The Braves have signed right-handers Carlos Carrasco and Darius Vines to new minor league deals, Baseball America’s Matt Eddy reports. Both players were eligible for minor league free agency and apparently elected for the open market, only to both head back to Atlanta’s organization.
After inking a minors deal with the Yankees last February, the righty earned a spot on the Opening Day roster due to some injuries on New York’s pitching staff, giving Carrasco a chance to bank a few starts. Unfortunately, he posted a 5.91 ERA over 32 innings in the pinstripes, and was designated for assignment and outrighted twice during the next four months.
Carrasco twice passed on free agency after those outrights, but found himself changing teams again when the Braves acquired the veteran in a cash trade prior to the deadline. The Braves were looking for all the pitching help they could find in the aftermath of a plague of injuries to their starting rotation, and Carrasco went onto post a 9.88 ERA over 13 2/3 innings in an Atlanta uniform. He was DFA’ed and outrighted again in August and this time did elect free agency, only to quickly re-sign again with the Braves.
A staple of Cleveland’s rotation for most of his 16-year MLB career, Carrasco now heads into his age-39 season as just a depth option. The right-hander has a 6.36 ERA and a 17.6% strikeout rate over 239 1/3 big league frames since the start of the 2023 season, with the highest homer rate (17.5%) of any pitcher in that timespan with at least 230 innings.
Vines has spent his entire pro career with the Braves since Atlanta made him a seventh-round draft pick in 2019. He posted a 5.82 ERA over 34 innings in the Show during the 2023-24 seasons, dimming his potential as a possible rotation candidate for the team going forward. Atlanta designated Vines for assignment and outrighted him off the 40-man roster in August 2024, and Vines then missed the entire 2025 season recovering from an undisclosed injury.
This new minors deal likely reflects the Braves’ confidence that Vines will be healthy in 2026, as he tries to get his career back on track heading into his age-28 season. There’s no risk for the team in bringing Vines back on a minors deal to see what he has to offer, and a relief role could be in his future if he can’t find any consistency as a starting pitcher.
I have hope that Vines might end up as a serviceable relief pitcher, but no hope for Carrasco to contribute much more than being a warm body.
Just somebody to throw some spring training innings. If he makes the roster then some truly bad things have happened.
Maybe the Braves believe that Carrasco will be a strong mentor for their near ready mil pitching. We all know he won’t make the ML roster. Fuentes, Ritchie, Owen Murphy, Burkhalter, Lara, Braun at Gwinnett might benefit from his experience. Carrasco could be aiming at future coaching opportunities.
@nashvillejeff,
Yes, Carrasco certainly could be a wealth of information if he is willing to share his experience with those guys
@southi: Schwellenbach had some good things to say about Carrasco doing that last year.
@NashvilleJeff – I think you hit the nail on the head, brother. I’m thinking the Braves new pitching coach is already familiar with Carrasco, you can never enough pitching depth stored away at AAA, and most importantly, Carrasco is being brought back to be another coach for the Braves upcoming AAA pitchers and their younger pitchers they bring to spring training.
Carrasco can help mentor guys like J.R. Ritchie, O.Murphy, B.Burkhalter, D.Fuentes, J.Lara, Braun, etc., and the Braves’ young starters that are hurt can take some time to learn from Carrasco as well. That’s Schwellenbach, Smith-Shawver, or even Grant Holmes I’m sure can learn some things from CC.
Jesse Chavez was a great pitcher for the Braves, but he was also just as great for the Braves bullpen guys. Several Braves’ pitchers credited Chavez for helping them tweak their grips, etc. If Carlos can even just help a few of their prospects it is more than worth the signing.
In terms of Darius Vines, he will never wow you with his stuff, but he has had some moderate success at the big league level, and he’s a quality arm to have down at AAA if you need a spot start or need a long relief option to save your bullpen. Darius us a class act, and Gwinnett will benefit for having him on their staff.
With you richard c. Withyou.
Look on the bright side. Maybe they hired carrasco to pitch to acuna in the hr derby.
9.88 ERA what the heck bring Cookie back. Crazy but pitching depth is never a bad thing. Wonder what vines undisclosed injury was? Had to be something kinda major to cost him a whole season. Any who best of luck to him
LoL Cookie continues to find a job. Good for him. I guess the Braves know something the Yankees never did.
These sorts of players are signed as depth all the time. Are you going to say the opposite if the Yankees sign someone who another team let go?
Grown boys in bleachers doing roll call know it all
Pretty good dude to stash in the minors to help out with young players. Has the opportunity to get a cup of coffee. I think he’s OK with this role after last season. Cookie has a passion for baseball.
Minors deal. Gotta have warm bodies in AAA.
Thats what we kept saying all last off-season too. It’s starting off eerily similar so far…Ugh I hope I’m wrong.
Well, there were a bunch of injuries and some guys underperformed.
Its starting off with depth signings like it did last year? Isn’t that one of the first things every team does every year? The Braves lost their entire front rotation. That wasnt caused by depth signings.
That’s my point exactly @salarycapmyth, like last year?…Yes, they make their big moves very early in the off-season and then typically nothing after. 2024 was the worst because we saw tons of waiver claims and minor league signings and then absolutely nothing to help the big league roster immediately. Not a worry based on past moves No?
I would say this is correlation not causation. These signings are not an indicator because they happen every year. In 21, 22, 23. There was nothing anyone was going to do about the entire front rotation going down. These signings happen whether we make big signings or not.
I do sympathize some. Signing Profar wasnt the “big move” I would have preferred. I do agree we we should be concerned about who the Braves will sign. The Braves are beyond the luxury tax limit and third in most expensive roster, before those last two relievers were let go. Its a little concerning to me also if Kim is our big signing because we won’t get Ozuna back and maybe that’s best anyway.
For the Braves to succeed we need bounce back seasons from some players and Albies seems less likely with back to back sub league average performances.
If any of these pitchers need to pitch in the ATL the Braves are in deep do do. Suck up innings in Gwinnett hopefully.
So, in a normal situation, people are happy with this move because it’s nice depth to the pitching rotation with a history of injuries. Guys like these should be like ur #10 starter only filling in against the bad teams to give someone a break and just a spot start.
The problem is after seeing what happened last offseason and what’s already happened this offseason with the Braves declining reasonable team options for good players, they are showing signs that they will be cheap again and do everything to stay under the luxury tax. So my fear is, these guys are actually being slotted in as possible #5 guys, more likely 6, which is tooooo high and weak depth
Find a new team then
My thoughts exactly…we were fed this same excuse last off-season (although not from the Braves brass only commenters lol). I was brandished an idiot for not knowing luxury tax only effected one season if the payroll stayed the same this year. But these are signs thats not true? Now we get to hear excuses of not spending money this year due to an inevitable lockout in 2027?…Never ends lol
“Sounds like a you problem.”
I’m surprised you took the time to respond to us “casuals”? lol
“lol” at every time you insult me and others here. Not my fault you took issue to having the luxury tax politely explained to you—-and nobody “brandished” you as “an idiot.” Branded is the word that eluded you.
I insult you? You literally call everyone on here a “Casual” and talk down to them like you’re the know all be all…and then randomly apologize when someone calls you out. Again, sounds like a you problem. Don’t get mad when you’re called out.
Also, you know its bad when all you can do is focus on a misspelled word or misspoke word to make yourself better about your argument…”LOL”
You definitely have “a you problem” if you feel like someone’s talking down to you when they try to explain/discuss something that you don’t understand—-like the luxury tax levels. I didn’t call “everyone on here a “Casual.” I did use that word in reference to a couple who sneered at those of us who disagreed w/their takes on the Weiss hiring. Who have I “randomly apologized” to? I’m not mad although I do find it slightly annoying to be lied about, have my words misconstrued, and insulted. “LOL.”
The league year opened yesterday.
Does “declining reasonable options for good players” mean Johnson and and Kinley? Johnson was terrible the last 2 months of the season and Kinley lived a charmed life because all of the warning track flyballs he surrendered stayed in the park. Declining their options frees up $11.5M in salary. Most likely neither of Carrasco or Vines will start games in Atlanta this season, much less be “slotted as possible #5 guys, more likely 6.” After Sale, Strider, Scwellenbach, and Waldrep the current 40 man rostered #5 and lower depth arms are Lopez, Holmes, Elder, and the AAA rotation Ritchie, Fuentes, Braun, w/Owen Murphy and Luke Sinnard being options as well. Carrasco’s probably depth and mentorship for the AAA roster w/Vines slotting as a AAA or lower pen arm if he’s even healthy. Zero proof that they’re “showing signs that they will be cheap again and do everything to stay under the luxury tax” just because they’re shuffling salary. Also possible they may try to re-sign one or both of Kinley and Johnson to smaller deals. If not, $11.5M can buy replacements for both.
coach cookie just gonna hang out
The NFL and college football are fixed.
All American sports are fixed
The whole sport is a giant scam.
They haven’t resigned or dropped Jesse Chavez in a while now. I feel like they should do that again. That always seemed to accomplish a lot
He retired.
More bargain basement signings surprise surprise
More of a curious question,
i am usually a big guy for depth but the Cookie signing has me a little confused. i recall hearing half the top 10 braves prospects are SP in AA or higher? This is before even really hitting FA. Cookie is older so maybe more of a player coach type of deal or are the prospects far off from major league ready? While i know they are not great they also have Elder and Manoah there too and they are better than cookie and younger tooand i believe have options left but could be wrong.
I guess my question is more of the quality of the depth than the actual cookie signing.
There is no good reason to sign a way past his prime starter with an era of 9 to a minor league deal. If he’s getting starts, something went horribly wrong and your system is terrible.
Meh, minor league signing just to get into camp and throw some innings. See if there is anything left in the tank for the Braves or other teams that will be watching
Both guys are garbage.
They’re on minor league contracts.
I’m glad they’re still playing professional baseball. They could be in your position foaming at the mouth over the Dodgers lol but they earned their spots playing pro baseball instead.
Break Cookie in case of emergency.
Seriously though obviously Carrasco loves baseball, let him help minor league pitchers and be there as emergency depth. He’s destined to be a damn fine pitching coach for sure.