TAMPA — Carlos Carrasco continued his dominant spring on Wednesday, blanking the Braves for five innings at George M. Steinbrenner Field.
The veteran righty, facing a solid traveling Atlanta lineup, needed just 54 pitches. The non-roster invitee also totaled two hits, one walk and three strikeouts while lowering his exhibition ERA to 1.69.
“That’s what we’ve seen much of the spring,” Aaron Boone said after the Yankees’ 4-0 loss. “He didn’t get to his pitch count and we had guys that we wanted to get in, so we had him finish up in the pen. So just a real good, efficient night.”
Carlos Carrasco had another AMAZING start tonight against the Braves⚡️
5.0 IP | 2 H | 0 ER | 3 K | 1 BB | 54 P | 33 S
His spring training ERA is down to 1.69👀#Yankees pic.twitter.com/7NphqIoVzh
— Fireside Yankees (@FiresideYankees) March 19, 2025
Wednesday marked Carrasco’s last spring start before Saturday, when the 37-year-old can exercise the first of three opt out clauses in the minor league deal he signed with the Yankees in early February. The other opt outs are set for June 1 and July 1.
While the first opt out is right around the corner, Carrasco said he’s not thinking about it.
“I’ve had a lot of tough times in my life,” said Carrasco, a cancer survivor. “So this is nothing. The only thing that I can control right now is pitching every five days. That’s it.”
Carrasco’s ability to opt out this weekend gives him a logistical edge over Will Warren, another camp standout, when it comes to making the Yankees’ season-opening rotation. The rookie Warren is optionable, and the Yankees can’t afford to lose more rotation depth with Gerrit Cole (Tommy John surgery), Luis Gil (lat strain), JT Brubaker (broken ribs) and Chase Hampton (Tommy John surgery) all hurt.
“He’s right in that mix,” Boone said of Carrasco. “I don’t want to speak too soon, but he’s done everything he can to give himself that opportunity.”
There could be room for Carrasco and Warren if Clarke Schmidt also starts the season on the injured list. Schmidt is scheduled to throw live batting practice on Thursday after recently experiencing shoulder fatigue.
Schmidt, who felt fine after a bullpen on Monday, has only made one spring start. His schedule was previously delayed by a cranky back. The plan was for Schmidt to make his season debut on April 3 against Arizona – the Yankees’ sixth game of the season – but Aaron Boone isn’t sure yet if the righty will stay on that course.
“It just depends on do we want to keep building him up for another start or two,” the manager said. “That’ll be the question we have to answer because obviously he’s not going to be up to a pitch level.”
If the Yankees decide they’re okay with Schmidt missing multiple turns and building up away from the team, they can delay choosing between Carrasco and Warren, who has a 2.87 ERA this spring and is supposed to start against the Orioles on Thursday.
Making the Yankees’ roster would come with notable pay for Carrasco, as he’s due a $1.5 million base salary if he’s in the majors. He can make an additional $2.5 million in bonuses.
Carrasco would receive $150,000 each for starting 12 games, 14 games, 16 games and 18 games. He can get $250,000 each for starting 20 games, 22 games, 24 games and 26 games. Finally, he’d earn $450,000 each for starting 28 games and 30 games.
A former Met and Guardian, Carrasco owns a 4.14 ERA over 1,641.2 career innings. His last four seasons have been rough, as he’s logged a 5.32 ERA over that span. However, Carrasco has demonstrated improved stuff this spring after adjusting his mechanics and increasing his velocity over the offseason.
“It feels really good, like getting those pitches back to when I used to pitch four or five years ago,” Carrasco said. “I know we’ve had some rough years, and we learned from that.”
While far removed from his prime, “Cookie,” as he’s known, was one of baseball’s most consistent starters from 2014-2020, posting a 3.41 ERA over 1,004 innings. Carrasco’s best season came in 2018, when he went 18-6 with a 3.29 ERA and finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting.
