PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – New Mets jug Carlos Carrasco put strain on his right Achilles tendon during conditioning after Thursday’s punch training and seems to be missing the start of the season for sure.
Carrasco, a right-handed man who will turn 34 on Sunday, has not appeared in any exhibition match this year.
He has leukemia and had the coronavirus vaccine, which got him to start training behind other players in the spring. Then he stopped throwing for a distance because of elbow pain.
Carrasco was traded All-Star Shortstop by Cleveland Francisco Lindor on January 7th for young infielders Andres Gimenez and Amed Rosario and two smaller league perspectives: right-handed Josh Wolf and outfielder Isaiah Green.
New York opens April 1st in Washington. Carrasco should be part of the rotation with the two-time Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman, Taijuan Walker and David Peterson.
The Mets also lack the reliever Seth Lugowho had surgery on February 16 to remove a bone spur in his pitching elbow. He is on track to resume opening day.
Carrasco missed three months of the 2019 season fighting leukemia. He broke the pandemic and went 3-4 in 12 starts with an ERA of 2.91, his best since a career-best ERA of 2.55 when he split between Cleveland’s rotation and Bullpen in 2014. He has a career record of 88-73 with an ERA of 3.77.
Carrasco will be signed for $ 12 million for each of the next two seasons. This is part of a contract that includes a $ 14 million team option for 2023 with a $ 3 million buyout. The option would be guaranteed if he throws 170 innings in 2022 and turns out to be healthy for the 2023 season.
