Lowering the bar for Mets pitcher Carlos Carrasco
Remember how I said I might be the biggest McCann hater? Quite the opposite could be said about Carlos Carrasco. When the Mets picked him up last winter in the Francisco Lindor trade, I was almost more excited to get him. He seemed to fit exactly what the team needed. He was a consistent veteran with a good reputation on and off the field. What could go wrong?
An injury struck Carrasco in the preseason and he didn’t debut for the Mets until the end of July. In those 12 starts he did make, Carrasco went 1-5 with a 6.04 ERA.
This wasn’t the same guy from Cleveland. His 3.77 ERA he had prior to 2021 went up to 3.86 because of his poor performance. Carrasco spent his first few starts essentially rehabbing before finally stretching himself out enough to possibly go longer. However, in many of his starts, he would get shelled early and exit unceremoniously before some fans even settled in.
It was a rough dozen games for Carrasco in a season where we can blame injuries as a factor. However, with another year on his body and no guarantee he’ll remain healthy, I have to lower the bar for him in 2022.
Maybe it’s not so low that it’s impossible to limbo under. But it has definitely dropped to the point where you might bruise your shin if you bump into it.