CLEVELAND — As he recovered from an early-season injury last year, Carlos Carrasco started to envision the final chapter of his pitching career. He was a member of the New York Mets’ rotation, but he wondered whether there was a way he could eventually find his way back to Cleveland.
That’s where he got his start, where he suffered through years of growing pains, where he was banished to the bullpen, where he blossomed as a starter, where he became a workhorse, a strikeout seeker, a Cy Young Award candidate. It’s where he became a U.S. citizen, where he learned he had leukemia, where he received an unforgettable ovation during the All-Star Game and where he frequented hospitals to bring smiles to sick children.
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Carrasco has rejoined the organization, and if his arm will allow and the roster will fall into place, there’s at least a chance he makes it back to the place it all started, the place he wanted it to end.
The Cleveland Guardians are signing him to a minor-league deal that includes an invitation to big-league spring training, multiple league sources told The Athletic.
Sources: Carlos Carrasco is coming back to Cleveland on a minor-league deal with an invitation to big-league spring training. The 36-year-old pitched for the organization from 2009-2020.
— Zack Meisel (@ZackMeisel) January 27, 2024
For Carrasco, this possibility all hinged on whether his arm had enough juice to continue pitching. Last year was a struggle; he posted a 6.80 ERA in 20 starts. Hitters compiled a .912 OPS against him. His fastball velocity dipped to 92.7 mph (and hitters slugged .648 against it). He ranked near the bottom of the league leaderboard in hard-hit rate, average exit velocity and strikeout rate. He visited the Driveline Baseball facility over the winter to find an elixir to his downward trends.
He will, after all, turn 37 a week before Opening Day. When he debuted for Cleveland in 2009, five weeks after being traded for reigning Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee, Carrasco was 22 and widely considered a top-100 prospect.
He needed some time to find his big-league footing, but Carrasco developed into one of the most consistent, effective starters in the sport. From 2014 to 2018, he logged a 3.27 ERA and averaged 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings. Carrasco ranks fourth in franchise history with 1,305 strikeouts.
In 2016, Carrasco was sidelined for Cleveland’s run to the World Series after a line drive off the bat of Detroit’s Ian Kinsler broke a bone in his hand in mid-September. He finished fourth in the American League Cy Young Award voting in 2017, when he posted a 3.29 ERA, with 226 strikeouts in 200 innings. In 2015, Carrasco came within one strike of a no-hitter — Cleveland remains without one since Len Barker’s perfect game in 1981, the league’s longest drought — in Tampa, as Joey Butler lined a two-strike pitch with two outs in the ninth just over the outstretched glove of Jason Kipnis. Carrasco couldn’t help but smile and clap after his bid for history came to an end.
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In 2019, after feeling lethargic early in the season, Carrasco was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. He vowed to return to the mound that season, but bullpen sessions throughout the summer resulted in fatigue and tears. Cleveland hosted the All-Star Game that summer, and Carrasco stood on the field for special recognition during the Stand Up 2 Cancer segment. On Sept. 1, after three months of grueling recovery, he returned to the mound in Tampa.
That year, he was honored as the AL Comeback Player of the Year, the winner of MLB’s Roberto Clemente Award and The Athletic’s MLB Person of the Year.
In January 2021, Cleveland’s front office included Carrasco in a trade that also sent Francisco Lindor to the Mets for Amed Rosario, Andrés Giménez and a pair of prospects. In three injury-riddled years in New York, Carrasco registered a 5.21 ERA across 295 2/3 innings.
The Guardians, meanwhile, have their rotation all but set, Shane Bieber, Triston McKenzie, Tanner Bibee, Gavin Williams and Logan Allen. Beyond that, there’s room for more depth, with Ben Lively, Xzavion Curry, Hunter Gaddis and Joey Cantillo next in line. The bullpen is pretty crowded, too, though there could be an Opening Day spot available for a long reliever.
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Cleveland Baseball Countdown, No. 20: Carlos Carrasco and a decade of smiles and tears
(Photo: Dilip Vishwanat / Getty Images)