Veteran starter Carlos Carrasco’s time is up. The Yankees designated him for assignment Tuesday after he made only six starts in eight appearances.
The right-hand pitcher battled his way to start the season, but things did not go his way. Carrasco could not get into a rhythm to help the Yankees win.
It wasn’t that long ago that Carrasco was once a relevant pitcher in the MLB. From 2014 to 2018, Carrasco was an ace with the Cleveland Guardians.
The righty recorded a 3.27 ERA during that run. Despite never making the AL All-Star roster, “Cookie”, as they called him, placed fourth in the 2017 AL Cy Young race.
In 2019, the pitcher was battling on the field, but dealt with something bigger than baseball off the field. “Cookie” was identified with leukemia, causing him to miss 90 days of the season.
He returned to the mound in September, setting him up for a pivotal year in 2020. “Cookie” returned that year but faced a spring training arm injury.
The 38-year-old returned once again for the beginning of the regular season, in July, when it was pushed back due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Carrasco came back with brilliance, recording a 2.91 ERA over 12 starts.
During that offseason, the veteran left Cleveland to sign with the New York Mets. Due to many nagging injuries, the pitcher posted a 5.21 ERA over 295 2/3 innings over three years in Queens.
In 2024, Carrasco returned with Cleveland and posted a 5.64 ERA before signing with the Yankees in the Bronx this past February.
After finishing the 2024 season with the Cleveland Guardians, Carrasco signed with the Yankees on a minor league contract in February.
Carrasco joined the team to give the Yankees more pitching range, but due to injuries to Gerrit Cole, Luis Gil, and Clarke Schmidt in spring training, it promptly sent Carrasco into the club’s rotation.
He posted a disappointing 5.91 ERA before being let go. This troubling stat line now marks four of the last six seasons in which the veteran has posted at least a 5.00 ERA.
With Carrasco gone, the Yankees must find an immediate replacement to fill his vacant starting role. It could possibly be 27-year-old Yerry de los Santos, who was called up Tuesday from Triple-A Scranton Wilkes-Barre.
Despite never starting in the minors this year, the young righty has a 2.91 ERA in 10 1/3 innings pitched.
De los Santos’ pitches have MLB-type velocity, with a 94 mph fastball and a 94.5 mph sinker. He also brings with him an 88 mph splitter and an 84 mph slider to make batters whiff on those pitches.
If de los Santos is not the guy, they could keep leaning on reliever Ryan Yarbrough as a special starter.
With Schmidt’s original start last Saturday vs. the Tampa Bay Rays being scratched, Yarbrough got the nod and only allowed one run in four innings in his first start.
With the Yankees continuing to bolster their pitching depth, it’s always nice to know that someone is always waiting in the wings when the pitcher above him is struggling.
While the Yankees made it to the World Series in 2024, they knew they had to let a specific individual earn his payday elsewhere.
This was so the club could retool its pitching depth, which they lost the year before to trade for this player. Hitters come and go, but pitching is always here to stay.
New York Yankees’ Recent Trade Addition Demoted To Set-Up Reliever
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