4 NY Mets pitchers we'd rather see starting than Carlos Carrasco

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Carlos Carrasco entered the season as the projected fifth starter for the New York Mets. This felt like a luxury as Carrasco was rock solid for them last season, and had the track record of being a very strong mid-rotation arm. Unfortunately, things have gone horribly for Carrasco in what will undoubtedly be his final season with the Mets.

The right-hander has a 6.80 ERA in 20 starts this season. He has the highest ERA among pitchers with at least 90 innings of work. He has an ERA of 10.73 in his last seven starts. He simply looks uncompetitive. After going just 1.2 innings and allowing five runs against the reeling Angels, Carrasco should be removed from the rotation.

The Mets are a team 12 games under .500 and out of postseason contention. They sold at the trade deadline with their eyes set on 2024 and beyond. Carrasco being a free agent after the year has no shot at being a part of the Mets rotation next season with how he's pitched, so it's time to give another arm a shot in his place. Whether they move him to the bullpen or just DFA him I don't really care. Just remove him from the rotation and replace him with one of these four options.

1) NY Mets pitcher Joey Lucchesi should be in the rotation over Carlos Carrasco

I had initially thought that Carlos Carrasco wasn't even going to make Saturday's start against the Angels because of how well Lucchesi pitched in his spot start in St. Louis.

The southpaw was brought up to give Kodai Senga an extra day of rest and pitched remarkably well against the Cardinals. He pitched 5.2 scoreless frames against a Cardinals team that might be horrible but still has some really good hitters. Overall, Lucchesi has a 3.54 ERA in six starts this season for the Mets. His first start of the year was very reminiscent of the start in St. Louis as he dealt seven scoreless frames against the Giants.

Lucchesi has spent most of the year in the minors and most of his Mets tenure on the IL. He hasn't gotten much of a full-time chance in the rotation. It's hard to even judge who the Mets gave top prospect Endy Rodriguez up for.

Is it likely Lucchesi is part of this team's future? I'd say no. He's 30 and hasn't done much since back-to-back decent years in 2018 and 2019 for the Padres. Still, it's worth figuring out if Lucchesi can find a spot in the 2024 rotation, bullpen, or even in the minors as a depth arm. He'd still have an option next year so the Mets would be able to send him up and down from AAA.

This is the most realistic option, and Lucchesi should get the ball against the Mariners next weekend.

2) NY Mets pitcher Mike Vasil should be in the rotation over Carlos Carrasco

Joey Lucchesi is the most realistic option to replace Carrasco, Mike Vasil would be the most fun option. Vasil is the ninth-ranked Mets prospect according to MLB Pipeline but their number one pitching prospect. He's shot up their ranks thanks to a strong 2023 campaign.

The right-hander pitched well in AA Binghamton to earn a promotion to AAA Syracuse in June. He got off to a rough start in Syracuse, but has pitched well in his last three starts.

Earlier this month in a start against the Yankees AAA affiliate, Vasil took a no-hitter into the ninth inning. He allowed a leadoff single to lose his no-hit bid, but he pitched eight scoreless innings overall, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out seven.

Vasil allowed three runs in his next start, and one in the start after that. He has a 1.83 ERA in his last three starts overall spanning 19.2 innings pitched.

The Mets can see if Vasil is an option to be part of the 2024 Opening Day rotation. If he pitches well, he will be. If he doesn't, he won't be. I don't see what there is to lose outside of adding him to the 40-man roster a year earlier than they'd have to for Rule-5 reasons.

3) NY Mets pitcher Justin Jarvis should be in the rotation over Carlos Carrasco

Speaking of Rule-5 implications, Justin Jarvis should take Carrasco's spot for just that reason. The Mets acquired Jarvis in the trade that sent Mark Canha to the Brewers and should see what they have in the right-hander with the Rule-5 Draft in mind.

Jarvis is eligible to be picked in the Rule-5 Draft which means if he's not added to the 40-man roster by a certain point in the offseason, he can be selected by any of the 29 other teams in the Rule-5 Draft. Is that a risk the Mets will want to take out of their 15th-ranked prospect per MLB Pipeline? I'm not so sure.

Jarvis hasn't pitched like a MLB pitcher, that's for sure. He has a 7.96 ERA in seven AAA starts splitting time between the Brewers and Mets affiliates. His ERA has come down to 5.65 as a member of the Mets organization and he's allowed three runs or fewer in three of his four starts with Syracuse which is good.

The 23-year-old might not be ready to pitch in the majors, but he can't be much worse than Carrasco has been of late. If he's good, the Mets will keep him on the 40-man roster and can potentially include him as part of their 2024 Opening Day plans. If he doesn't pitch well, they can leave him on the 40-man or DFA him before the draft. Either way, it's worth the risk just to see what you have so you don't add him to the 40-man with no experience whatsoever under his belt.

4) NY Mets pitcher Jose Butto should be in the rotation over Carlos Carrasco

Jose Butto is another pitcher the Mets should simply give reps to. He's had cups of coffee in each of the last two seasons and while most of his MLB appearances haven't gone too well, the last one was decent. He got through two scoreless innings in relief before imploding in his third inning. Grant Hartwig didn't help, but the third wasn't a fun one to watch.

Butto hasn't had the best year in the minors, but things have gone better for him lately. In his start prior to that MLB outing against the Pirates, Butto had delivered 5.2 scoreless frames. In his start after that outing, he allowed three runs in six innings. His ERA is very inflated from two awful starts in which he allowed eight earned runs and seven earned runs respectively. Overall, he's allowed four earned runs or fewer in 15 of his 18 AAA starts.

The Mets should give Butto some run to simply see if he's worth keeping around on the 40-man. He's not a top prospect or anything, but depth arms are always important to have. If Butto pitches well down the stretch, he can assert himself as a reliable depth arm for the Mets to count on if they need a sixth or seventh starter next season.

Again, he can't be much worse than Carrasco has been. He'd likely have the same losing results Carrasco has had, but you can at least look at his starts with an eye to the future. Carrasco's feel like a waste at this point.

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