5 major "wild cards" that can define the 2023 season

4) NY Mets wild card: Carlos Carrasco’s gas tank

What’s left in the gas tank for Carlos Carrasco? He turns 36 in March and heads into 2023 off of a successful sophomore season with the Mets. Carrasco was 15-7 with a 3.97 ERA last year. He made 29 starts and gave the Mets 152 innings.

Far from brilliant, Carrasco was a more than acceptable fifth starter. It was the role he was meant for. He lived up to it.

As positive as it was, we all remember his shakiness throughout his 12 starts the year prior. Carrasco came off an injury that sidelined him for the first few months of the year only to go just 1-5 with a 6.04 ERA. Which version shows up in 2023?

Regression should be a reasonable expectation for Carrasco. His amazing July, going 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA, is what helped to give him much better numbers last season. Paired with the brilliance of May when he was 4-0 with a 3.60 ERA, we see a somewhat streaky pitcher who is capable of getting hot. The Mets will just have to hope this wild card is hot at the right times and scorching enough for the starts where they need him most.

Carrasco could end up as the third best pitcher in the Mets rotation or a guy bumped out of the picture. Fans should be able to imagine each scenario.