Carlos Carrasco joins AL East powerhouse on minor league deal

Former Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco has found a new home, Well, sort of.

Carrasco has agreed to terms on a minor league deal with the New York Yankees, according to reports. The 15-year veteran will also receive an invite to spring training as he looks to continue his career. Cookie will have a chance to earn a spot on the Yankees' pitching staff or possibly use this opportunity to catch on with another team if there is not an opening in New York.

The 37-year-old Carrasco returned to Cleveland last year after spending the previous three with the Mets, landing in New York as part of the Francisco Lindor trade. Carrasco was in a very similar situation that he was in this offseason, looking to continue his major league career but having to work for it via a minor league deal.

Carrasco played a much larger role for the Guardians last season than anyone could have imagined before it began. An injury to Gavin Williams in spring created an immediate opening for Carrasco, but most expected it to be only temporary. That all changed when Shane Bieber was lost for the season after just two starts. Carrasco went from needing the Guardians to the Guardians desperately needing him.

In 21 appearances for the Guardians last season, Carrasco finished with a 5.64 ERA, 1.399 WHIP, and 7.7 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. These numbers are not impressive by any means, but Carrasco's true value came in a different area.

Carrasco pitched 103.2 innings in 2024, the third-most among Cleveland's starters and one of three to eclipse triple-digit innings pitched (Tanner Bibee: 173.2, Ben Lively: 151.0). This workload from Carrasco took some pressure off of the rest of the arms in the rotation to go deep into games and lessened the amount of innings that Cleveland's overworked bullpen were tasked with. It may not look pretty, but there is a good amount of value in what Carrasco provided the Guardians last year, and there is certain to be a team that recognizes this before the 2025 season begins.