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On Friday, the Cleveland Guardians needed to make space on the 40-man roster so they could call up Myles Straw for outfield help amid the injury to left fielder Steven Kwan. In the end, the Guardians decided to designate veteran starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco for assignment, therefore paving the way for their preferred roster move.
Carrasco, however, has decided to stick around with the Guardians organization. After clearing waivers, the 37-year-old starter has chosen to accept an outright assignment to the team's Triple-A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers, as per GuardsInsider on X, formerly known as Twitter. Carrasco is already penciled in as the Clippers' starter for Saturday night, which is good sign given that he's coming off an injury.
Carlos Carrasco last pitched for the Guardians on August 7 in the first game of their double-header against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Carrasco pitched in 4.1 innings during that contest, allowing four earned runs in what ended up being a 5-3 loss for Cleveland.
He soon landed on the injured list with a hip strain, and he has been working his way back to full health since. The good development for the Guardians is that Carrasco is now healthy enough to be put on outright waivers, and that Carrasco accepted the minor-league assignment — a sign of the strong relationship between the two parties.
There exists an alternate reality where Carrasco chose to decline the assignment and opt for free agency. However, doing so would have made him ineligible for postseason play. Sticking around with the Guardians means that he will have the opportunity to pitch in the playoffs, provided, of course, that the team deems his help necessary.
The 2024 season hasn't exactly gone swimmingly for Carrasco. He has put up an ERA of 5.64 this year in 103.2 innings, and this level of play made the Guardians' decision to remove him from the 40-man roster that much easier. However, the team has its fair share of starting pitcher problems, and Carrasco could end up being a helpful presence to have due to his familiarity with the organization as well as his veteran nous.
Guardians' starting pitching woes highlight Carlos Carrasco's struggles
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The Guardians' starting rotation is full of question marks; only Tanner Bibee and Ben Lively have been reliable all season long, while Matthew Boyd has been a clutch midseason acquisition from free agency. So for Carlos Carrasco to receive the boot from the big-league roster says a lot about how difficult it has been for him to navigate his struggles.
Carrasco's big-league career is hanging on by a thread. He has been helpful enough for the Guardians as an innings-eating veteran, but other than that, his performances over the past few years leave a lot to be desired.
Last season with the New York Mets, Carrasco nearly played his way out of the MLB. He put up a ghastly ERA of 6.80 in 90 innings of work across 20 starts, and his combination of poor strikeout to walk ratio as well as proneness to the long ball explains his struggles simply enough.
Carrasco then latched on with the Guardians on a minor-league deal, and while there have been a few improvements, he has still been one of the worst-performing regular starters in the MLB this season.
The good thing is that the 37-year-old provides a steady clubhouse presence, and he is someone capable of soaking up some innings. It remains to be seen, however, if he resurfaces on the Guardians' major league roster or if this is the end of his MLB playing days.
