Headlines

Go To Pro Hockey Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Carlos Carrasco

Latest On Carlos Carrasco

By | at

Right-hander Carlos Carrasco was one of several headlining offseason additions for the Mets, who acquired him from Cleveland as part of the teams’ Francisco Lindor trade. Unfortunately for Carrasco and New York, though, he hasn’t been able to contribute at all because of a torn right hamstring he suffered in mid-March. Three months later, Carrasco’s Mets debut still isn’t imminent.

Manager Luis Rojas told Anthony DiComo of MLB.com and other reporters on Wednesday that Carrasco is no longer throwing off the slope of the mound – which he was doing last week. While Rojas said “[t]here is no reinjury or anything like that,” he added that Carrasco needs “more strength in that hamstring before we ramp up his baseball progression.”

There’s no timetable for Carrasco’s return, Tim Healey of Newsday tweets, which is a tough blow for a Mets team that on May 27 shut down rehabbing starter Noah Syndergaard for six weeks because of his elbow. Both Carrasco and Syndergaard were supposed to be key complements to ace Jacob deGrom this year, but the club has instead relied on Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker in those roles. Stroman and Walker have been terrific, though the Mets’ rotation could use reinforcements after their top three. After all, David Peterson has gone through a difficult year after a promising rookie effort in 2020, while Joey Lucchesi has a 5.79 ERA and hasn’t lasted more than 4 2/3 frames in any of his outings.

If the Mets aren’t able to count on Carrasco or Syndergaard, it could lead them to make other rotation plans leading up to the July 30 trade deadline. The Mets are in first place by 2 1/2 games in the National League East, so they’re lining up as buyers right now.

Mets Notes: Carrasco, Yamamoto, Pillar, Nimmo

By | at

Carlos Carrasco is still weeks away at the minimum from returning to make his Mets’ debut, per Tim Healey of Newsday (via Twitter). Jordan Yamamoto, one of the candidates to keep Carrasco’s rotation spot warm, left his start today with right shoulder soreness, per Healey. Today was just Yamamoto’s second appearance of the season and his first start. He took the loss surrendering five runs (four earned) on six hits and two walks with two strikeouts. The rotation is not the only area of concern for the first-place Mets, however…

  • Kevin Pillar underwent surgery to repair his broken nose on Friday, but he could be ready for baseball activities as early as next week, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Pillar suffered a gruesome injury back on May 17th, taking a direct hit from a Jacob Webb fastball. The Mets centerfield depth chart has been decimated in the early going with Pillar, Brandon Nimmo, and Albert Almora landing on the injured list. Johneshwy Fargas has been the starter in center since Pillar went down, holding his own through 18 plate appearances thanks to three extra-base hits and solid glovework.
  • Nimmo, the opening day starter in center, remains out due to a frustrating finger injury that just won’t go away. “It’s been extremely frustrating, because obviously when it happened I thought this might be a few days,” said Nimmo, per Zach Braziller of the New York Post. A rehab assignment was shut down when pain returned, and Nimmo and the Mets continue to wait for the finger to be pain free before sending him out on another assignment.

Mets Select Tommy Hunter, Transfer Carlos Carrasco To 60-Day IL

By | at

The Mets announced Thursday that they’ve selected right-hander Tommy Hunter’s contract from Triple-A Syracuse and opened a spot on the 40-man roster by moving Carlos Carrasco from the 10-day IL to the 60-day IL. Righty Jordan Yamamoto was optioned to Syracuse to open a spot on the 26-man roster.

Carrasco has yet to pitch for the Mets this season due to a hamstring strain. His move to the 60-day IL means he’ll need to spend a total of 60 days there — not 60 days starting today. Factoring in the month-plus he’s already spent on the IL, this is largely a procedural move, as he’s yet to even formally embark on a minor league rehab assignment. He’ll now be required to be shelved through most of this month, but assuming he’d need multiple rehab starts, he wouldn’t have been available until mid-month at the absolute earliest.

The 34-year-old Hunter opened the year in Syracuse after inking a minor league pact with the Mets. He’s no stranger to the NL East, having spent the past three seasons with the Phillies organization and pitching to a combined 3.64 ERA in 94 innings of work.

Hunter had a rocky run as a starter early in his career, but since moving to the bullpen on a full-time basis back in 2013, he’s been a consistently solid reliever. In 394 innings out of the bullpen since that time, he’s logged a 3.24 ERA while striking out 20.7 percent of opponents against a tiny 5.2 percent walk rate. He’ll give the Mets yet another experienced arm to add to a late-inning mix that includes veterans Edwin Diaz, Trevor May, Miguel Castro, Aaron Loup and Jeurys Familia.

Mets Notes: Carrasco, Syndergaard, Betances

By | at

Carlos Carrasco is expected to make his regular season debut by the second week of May, Mets manager Luis Rojas told reporters (including Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News) this afternoon. The righty completed a four-inning simulated game today, per the skipper.

Acquired from the Indians in the Francisco Lindor offseason blockbuster, Carrasco was delayed by elbow discomfort early in Spring Training and then suffered a right hamstring tear during his rehab. That setback has thus far kept Carrasco from debuting for his new team, but it seems he’s only a couple weeks away from doing so. The 34-year-old was very effective last year for Cleveland, tossing 68 innings of 2.91 ERA ball with a strong 29.3% strikeout rate and a passable 9.6% walk rate.

Mets starters have more than held their own in Carrasco’s absence. New York entered play today ranked fifth with a 2.61 rotation ERA, while the group’s 2.90 SIERA is best in the league. Jacob deGrom has been incredible as usual, while Marcus Stroman, David Peterson and Joey Lucchesi all have solid peripherals (and in Stroman’s case, a stellar ERA). Taijuan Walker has struggled with his control but has so far done well keeping runs off the board.

Of course, Carrasco isn’t the only key starter working his way back from injury. Noah Syndergaard continues to rehab from March 2020 Tommy John surgery. He hit a milestone in that process, with Rojas telling reporters the hard-throwing righty pitched an inning in a scrimmage today (via Tim Healey of Newsday). The 28-year-old is hoping to return to game action by the end of June.

The news was not so positive for reliever Dellin Betances. The right-hander has been out since April 8 with a right shoulder impingement, and he apparently wasn’t in line to return anytime soon. The Mets transferred Betances to the 60-day injured list this afternoon (per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com). That frees up a 40-man roster spot but rules Betances out until at least the second week of June. It continues a nightmarish couple of seasons for the 33-year-old, who has managed just 12.2 disappointing innings since signing with the Mets over the 2019-20 offseason.

NL Injury Notes: D-backs, Carrasco, Lamet

By | at

Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen will make his first start of the season on Tuesday, Steve Gilbert of MLB.com tweets. The Diamondbacks had to open the year without Gallen, their No. 1 starter, as a result of a hairline fracture he suffered in his right forearm roughly three weeks ago. Gallen thrived with the Marlins and D-backs during his first two years in the majors, in which he combined for a 2.78 ERA and struck out 28.5 percent of batters in 152 innings.

Here’s more regarding Arizona and a couple of other National League teams…

  • The Mets’ Carlos Carrasco suffered a torn hamstring last month, but manager Luis Rojas said Monday that the righty “is doing really good right now,” per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com. Carrasco is stretched out to throw four innings and will soon report to the Mets’ alternate site to begin fielding work, according to DiComo. Still, there isn’t an exact timeline for the offseason acquisition’s Mets debut. It was reported when Carrasco went down that he would need six to eight weeks to recover, so he could still be another month-plus away.
  • Righty Dinelson Lamet won’t rejoin the Padres’ rotation until he pitches at least one more time at their alternate site, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune tweets. Lamet has been delayed while working back from elbow issues that brought a premature end to a breakout 2020 effort in which he put up a 2.09 ERA/3.16 SIERA in 69 innings and finished fourth in NL Cy Young voting. The Padres have roared to an 8-3 start without Lamet, but he should make the World Series hopefuls even more formidable upon his return.
  • The Diamondbacks placed first baseman Christian Walker on the 10-day injured list Monday with a right oblique strain and recalled infielder/outfielder Andrew Young to take his spot, per a team announcement. Whether Walker will need more than 10 days to recover isn’t known, but oblique problems often lead to extended absences. Before going on the IL, Walker amassed 44 plate appearances and hit .179/.250/.282 – a far cry from the .271/.333/.459 line he posted in 243 PA last year.

Carlos Carrasco Suffers Torn Hamstring

By | at

6:12pm: Carrasco suffered a tear, per DiComo. It’s a serious injury that could require at least a six- to eight-week absence, a source told Mike Puma of the New York Post.

1:39pm: Just hours after Mets skipper Luis Rojas gave a positive update on right-hander Carlos Carrasco’s sore elbow, Carrasco is now headed for an MRI to evaluate the extent of a right hamstring strain, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo reports (via Twitter). Carrasco apparently sustained the new injury when doing conditioning work following this morning’s 20-pitch simulated inning.

Given the new injury, DiComo notes that it is “exceedingly difficult” to see Carrasco being ready to step into the Opening Day rotation. The aforementioned elbow discomfort had already shut him down for eight days, and while he’d been building up in side sessions prior to that, Carrasco still has yet to pitch in a Grapefruit League game.

Obviously, a timeline on the injury can’t be known, but it’s a nevertheless inauspicious start to the talented righty’s Mets tenure. Carrasco, 34, came to the Mets alongside Francisco Lindor in the blockbuster deal that sent a prospect package headlined by Andres Gimenez to Cleveland over the winter. He’s expected to factor prominently into a deep Mets rotation, joining Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker among the top four projected members of the staff.

If Carrasco isn’t able to go come Opening Day, it seems likely we’ll see two members of what increasingly appears to be a three-horse rotation race make the club. David Peterson, Joey Lucchesi and Jordan Yamamoto have all been competing for the fifth starter’s job and all have thrown well.

Mets Notes: Carrasco, Thor, Barnes, Lucchesi

By | at

Right-hander Carlos Carrasco resumed throwing today, pitching one inning (about 20 pitches) in a simulated game setting, Mets skipper Luis Rojas tells reporters (Twitter link via Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News). The Mets remain hopeful that Carrasco can be ready for the Opening Day roster, though that much can’t be known until they see how he feels after throwing this morning and until he builds up more in subsequent throwing sessions. The Mets paused Carrasco’s throwing work last week after he reported some discomfort in his right elbow, but his shutdown was rather brief, lasting just eight days.

Some more notes out of Port St. Lucie…

  • Noah Syndergaard threw off a mound this morning, with Mike Puma of the New York Post providing some video footage for interested Mets fans (Twitter link). Rojas tells reporters that Syndergaard, who is on the mend from 2020 Tommy John surgery, is not yet to 100 percent but nevertheless reached 96 mph with his fastball in this morning’s session (via MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo). The 28-year-old won’t be ready for the Opening Day roster, of course, but based on his current trajectory he could be back in the mix by early summer. He’ll be a free agent at season’s end.
  • Reliever Jacob Barnes is impressing Mets staffers thus far in Spring Training, writes Greg Joyce of the New York Post. Barnes, a 30-year-old right-hander who was claimed off waivers back in October, worked extensively with pitching coach Jeremy Hefner to deepen his understanding of the analytical side of pitching. “Up until this point, I didn’t really have that,” said Barnes of the data-focused approach taken by Hefner. “So I was just going out there just assuming what worked and didn’t. He pretty much gave me a blueprint of, ‘This fastball works really well here and here and the slider [there].'” Barnes is out of minor league options, so he’ll need to either make the Opening Day bullpen or else be designated for assignment.
  • Joey Lucchesi is another Mets newcomer impressing decision-makers, as Thosar explored last night. Rojas and others were pleased with yesterday’s start, as well as Lucchesi’s work in simulated games thus far in camp. He’s in the running for the fifth starter’s job, along with David Peterson and Jordan Yamamoto, both of whom have pitched well. Rojas notes that Lucchesi is stretched out and won’t be used in the bullpen for now, which suggests he’ll be optioned if he doesn’t break camp with a rotation gig. That’d be a disappointing outcome for Lucchesi himself, but the very presence of such a decision speaks to the improved pitching depth the Mets possess in 2021 — something they haven’t had as much of in recent seasons.

NL Notes: Rodgers, Carrasco, Cardinals, Nationals

By | at

Rockies infielder Brendan Rodgers left yesterday’s Spring Training contest after pulling up while trying to steal second base. He has since been diagnosed with a right hamstring strain, per Thomas Harding of MLB.com (Twitter link). It isn’t yet clear if the issue threatens his availability for Opening Day. If healthy, the former #3 overall pick looks to have a clear path to everyday playing time at second base. Should he be forced to miss time, Garrett Hampson or Josh Fuentes could stand to see an increased role (the latter at third base with Ryan McMahon playing the keystone). Chris Owings is also back in camp as a non-roster invitee and has plenty of second base experience.

More from the Senior Circuit:

Injury Notes: Carrasco, Davis, Brewers

By | at

Mets right-hander Carlos Carrasco will pause his throwing regimen until next week, manager Luis Rojas revealed to reporters Wednesday (Twitter thread via The Athletic’s Tim Britton). Carrasco reported some soreness in his elbow, although Rojas said the organization isn’t overly concerned at this time. The longtime Indians righty says he has experienced similar soreness at a similar point in Spring Training in the past. For now, the club hopes to have Carrasco facing live hitters again by the end of next week. Jordan Yamamoto, Joey Lucchesi, Sam McWilliams and Sean Reid-Foley all stand as 40-man depth options. Carrasco, 34 later this month, was one of the Mets’ most notable offseason additions. He joined free-agent addition Taijuan Walker and righty Marcus Stroman, who accepted a qualifying offer, as additions to a Mets rotation that will also hope to have Noah Syndergaard back at some point midseason. Two-time Cy Young winner Jacob deGrom, of course, will lead the group, and former first-round pick David Peterson pitched his way into the team’s plans with an impressive rookie showing in 2020.

Some more injury situations to keep an eye on around the league…

  • Chris Davis has been down since last week due to a lower back strain, and Orioles general manager Mike Elias today told reporters that there’s still no timeline for when he’ll return to baseball activities (Twitter link via the Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli). He saw a specialist earlier in the week. Davis, who’ll turn 35 next week, missed the bulk of the 2020 season due to knee problems and was slowed by a hip injury in 2019 as well. He was likely ticketed for a somewhat limited role now, given the return of Trey Mancini and the emergence of several prospects at the MLB level (Ryan Mountcastle chief among them). With no timeline at the moment, it could be tough for Davis to be ready by Opening Day. The Orioles owe him $23MM in 2021 and 2022.
  • Brewers infielder/outfielder Mark Mathias is headed for an MRI after injuring his shoulder in yesterday’s Cactus League game, manager Craig Counsell announced to reporters Wednesday (Twitter link via Andrew Wagner of the Wisconsin State Journal). There’s no official word yet on the extent of the injury, but Mathias will “miss some time” with the injury, which was sustained on a diving catch in the outfield. The 26-year-old made his MLB debut in 2020 and went 10-for-36 with three doubles in a brief look at the MLB level. He was 4-for-13 thus far in Spring Training and had been competing for a utility role with the club, but it sounds as though this setback could take him out of the running. In brighter news for Milwaukee fans, Counsell revealed that infielder Luis Urias’ hamstring issue is on the mend. Urias took batting practice yesterday and could be in a game by this weekend.

COVID Notes: Carlos Carrasco, Kevin Plawecki

By | at

A few notes from around the game regarding COVID-19…

  • Some good news on the COVID-19 front. Because of his medical history, Carlos Carrasco has received the COVID-19 vaccine, per Anthony DiComo of MLB.com (via Twitter). Carrasco’s recent history with leukemia put him at obvious risk, but he can continue his ramp up to opening day with at least a little greater sense of security. The medical testing did keep Carrasco from camp a little longer than some of the other arms, however, which will delay his Grapefruit League debut. It should not affect his ability to be ready for the start of the season, however, notes Mike Puma of the New York Post (via Twitter).
  • Red Sox catcher Kevin Plawecki returned to the field today after previously being on the COVID-19 injured list, per Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe (via Twitter). If healthy, Plawecki should have the inside track on backing up Christian Vasquez for the Red Sox this season. A former first round pick of the Mets, Plawecki appeared in 24 games and slashed .341/.393/.463 across 89 plate appearances during his first season with Boston in 2020.
  • Kyle Ryan has been cleared to return to the Cubs, per MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian (via Twitter). Ryan is still technically in the protocols for COVID-19, but he has been cleared to return to the team.
Show all

MLB Trade Rumors is not affiliated with Major League Baseball, MLB or MLB.com

hide arrows scroll to top