Mets Scapegoats: 1 player to release, 1 to trade for pennies, 1 to keep around

NY Mets scapegoat to trade for pennies: Carlos Carrasco

Carlos Carrasco may have a 5.94 ERA in what has been a somewhat overlooked poor season for the veteran righty. Struggles from Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander early on helped Carrasco fly under the radar as someone worth blaming for the team’s ugly beginning to 2023. He has made 11 starts and with a 6.46 FIP it means he might actually be worse than the ERA says.

The market for a pitcher like Carrasco will be limited. The Mets would have to eat a part of his $14 million contract regardless of what they’re asking for in return. It could be worth it, though. Taking a flier on a prospect for only the cost of some money makes sense. Some team, somewhere could see how well Carrasco performed last year and convince themselves he could be an upgrade over their current fifth starter.

Carrasco is hardly the biggest culprit when it comes to the reason for why the Mets are fighting to get back to .500. He was the expected fifth starter for this staff. Even with this in mind, he has been a massive underperformer the team should trade even if all they get back in return are pennies.

The Mets should have some feelers out as soon as possible and take the first halfway decent offer they get.