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Carlos Carrasco

Yankees Designate Carlos Carrasco For Assignment

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The Yankees announced today that they have recalled right-hander Yerry De los Santos to the active roster. Righty Carlos Carrasco has been designated for assignment as the corresponding move. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.

Carrasco, 38, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees in the offseason. The Yankee rotation took a number of hits during spring training, with Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil and JT Brubaker starting the season on the IL with significant injuries. That allowed Carrasco to crack the Opening Day roster. He has made six starts and two relief appearances so far this year, allowing 5.91 earned runs per nine innings. His 7% walk rate is good but he only punched out 17.6% of batters faced.

The health situation hasn’t improved much for the Yankees and has in fact gotten worse. Since Opening Day, Marcus Stroman has joined Cole, Gil and Brubaker on the IL. Clarke Schmidt also battled some flank soreness last week, though he managed to avoid the IL.

However, the Yanks feel they no longer need Carrasco on the roster. It’s possible that’s due to the schedule, as they have four off-days over the rest of this month, including two in the next nine days. That might put a little less pressure on the staff. It’s also possible that Carrasco has been jumped on the depth chart by Ryan Yarbrough. The lefty has been working a long relief role for the Yankees, with 19 1/3 innings over nine appearances. He has a 3.72 ERA, 22.2% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate in that time.

The current rotation consists of Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Will Warren and Schmidt. With the off-days, they may be able to ride with a four-man group for a while, perhaps with Yarbrough making a spot start. Allan Winans is also stretched out in Triple-A and could be recalled to contribute at some point.

The club’s plans should become more clear in the coming days. Regardless, Carrasco is bumped off the roster today. Carrasco’s numbers this year haven’t been great but it’s possible he can still find interest from a club looking for a veteran to eat innings. Players like José Ureña, Casey Lawrence and Ian Anderson have been bouncing around the league recently, with some with gassed pitching staffs looking for relief.

Carrasco has a lengthy track record of big league success but hasn’t been at the same level in recent years, which is why he had to settle for a minor league deal coming into 2025. Dating back to the start of 2023, he has logged 225 2/3 innings for the Mets, Guardians and Yankees. In that time, he has a 6.14 ERA and 17.9% strikeout rate, though his 8.1% walk rate and 44.9% ground ball rate in that span are close to average.

Photo courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck, Imagn Images

Yankees Select Carlos Carrasco; Clarke Schmidt, Ian Hamilton To Begin Season On Injured List

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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.

36 Veteran Players With Looming Opt-Out Dates

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The 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement implemented a new series of uniform opt-out dates for players who qualified as free agents under Article XX(b) of said agreement and sign a minor league deal in free agency. More specifically, that designation falls on players with six-plus years of MLB service time who finished the preceding season on a major league roster or injured list. Some contracts for players coming over from a foreign professional league like Nippon Professional Baseball or the Korea Baseball Organization will also have language written into their contracts allowing them to qualify as an XX(b) free agent despite a lack of six years of service.

The three uniform opt-out dates on those contracts land five days before Opening Day, on May 1 and on June 1. With the regular season set to kick off next week, any Article XX(b) free agents who are in camp on minor league contracts will have the opportunity to opt out on Saturday, March 22. A player triggering one of these out clauses gives his current club 48 hours to either add him to the 40-man roster or let him become a free agent.

There are other ways to secure opt-outs in contracts, of course. Many players who don’t qualify for XX(b) designation will still have opt-out opportunities negotiated into their minor league deals in free agency.

The following is a list of 36 players who are in camp as non-roster invitees and will be able to opt out this weekend. Most were XX(b) free agents, but there are a handful of names who didn’t meet that requirement but had outs negotiated into their respective deals nonetheless. This is not a comprehensive list of all players with opt-out opportunities this weekend.

All spring stats referenced are accurate through the completion of games played Wednesday, March 19.

Astros: LHP Jalen Beeks

Beeks, 31, was a relatively late sign (March 7) who’s since tossed three spring frames — including two scoreless innings just yesterday. He logged a 4.50 ERA in 70 innings between the Rockies and Pirates last season. He struggled to miss bats last year but typically runs strong strikeout rates. Dating back to 2020, Beeks carries a 4.16 ERA in 192 2/3 innings. In Josh Hader, Bryan King and Bennett Sousa, the Astros already have three lefty relievers on the 40-man. Another veteran non-roster invitee, Steven Okert, has rattled off 8 2/3 shutout spring innings with a 14-to-2 K/BB ratio. Beeks might have long odds of cracking the roster.

Blue Jays: RHP Jacob Barnes, LHP Ryan Yarbrough

The 34-year-old Barnes logged a 4.36 ERA in a career-high 66 big league innings last season. He posted an ERA north of 5.00 in each of the five preceding seasons (a total of 115 1/3 frames). He’s been tagged for four runs in 5 1/3 innings this spring.

Yarbrough, 33, had a terrific run with the Jays to close out the 2024 season. Joining Toronto in a deadline swap sending Kevin Kiermaier to the Dodgers, the veteran southpaw posted a 2.01 ERA in 31 1/3 innings. He’s a soft-tosser, sitting just 86.5 mph with his heater, but Yarbrough can pitch multiple innings in relief and has a decent track record even beyond last year’s overall 3.19 earned run average (4.21 ERA in 768 MLB innings). He’s allowed three runs with and 8-to-1 K/BB ratio in 6 2/3 innings in camp.

Braves: RHP Buck Farmer, RHP Hector Neris

Farmer was already reassigned to minor league camp on Sunday, so there’d seem to be a good chance of him taking his out. The 34-year-old turned in a terrific 3.04 ERA in 71 innings for the Reds last year but was probably hampered by his age, pedestrian velocity and subpar command in free agency. With a 3.68 ERA in 193 innings over the past three seasons in Cincinnati, he should find an opportunity somewhere — even if it’s not in Atlanta.

Neris is still in Braves camp. He signed well into camp and thus has only pitched one official inning so far, which was scoreless. (Neris is pitching today as well.) He’s looking to bounce back from a 4.10 ERA and a particularly poor performance in save opportunities last year. Prior to his nondescript 2024, Neris rattled off a 3.03 ERA in 208 innings from 2021-23 between Philly and Houston, saving 17 games and collecting 67 holds along the way.

Brewers: 1B/OF Mark Canha, OF Manuel Margot

He’s had a brutal spring, but the 36-year-old Canha has been an above-average hitter every year since 2018, by measure of wRC+. He’s just 2-for-23 in Brewers camp, but he’s slugged a homer and walked as often as he’s fanned (four times apiece). Milwaukee has Rhys Hoskins at first base, but Canha could chip in at DH and offer a right-handed complement to lefty outfielders Sal Frelick and Garrett Mitchell.

Margot hasn’t hit well in a tiny sample of 35 spring plate appearances, but he’s outproduced Canha with a .250/.314/.375 slash. He’s coming off a dismal .238/.289/.337 showing in Minnesota, however, and hasn’t been the plus defender he was prior to a major 2022 knee injury. Like Canha, he could complement Frelick and Mitchell as a righty-swinging outfielder, but Canha has been the far more productive bat in recent seasons.

Cubs: RHP Chris Flexen

The Cubs reassigned Flexen to minor league camp after just 3 2/3 innings this spring. He was hit hard on the other side of town with the White Sox in 2024, though Flexen quietly righted the ship after an awful start. He posted a 5.69 ERA through nine starts but logged a 4.62 mark over his final 21 trips to the mound, including a tidy 3.52 earned run average across 46 innings in his last eight starts. Flexen may not bounce back to his 2021-22 numbers in Seattle, but he’s a durable fifth starter if nothing else.

Diamondbacks: INF/OF Garrett Hampson, RHP Scott McGough

The D-backs don’t really have a backup shortstop while Blaze Alexander is sidelined with an oblique strain, which seems to bode well for Hampson. He’s hitting .235/.333/.324 in camp and can play three infield spots and three outfield positions. He had a bleak .230/.275/.300 performance in Kansas City last year but was a league-average hitter for the Marlins as recently as 2023.

McGough was reassigned to minor league camp yesterday after serving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings of spring work. That wasn’t the follow-up to last year’s gruesome 7.44 ERA for which the 35-year-old righty or the team had hoped.

Giants: C Max Stassi, RHP Lou Trivino

Stassi is battling Sam Huff, who’s on the 40-man, for the backup catcher’s role while Tom Murphy is injured. The 34-year-old Stassi is hitting .300/.364/.700 with a pair of homers in 22 spring plate appearances. He’s a plus defender with a scattershot track record at the plate.

Trivino hasn’t pitched since 2022 due to Tommy John surgery and a separate shoulder issue. He also hasn’t allowed a run in 8 1/3 spring innings. (9-to-4 K/BB ratio). Trivino’s scoreless Cactus League showing, his pre-injury track record and his familiarity with skipper Bob Melvin — his manager in Oakland — all seem to give him a real chance to win a spot.

Mariners: RHP Shintaro Fujinami, RHP Trevor Gott, 1B Rowdy Tellez

Fujinami’s command has never been good, and he’s walked more batters (seven) than he’s struck out (four) through 5 2/3 spring innings. He’s also plunked a pair of batters. He’s looking to bounce back from an injury-ruined 2024 season but might have to take his first steps toward doing so in Triple-A.

Tellez has had a big camp and looks like he could have a real chance to make the club in a part-time DH/first base role, as explored more yesterday. Gott is on the mend from Tommy John surgery performed last March and won’t pitch until midseason. He’s unlikely to opt out.

Mets: RHP Jose Ureña

Ureña was torched for seven runs in his first 1 1/3 spring innings after signing with the Mets on Feb. 27. He bounced back by striking out all three opponents he faced in an inning this past weekend, but he hasn’t helped himself otherwise. Ureña’s 3.80 ERA in 109 innings with Texas last year was his first sub-5.00 ERA since 2017-18 in Miami.

Padres: 1B Yuli Gurriel, INF Jose Iglesias

Both veterans have a legitimate chance to make the club. Gurriel has had a productive spring (.296/.321/.519) at nearly 41 years of age, while Iglesias is out to a 5-for-18 start since signing in mid-March. Gurriel could split time at first and DH, lessening the need to use Luis Arraez in the field. Iglesias could see frequent work at second base, shifting Jake Cronenworth to first base and pushing Arraez to DH. The Padres probably wouldn’t have put a hefty (relative to most minor league deals) $3MM base salary on Iglesias’ deal if they didn’t see a real path to him making the roster.

Pirates: LHP Ryan Borucki

Borucki was great for the Pirates in 2023 and struggled through 11 innings during an injury-marred 2024 season. The 30-year-old southpaw has allowed one run in eight spring innings. His five walks are a bit much, but he’s also fanned 11 of his 33 opponents.

Rangers: SS Nick Ahmed, RHP David Buchanan, RHP Jesse Chavez, OF Kevin Pillar, RHP Hunter Strickland

Ahmed has more homers in 28 spring plate appearances than he had in 228 plate appearances in 2024 or 210 plate appearances in 2023. He’s popped three round-trippers already and slashed .286/.310/.607. With a crowded infield and versatile backups like Josh Smith and Ezequiel Duran, Ahmed might still have a hard time cracking the roster.

None of the three pitchers listed here has performed well in limited work. Buchanan had a nice run as a starter in the KBO in the four preceding seasons, while Chavez has been a mainstay in the Atlanta bullpen for much of the past few years. Strickland had a nice 2024 in Anaheim but signed very late and retired only one of the five batters he faced during his long spring outing.

Pillar may have the best chance of the bunch to make the team. He’s hitting .273/.333/.394 in 39 plate appearances. Outfielders Wyatt Langford and Adolis Garcia have been banged up this spring, so some extra outfield depth could make sense.

Rays: DH/OF Eloy Jimenez

Jimenez homered for the second time yesterday, boosting his Grapefruit line to .263/.300/.447. He’s coming off a dreadful season in 2024, but from 2019-23 the former top prospect raked at a .275/.324/.487 pace, including a 31-homer rookie campaign (admittedly, in the juiced-ball 2019 season). Durability has been a bigger factor than productivity. If the Rays can get Jimenez to elevate the ball more, he could be a bargain; he’s still only 28.

Red Sox: LHP Matt Moore, RHP Adam Ottavino

Moore signed on Feb. 20 and has only gotten into two spring games so far, totaling two innings. Ottavino has pitched four innings but allowed five runs. He’s walked five and tossed a pair of wild pitches in that time. Both pitchers have long MLB track records, but they’re both coming off lackluster seasons.

Reds: LHP Wade Miley

Miley underwent Tommy John surgery early last season and contemplated retirement upon learning his prognosis. He wanted to return to one of his former NL Central clubs in free agency, and the Reds clearly offered a more compelling minor league deal than the Brewers. He’s not going to be a realistic option until late May, and it seems unlikely he’d opt out while his rehab is still ongoing.

Rockies: RHP Jake Woodford

Woodford isn’t an Article XX(b) free agent, but MLBTR has learned that he still has a March 22 opt-out. He made his fourth appearance of Rockies camp yesterday, tossing 2 2/3 innings with an earned run. Woodford has allowed seven runs on 11 hits and three walks with five punchouts and a nice 47.2% grounder rate in 10 2/3 frames this spring. He has experience as a starter and reliever. The righty doesn’t miss many bats but keeps the ball on the ground and has good command. He’s a fifth starter/swingman who’s out of minor league options.

Royals: C Luke Maile, RHP Ross Stripling

Maile is a glove-first backup who’s had a nice spring at the plate but has done so on a team with a healthy Salvador Perez and Freddy Fermin. His path to a roster spot doesn’t look great. Speculatively, his former Reds club, which just lost Tyler Stephenson to begin the year, would make sense if they plan to add an outside catcher. Maile’s .214/.294/.329 performance over the past three seasons is light, but he’s already familiar with the bulk of Cincinnati’s staff. He’s a fine backup or No. 3 catcher for any club, Kansas City included.

Stripling notched a 3.01 ERA in 124 innings for the 2022 Blue Jays, but it’s been rough waters since. He was rocked for a 5.68 ERA across the past two seasons, spending time with both Bay Area clubs, and has been tagged for 11 runs on 14 hits — four of them homers — with just two strikeouts in six spring frames. He’ll likely need a strong Triple-A showing, be it with the Royals or another club, to pitch his way back to the majors.

Tigers: LHP Andrew Chafin

Chafin surprisingly commanded only a minor league deal this offseason and has struggled to begin his third stint with the Tigers. He’s been tagged for eight runs in four spring innings, walking six batters along the way. It’s a rough look, but the affable southpaw notched a 3.51 ERA in 56 1/3 MLB frames last year and touts a 3.12 mark across the past four seasons combined.

White Sox: RHP Mike Clevinger, INF Brandon Drury, OF Travis Jankowski

The ChiSox signed Clevinger for a third time late this spring and are trying him in the bullpen. He’s responded with four shutout innings, allowing only one hit and no walks while fanning six hitters. His 2025 White Sox reunion is out to a much better start than his 2024 reunion, wherein he was limited to only 16 innings with a 6.75 ERA thanks to elbow and neck troubles.

Drury could hardly be doing more to secure a spot with the Pale Hose. He’s decimated Cactus League pitching at a .410/.439/.821 pace, slugging three homers and seven doubles in only 41 plate appearances. He’s coming off a terrible 2024 showing with the Angels but hit .263/.313/.493 from 2021-23. It’d be a surprise if the Sox didn’t keep him.

Jankowski started the spring with the Cubs, was granted his release and signed with the Sox. The hits haven’t been dropping, but he has six walks in 25 plate appearances. The White Sox already have Michael A. Taylor in a fourth outfield role. Andrew Benintendi, who missed three-plus weeks with a fractured hand, was back in the lineup yesterday, making Jankowski something of a long shot.

Yankees: RHP Carlos Carrasco

With a nice spring showing and several injuries in the Yankees’ rotation, Carrasco looks to have a good chance at making the roster. Jack Curry of the YES Network already reported it’s “likely” Carrasco will be added this weekend. Carrasco has a 1.69 ERA with 15 strikeouts and seven walks (plus four hit batters) in 16 spring innings. He tossed five shutout frames yesterday.

Carlos Carrasco Has Opt-Out In Yankees Deal This Weekend

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Veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco can trigger an opt-out in his minor league deal with the Yankees on Saturday if he hasn’t been added to the 40-man roster by that point, reports Jack Curry of the YES Network. Triggering the out would give the Yanks 48 hours to add him to the roster or else allow him to become a free agent. Curry adds that Carrasco is “likely” to begin the year in the team’s rotation, so it seems they’re leaning toward adding him to the roster. They’d need to open a 40-man roster spot but could do so easily by transferring Gerrit Cole to the 60-day injured list.

Carrasco, 38 on Friday, signed a minor league deal with the Yankees back in early February. He’s posted solid results despite shaky command this spring, holding opponents to three runs in 11 innings and punching out 12 of the 46 men he’s faced (26.1%). Carrasco has also issued six walks and plunked three batters, however, so he perhaps hasn’t been quite as sharp as his 2.45 ERA might appear to indicate.

The veteran Carrasco was for a good while one of the more consistent arms in the sport. From 2014-18, he was a rock in the Cleveland rotation, rattling off 856 innings of 3.27 ERA ball with brilliant strikeout and walk rates alike. He’s had his share of success even since that five-year peak, but the year-over-year results have varied drastically. He pitched to a solid 3.97 ERA in 152 innings with the Mets as recently as 2022, but Carrasco has also logged an earned run average of 5.64 or higher in three of his past four seasons.

Entering camp, Carrasco looked to have little path to a rotation spot. He was the quintessential veteran depth piece, but injuries have ravaged the Yankees’ starting staff and now placed him in position to break camp in the fifth spot. Cole will miss the 2025 season due to Tommy John surgery. Rookie of the Year Luis Gil will miss most or all of the first half due to a lat strain. Clarke Schmidt is having his next spring start skipped because of shoulder soreness and is not a lock to be on the Opening Day roster. JT Brubaker suffered a trio of broken ribs early in camp when he was struck by a comeback line drive.

With nearly a full rotation’s worth of arms ailing, the Yankees are now lined up for Carlos Rodon, Max Fried and Marcus Stroman to take the top three spots in the rotation. If Schmidt is able to avoid an IL stint, he’d be in line for a fourth. The fifth starter race would come down to Carrasco and prospect Will Warren. While Warren has been terrific in camp this far (15 2/3 innings, 2.87 ERA, 16-to-3 K/BB ratio), handing him the fifth spot would likely mean allowing Carrasco to opt out and sign elsewhere, thus further compromising the team’s depth. Of course, if Schmidt winds up landing on the 15-day IL, then it’ll likely be a moot point, as both Carrasco and Warren would be ticketed for the starting rotation.

Yankees, Carlos Carrasco Agree To Minor League Deal

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The Yankees have agreed to a minor league contract with veteran righty Carlos Carrasco, reports Jack Curry of the YES Network. Presumably, he’ll be in camp as a non-roster invitee this month. Carrasco, who’s represented by ACES, would earn $1.5MM if he makes the roster and can push that salary to $2.5MM via incentives, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Carrasco, 38 in March, spent the 2024 season with the Guardians after returning to Cleveland on a minor league pact last offseason. He was hit hard for a second straight season, following up on 2023’s 6.80 ERA (90 innings) with a 5.64 ERA in 103 2/3 frames. Carrasco’s 91.6 mph average four-seamer and 91.1 mph average sinker, per Statcast, were both career-low marks.

Carrasco, of course, was one of the game’s premier starters during his peak in Cleveland, finishing fourth in 2017 American League Cy Young voting. From 2014-18, he tossed 856 innings of 3.27 ERA ball with plus strikeout and walk rates. He ranked seventh among all pitchers in FanGraphs’ wins above replacement metric during that span and was sixth among all qualified pitchers in terms of the differential between his strikeout and walk rates (22.6 K-BB%).

At this stage of his career, Carrasco is no longer a borderline ace and is a pure depth addition for the Yankees. His last productive season came with the Mets in 2022, when he tossed 152 innings of 3.97 ERA ball with a strong 23.6% strikeout rate and 6.4% walk rate.

Carrasco has had an ERA of 5.64 or worse in three of the past four seasons, but he still shows good command and misses bats at a passable enough level to think he could produce better results. He’s been far too homer-prone, however, which doesn’t necessarily bode well for a fit in Yankee Stadium — though he’s actually been far more susceptible to long balls versus righties than versus left-handed opponents.

The Yankees’ rotation is already deep enough that the club has traded Nestor Cortes and is likely to move Marcus Stroman if general manager Brian Cashman can find a trade partner. Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodon, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt will take the top five spots in the roster. Stroman and his $18.5MM salary are on the trade block. Other depth options on the 40-man roster include JT Brubaker, waiver claim Allan Winans and prospects Will Warren, Clayton Beeter and Yoendrys Gomez.

Carlos Carrasco Plans To Continue Pitching

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Carlos Carrasco was in attendance this evening as Venezuelan countryman Salvador Perez was honored as MLB’s Roberto Clemente Award winner. Carrasco told reporters that he has begun his offseason training regimen and hopes to pitch for two more seasons (X link via Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com).

The veteran right-hander turns 38 in March. Pitching two more seasons would take him near his 40th birthday. Carrasco elected minor league free agency after the Guardians were eliminated from the AL Championship Series. He’d have gotten to the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series anyhow since he has well over six years of MLB service.

Carrasco is almost certainly looking at a minor league deal for the second straight offseason. The longtime Cleveland hurler rejoined the organization on a non-roster contract in January. He broke camp and locked in a $2MM base salary. Carrasco held a rotation spot for the majority of the season, making 21 starts and tossing 103 2/3 innings. That was enough to land him third on the team in workload, though his results weren’t impressive. Carrasco allowed 5.64 earned runs per nine with a middling 19.9% strikeout percentage. The Guardians ran him through outright waivers in September.

That marks consecutive subpar showings for the 15-year veteran. Carrasco also scuffled during his third and final season as a member of the Mets. Opponents tagged him for a 6.80 ERA over 90 innings in 2023. He owns a 6.18 ERA across 41 starts over the last two seasons. Carrasco still throws strikes and gets ground-balls at decent rates, but declining velocity has cost him whiffs and led to trouble keeping the ball in the park.

Six Players Elect Free Agency

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As the offseason nears, a number of players elect minor league free agency each week. These players are separate from six-year MLB free agents, who’ll reach the open market five days after the conclusion of the World Series. Eligible minor leaguers can begin electing free agency as soon as the regular season wraps up. These players were all outrighted off a team’s 40-man roster during the year and have the requisite service time and/or multiple career outrights necessary to reach free agency since they weren’t added back to teams’ rosters.

Electing free agency is the anticipated outcome for these players. There’ll surely be more to test the market in the coming weeks. We’ll offer periodic updates at MLBTR. These transactions are all reflected on the MiLB.com or MLB.com logs.

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Pitchers

Guardians Outright Carlos Carrasco

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Carlos Carrasco is sticking with the Guardians. Cleveland announced this evening that the veteran right-hander accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus. The Guards had designated Carrasco for assignment on Tuesday when they needed a 40-man roster spot to add Myles Straw as a replacement for injured left fielder Steven Kwan.

Carrasco was on the injured list at the time of his DFA. He last pitched in the majors on August 7. A left hip strain sent him to the 15-day IL. Injured players cannot go on outright waivers, but Carrasco was on a minor league rehab stint at the time of his designation. That the Guards were permitted to outright him suggests he’s back to full strength. Cleveland announced that he’ll start tomorrow for Columbus.

This has been a tough year for the 37-year-old. Carrasco broke camp with the Guardians after returning to the organization on an offseason minor league deal. He’s taken the ball 21 times and is third on the team (behind Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively) with 103 2/3 innings. The results haven’t been great, as he’s allowed 5.64 earned runs per nine. Carrasco’s strikeout rate is a bit south of 20% and he has been far too prone to the home run ball (1.65 HR/9). The longball has been an issue for the past few seasons, the main reason Carrasco has allowed an ERA north of 5.00 in four of the last six years.

Carrasco has more than enough service time to decline a minor league assignment while collecting what remains of his $2MM base salary. He and the Guardians clearly have a strong relationship, so he’ll instead head to Columbus and hang around as depth for Cleveland’s playoff run. Carrasco wouldn’t have been eligible for postseason play elsewhere, meaning he’d have simply sat out the rest of the year had he elected free agency.

While Carrasco has clearly fallen down the organizational depth chart, the Guardians have one of the weaker rotations among playoff teams. Bibee, Gavin Williams and midseason pickup Matthew Boyd (2.52 ERA with a 27.2% strikeout rate in seven starts) project as Stephen Vogt’s top three starters. Deadline acquisition Alex Cobb landed on the IL last week with blister issues. He’d be in that mix if he’s healthy by the start of the playoffs. According to the MLB.com injury tracker, he was scratched from a scheduled simulated game yesterday as the blister lingers.

Lively would probably be the option right now if Vogt needs a fourth starter, but there’s very little depth after that. Carrasco and rookie Joey Cantillo project as the top depth options if any of the Guards’ top four starters were to suffer an injury. Vogt will look to get into his elite bullpen early and often once October rolls around.

Guardians Place Steven Kwan On Injured List

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The Guardians announced that outfielder Steven Kwan has been placed on the 10-day injured list. They have selected the contract of Myles Straw to take his place on the active roster. Right-hander Carlos Carrasco, currently on the 15-day injured list, has been designated for assignment to open a 40-man spot for Straw.

Kwan hasn’t played in a game since September 12. He was scratched from the lineup on September 13 with the club describing his issue as body fatigue, per Mandy Bell of MLB.com on X. Manager Stephen Vogt later described the issue as back soreness, per Bell.

It’s unclear how long the club expects Kwan to be out, but it seems they want him to rest for at least a week. IL stints can be backdated by as many as three days if they player has been out of the lineup, so the Guardians have presumably done so with Kwan.

For however long he’s out, the Guards will be without one of the game’s best contact hitters. Kwan has only been punched out in 9.4% of his plate appearances this year. Among qualified hitters, only Luis Arráez has been struck out at a lower rate this year. Kwan is generally not a power threat but has 13 homers this year, more than doubling his previous career high of six. He’s hitting .291/.364/.419 on the year overall for a wRC+ of 127.

In addition to the offense, Kwan has stolen 12 bases and received strong grades for his left field defense. That’s allowed him to produced 3.8 wins above replacement on the year, per the calculations of FanGraphs, second on the team to José Ramírez.

Losing a player like that would be a blow at any time, but it’s especially concerning at this part of the calendar. Perhaps the club is just giving Kwan a breather and expects him to be healthy by the time the playoffs start. But even in that scenario, any kind of setback would roll into the postseason.

With Kwan out in recent days, the Guards have been utilizing an outfield mix of Lane Thomas, Ángel Martínez, Jhonkensy Noel and Will Brennan. Thomas has been the club’s regular center fielder since coming over from the Nationals in a deadline trade but he hasn’t taken well to his new club. He has hit .217/.273/.377 for Cleveland while striking out in 37.3% of his plate appearances.

Perhaps the Guards will install Straw in center and hope for better results, though that might be a tall ask. He was outrighted off the club’s roster in March after a few years of offensive struggles. He hit .229/.296/.284 for the Guards over 2022 and 2023, leading to a combined wRC+ of 67. Since clearing waivers and getting sent down to Columbus coming into this year, his results haven’t improved much. in 123 Triple-A games this year, he’s hitting .240/.321/.329 for a wRC+ of 72.

Despite the lack of offense, Straw at least has a solid floor from his speed and defense. He has swiped 30 bags in 31 tries this year and has regularly had similar stolen base totals in previous seasons. Thomas is also capable of providing value in those departments, with 32 steals this year and defensive metrics that are roughly average for his time in center. Whether Straw will push Thomas for playing time or simply serve as a glove-first bench guy remains to be seen.

Straw signed a $25MM extension with Cleveland going into 2022, which has not worked out so far due to his aforementioned offensive downturn. Given his struggles and that contract, it was unsurprising that he went unclaimed off waivers. He had the right to elect free agency at that time since he has at least three years of service, but since he has less than five years, doing so would have meant walking away from the money still to be paid out on that deal. He unsurprisingly accepted his outright assignment and gets back on the roster today. There’s not enough time left in this season for him to hit that five-year mark, so it’s possible he’s outrighted again later this year or in the winter.

Carrasco, 37, signed a minor league deal with the Guards in the winter and made the Opening Day roster. He has made 21 starts for the club this year with a 5.64 earned run average in 103 2/3 innings. That’s obviously not amazing production but it was valuable to the club at times this year as various other starters struggled or landed on the injured list.

The club currently has a rotation of Gavin Williams, Tanner Bibee, Matthew Boyd, Joey Cantillo and Ben Lively with Alex Cobb currently on the IL due to a blister. Williams was on the IL for most of the first half of the year but has since returned. Boyd wasn’t signed until midseason as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery but has looked strong since joining the club. Cobb was a midseason trade acquisition and Cantillo has gradually pitched his way into the picture with a solid season.

That leaves less room for Carrasco than earlier in the year and he has had his own injury issues. He landed on the injured list in May due to an acute neck spasm and returned a couple of weeks later. A second IL stint put him out of action just over a month ago, with a left hip strain being the culprit. He began a rehab assignment a few days ago but the club has nudged him off the roster today.

Injured players can’t be placed on outright waivers so Carrasco should be on release waivers shortly. It’s a fairly moot point as he’s likely to clear in either case. He’s making a $2MM salary this year and other clubs won’t have much use for him at this part of the calendar. He wouldn’t be postseason eligible for any other team and wouldn’t have much time to make contributions in the regular season either.

Assuming he clears waivers, he would be able to elect free agency as a veteran with plenty of years of experience, but it’s possible he decides to stay and serve as non-roster depth for the Guards and possibly get a chance to rejoin the roster for the postseason.

Guardians Place Carlos Carrasco On Injured List

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The Guardians placed right-hander Carlos Carrasco on the 15-day injured list Friday with a left hip strain and optioned infielder/outfielder Angel Martinez to Triple-A Columbus, per a team announcement. In their places, Cleveland recalled outfielder Will Brennan and reliever Peter Strzelecki from Columbus. The Guards also called up left-hander Joey Cantillo as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Twins.

Cantillo will start Game 1 of today’s twin bill. Zack Meisel of The Athletic tweets that righty Alex Cobb, acquired from the Giants at the trade deadline, will start Game 2 for Cleveland. He’s on the 60-day injured list, so they’ll need to make a corresponding 40-man roster move between games one and two today.

It’s the second IL stint of the season for Carrasco, who opened the year on the 15-day injured list due to neck spasms. He signed a minor league deal to return to Cleveland over the winter, made the rotation in spring training, and is currently second on the team in games started, trailing only right-hander Tanner Bibee.

While Carrasco has been a consistent presence in Cleveland’s rotation this year, his results have paled in comparison to his peak years. The now-37-year-old righty has eaten up 103 2/3 innings but been clobbered for a 5.64 ERA. His 19.9% strikeout rate is a couple percentage points shy of league-average, while his 7.4% walk rate is better than average. However, Carrasco is working with a career-worst 91.8 mph average fastball velocity and has been extremely homer prone, yielding an average of 1.65 long balls per nine frames. A bloated 17% of the fly-balls he yields have left the park. He’s hit a particularly rough patch of late, surrendering 17 runs (on the strength of five homers) in his past 17 2/3 innings.

Carrasco clearly isn’t performing well at the moment, but his placement on the IL further tests the depth for a Guardians club that lost Shane Bieber for the season (Tommy John surgery) back in April and has seen young pitchers Logan Allen and Triston McKenzie struggle to the point that they’ve been optioned to Columbus. The Guards acquired Cobb prior to the deadline and signed veteran left-hander Matthew Boyd to a big league deal as he wrapped up his rehab from 2023 Tommy John surgery. Cobb will make his Guardians debut tonight, and Boyd isn’t expected to be too far behind him.

That could potentially give Cleveland a rotation of Bibee, Cobb, Boyd, Gavin Williams and journeyman Ben Lively down the stretch. There’s potential for a solid group there, but it’s anyone’s guess right now how Cobb will perform coming off hip surgery and how Boyd will perform on the back of last season’s ligament replacement procedure. It’s not the dominant Cleveland rotation we’re used to seeing, but the Guardians boast one of the best bullpens in baseball, which helps to offset some of the uncertainty.

As for Cantillo, today will mark his third big league start. He’s been tagged for six runs in 7 1/3 innings thus far and will face a tough task in squaring off against a Twins team that has thrived against left-handed pitching this year. A former third-round pick, Cantillo has ranked among the Guardians’ more promising young arms since being acquired from the Padres back in the 2020 Mike Clevinger trade. He’s had some command troubles in the upper minors and missed a significant portion of the current season on the injured list, but Cantillo has a 4.21 ERA and 27.1% strikeout rate in 124 career Triple-A frames — albeit against a 13.4% walk rate that’ll need to improve if he’s to sustain success in the majors.

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