Former Mets player finally gets cut from the roster, retirement looks plausible

He hasn’t pitched since the first week of August. Based on this year’s results, he may never again. A member of the New York Mets for three seasons, Carlos Carrasco was finally cut from the Cleveland Guardians roster this week after putting together yet another terrifyingly bad season.

Between last year with the Mets and this year with the Guardians, he has combined to be worth -2.5 WAR with only a .1 better this season in Cleveland.

An incredibly likable guy whose time with the Mets included two of the worst years for a starting pitcher serving as the bread to a very solid season in the middle, this could be the end. Carrasco turns 38 next March and if the Guardians are cutting him after more than a month on the IL, it’s probably time to hang it up.

Let’s tip our caps to former Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco if this is indeed the end

Carrasco came to the Mets alongside Francisco Lindor before the 2021 season. It’s almost easy to forget this trade was about more than Lindor. In a lot of ways, it’s easy to forgo thinking of Lindor as a trade addition altogether. He feels more Mets than ever before.

Carrasco is an intriguing MLB story. It took him until his age 27 season to get regular playing time. He pitched his way into the Cleveland rotation in 2014 and the next year received some mild Cy Young consideration. Two years later, he led the league with 18 wins and was fourth in the AL Cy Young vote.

The peak of Carrasco’s career was brief. From 2014-2018, he went 68-43 with a 3.27 ERA. Onward, he has gone 31-41 with a 5.02 ERA.

Carrasco returned to the Guardians this offseason on what felt like a kind gesture deal by Cleveland. He’d somehow manage to make 21 starts for them while going 3-10 with a 5.64 ERA. His last start took place on August 7. An injured hip landed him on the IL.

Easily his greatest achievement was battling leukemia in 2019. The fact that he has been able to come back and pitch at all in the big leagues is admirable.

Mets fans can appreciate what he did in 2022. His 15 wins account for almost half of the total he has post-2018.