his favorite drug, ‘Wishful Veteran Magic.’
Huh—fangraphs lists the projections for CC from seven systems in 2025, ranging from 4.45 to 5.46. That’s a wide range but less horrific than I thought he’d have. His decent 2022 and neutralized numbers are doing a lot of the lifting in those projections,given it’s his only full season since 2018 with an ERA under 5.25.
If you’re a believer in xFIP and xERA he hasn’t been a complete writeoff the last few years and his 2024 peripherals weren’t…. too terrible. Still, how was he around #8-9 on the Yanks’ depth chart, and if he wasn’t, who pitched themselves out of a job in what was probably fewer than 15 spring training innings?
Congrats to Cookie for making it another year in MLB. He’s a good guy and deserves all the good things that come his way.
Good luck, Carlos. Is Syndergaard in the Yankees sights now?
No but maybe you should be in the 30.06 sights with that comment……every team, with maybe the exception of the Dodgers is hurting for pitching right now and hoping somebody comes out of the shadows and helps while the injured get healed up….
Cookie seems like a nice guy, I am happy for him. Also, will the Yankees pick up any other former Mets pitchers during the year? Just putting some names out there; Syndergaard, Josh Hejka, Dylan Covey, Mike Vasil, Nate Lavender, or an old classic like Steve Matz?
It’d be interesting to find out what went wrong with Syndergaard’s surgery, or if it was how he chose to rehab, or if he just couldn’t handle no longer being a flamethrower.
How bout “Big Sexy” ?
J.C. Escarra also made the cut. Welcome to the big leagues at 29!
I think this yankees team will surprise alot of people. They lost a lot of games with poor defense and blown saves last year at least 10. I liked clay Holmes but not as a closer. The bullpen is better and I think they will win those 6 to 5 games. As for the offense yes Soto is a loss but Soto,rizzo,verdugo and gleybar compared to bellinger, goldy, jasson Dominguez and a full year of jazz chisholm is a better offense! 3b djl cabrera is a wash. Stanton being out hurts but they have enough to get by! I’m not saying the yanks will win 10-12 more games than last year but maybe 5.. they should be 95 to 100 wins even with cole being out! Friend should get you his production last year and then some