The Atlanta Braves will try to secure a series win by taking three of four games against the Miami Marlins on Thursday.
In a move many saw coming, the Braves are once again selecting the contract of veteran pitcher Carlos Carrasco.
Carlos Carrasco has a home within the Atlanta Braves organization, whether fans, analysts, or insiders hate his production on the mound, for whatever reason, the Braves front office continuously keeps Carrasco around.
MLBTradeRumors.com’s Steve Adams detailed the recent roster transaction:
“It’s already the third stint of the season for Carrasco and his fourth since last August. He and the Braves are comfortable with a setup that sees the 39-year-old veteran operate as effectively the 41st man on Atlanta’s 40-man roster. They’ve designated Carrasco for assignment twice this season (thrice since last August). Each time, he’s cleared waivers, elected free agency and almost immediately re-signed on a new minor league deal. That sequence seems likely to play out here as well.”
The ‘DFA limbo” cycle for Carrasco is different from that of many other MLB players because once Carrasco is designated, he clears waivers, becomes a free agent, and then just re-signs with the Braves on a minor league deal. Talk about job security.
Carlos Carrasco has pitched in parts of 17 MLB seasons over the course of his career. The Braves’ bullpen is pretty fresh after Chris Sale handled the Marlins pretty easily in Wednesday’s game, but it doesn’t hurt to have Carrasco for added organizational depth purposes.
Carlos Carrasco’s Time with Braves/MLB Career
Carlos Carrasco has put together a very solid MLB career. He holds a career pitching record of 112-105 over 286 starts and 1689.2 innings. Never an MLB All-Star, Carrasco has a lifetime ERA of 4.22 with 1698 career strikeouts.
As for his time with the Braves, Carrasco has only appeared in 16 total innings in a Braves uniform. He’s surrendered 15 earned runs in that time frame, but has pitched 2.1 scoreless innings for Atlanta this season.
He pitched 12 seasons with the Cleveland Guardians (formerly Indians), and also appeared with the New York Mets and Yankees.
Carrasco was diagnosed with a treatable form of blood cancer in 2019 and returned that same year to pitch with the Guardians in what was a great baseball story.
The Atlanta Braves are rolling through MLB right now. With an MLB-best 34-16 record, Atlanta sits comfortably in first place in the NL East.
They have won seven of their last 10 games, and are 18-8 on the road.
After their series with the Marlins, Atlanta will head back home to face the Washington Nationals in a weekend series.
