With three recent big additions to the New York Mets‘ starting rotation, speculation has arisen that Carlos Carrasco could be on the move.
When reviewing the state of the Mets rotation, they are locked in with their top four starters in Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Kodai Senga, and Jose Quintana. At the moment, Carrasco is the fifth starting pitcher.
However, the Mets do have some young depth with David Peterson and Tylor Megill, who could be ready to take on that role rounding out the rotation. Not to mention, with all of the recent moves, the Mets payroll has gone through the roof. It makes Carrasco, with his $14 million, that much more expendable.
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Recent report suggests the Mets are fielding calls on Carlos Carrasco:
Joel Sherman, Baseball Columnist for The New York Post, recently had the following to say regarding the Mets and Carrasco.
“The Mets are listening to trade offers on Carlos Carrasco. It will be no surprise if he is moved. But it will not be for a Wilpon-ian reason. … Trading Carrasco would be a baseball decision. The Mets surmise that Tylor Megill or David Peterson have a pretty good chance of outperforming Carrasco in 2023. … The Mets worry about what Carrasco can bring in 2023 due to age (36 in March) and injury history.”
While there are logical reasons listed above to move on from Carrasco, there is a slight risk factor involved too.
Carrasco is coming off a 15-win season in 29 starts with an ERA just below four (3.97). In 152 innings pitched, he recorded 152 strikeouts. While they showed some promising glimpses in 2022, Carrasco is much more proven than both Peterson and Megill. Keeping Carrasco enables the Mets to have sure-depth in Peterson and Megill as a team with high expectations as well.
That being said, it is logical to see where the Mets are coming from, per Sherman’s report. Carrasco is owed $14 million this year as a fifth starter, a hefty price.
Moving off him takes some stress off of the Mets’ astronomical payroll (projected comfortably over $400 million). Plus, from a value standpoint, one of Peterson and Megill could fill that fifth starter role for far less. Not to mention, both players have upside while proving some things last year. It will be fascinating to see what the Mets do with Carrasco.