The Yankees added an experienced arm to their rotation depth on Monday, as a source confirmed that the team has signed Carlos Carrasco to a minor league deal.
The source also confirmed that Carrasco’s deal comes with an invitation to big league camp, a $1.5 million base salary if he makes the majors, and the chance to earn an additional $2.5 million in performance bonuses. The YES Network’s Jack Curry first reported the Yankees’ pact with the right-hander, who turns 38 in March.
A 15-year veteran, Carrasco pitched in Cleveland from 2009-2020 before spending three seasons with the Mets. The Venezuelan returned to Cleveland last year and recorded a 5.64 ERA over 21 starts and 103.2 innings.
Carrasco has a 5.32 ERA since 2021, but a 4.14 ERA over 1,641.2 career innings. His best season came in 2018, when he went 18-6 with a 3.29 ERA and finished fourth in American League Cy Young voting.
Nicknamed “Cookie,” Carrasco was one of the more consistent starters in baseball from 2014-2020, tallying a 3.41 ERA over 1,004 innings.
Carrasco was diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia during the 2019 season. However, he returned to action that September before winning the AL’s Comeback Player of the Year Award and the Roberto Clemente Award.
Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake is familiar with Carrasco from the hurler’s first stint in Cleveland. Blake worked as the club’s minor league pitching coordinator and assistant director of pitching development from 2015-2019.
While the Yankees will look to see what Carrasco has left in the tank, their rotation is currently full with Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Carlos Rodón, Luis Gil and Clarke Schmidt filling out the top of the depth chart. There’s also Marcus Stroman, who has been the subject of trade rumors all offseason.
Stroman is set to earn $18 million in 2025, and he could trigger a 2026 option for the same salary if he logs 140 innings this season. Those figures – along with Stroman’s rough second half in 2024 – have made it hard for the Yankees to find a taker for the righty thus far.
With Yankees pitchers and catchers officially reporting to camp next Tuesday, it is possible that Stroman sticks around, especially in the event of an injury.
With Carrasco now on board, other depth options include JT Brubaker, Will Warren, Allan Winans and Chase Hampton. Clayton Beeter & Yoendrys Gómez also have starting experience, but they look more like relief candidates at the moment.
Carrasco is not the only notable veteran to sign a minor league contract with the Yankees this offseason, as they’ve also inked Dominic Smith, Pablo Reyes and Andrew Velazquez, among others.
With spring training roughly a week away, the Yankees still have questions in their infield and bullpen. There isn’t a left-handed reliever on the 40-man roster. Meanwhile, Jazz Chisholm Jr. currently pencils in as the team’s starting second baseman with DJ LeMahieu, Oswaldo Cabrera and Oswald Peraza positioned for a third base competition.
