The Metropolitan: Carlos Carrasco knows how to pitch
Catching you up on the latest Mets news
Good Morning,
Today we will talk about Carlos Carrasco, but we start with the news.
⏰ Catch me up in 60(ish) seconds…
👀 KLUBER WATCH: Mets were one of 25 teams in attendance to see free agent right-hander Corey Kluber showcase his stuff yesterday. The 34-year-old missed most of 2019 and 2020 due to multiple injuries, including a teres major muscle strain in his throwing shoulder.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan: “His fastball sat 88-90 -- and he's got more velocity in the tank as he builds toward spring training. Kluber threw 30 pitches, including all of his off-speed stuff. Strong market expected.”
✍️ LINDOR VALUE: The Mets will still consider the Francisco Lindor/Carlos Carrasco trade worthwhile, even if they don’t end up signing Lindor to a long-term contract, per SNY.
🍎 CENTERFIELD: New York has “looked at” free agent outfielder Albert Almora, per SNY.
🧓 JB’s Take: While this type of signing would reek of a Wilpon move (the Cubs decided to non-tender Almora instead of paying him a measly $1.5MM arbitration range), if there is no DH, the Mets might decide to add depth to their outfield instead of a permanent fixture so they can maintain lineup flexibility for Dom Smith. And depth is the key word. Sandy Alderson recently mentioned on a podcast with Jon Heyman that they might need to add multiple outfielders.
🏥 COVID PROTOCOLS: While a report earlier this week from the LA Times indicated teams will not be required by MLB to show proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test before entering ballparks, the Mets are currently in “wait-and-see” mode and “are gathering information from MLB, state, and local officials before coming to a decision on whether or not fans will be allowed inside Citi Field this season,” per amNY.
🔫 SHOTS FIRED: Legendary baseball insider Peter Gammons took a shot at the previous regime’s analytics department. I will let the tweet speak for itself:
💍 ENGAGEMENT: Michael Conforto and his fiancé are officially engaged, with Steve Cohen’s wife congratulated the couple on Twitter yesterday.
Carlos Carrasco knows how to pitch
🧓 by Jeffrey Bellone
Learning the details of the Francisco Lindor trade was like watching an infomercial. The advertisement for the main product flashing on my phone screen in the form of tweet notification: Mets on verge of trading for Lindor… The price was unbeatable: Mets to part ways with two middle infielders and average prospects… And it built from there: Oh wait! And that’s not all! By agreeing to trade for a superstar shortstop right now, you can also acquire a veteran starting pitcher!
The Mets changed the face of their franchise and the depth of their starting rotation in one final trade call. Sandy Alderson couldn’t dial 1-800-Cleveland-Sale quick enough.
The only flat line you want as an older man — at least as someone who plays baseball for a living — is a velocity chart. When evaluating a player in their thirties (Carrasco will turn 34 in March), speed is the first thing you look at, whether it’s sprint speed for a position player or fastball jump on a pitcher.
While the velocity on Carrasco’s 4-seamer is only slightly above league average, it is consistent — basically unchanged over the past three seasons that have included two very good campaigns and one unfortunately interrupted by a diagnosis of myeloid leukemia (CML). And it has also been oddly deceptive.
Despite the shape (horizontal and vertical movement) of his fastest offering being relatively the same over time, Cookie has been able to fool batters a little more often in each of the past four seasons, including last year when his 4-seam whiff percentage jumped to 26.8%, a career high.
But to know Cookie Carrasco is to know both a kind person and one who relies on breaking and off-speed stuff to fuel his success. When he finished fourth in Cy Young voting in 2017 after posting an 18-6 record with a 3.29 ERA, his best pitches were his slider, curveball, and change-up. He used all three to miss bats, with his change-up keeping left-handed batters off balance.
As the veteran reliever continues to use a deep repertoire of pitches to get batters out, his slider has remained been his most effective pitch, even during his tough 2019 campaign.
But what’s most promising for Mets fans is Carrasco’s curveball, a pitch he has used less and less to the point of scraping it in 2019 due to his increased confidence in his slider, but one that offers the prospect of being a deadly swing-and-miss pitch. After throwing it only 21 times two seasons ago, Carrasco let his catcher put down the 2-sign more often this past season and recorded an eye-opening 41.4% whiff percentage. He still only used it 5.2% of the time, down from 18% in 2017, but maybe that is something that could change in New York.
Lock Cookie and pitching coach Jeremy Hefner into a room together (wearing masks and separated at least 6 feet with open windows and all of that stuff). Hefner has built a reputation for helping pitchers fine-tune their breaking stuff. Carrasco already knows how to use different grips and friction points to make pitches bend and turn at varying speeds. That shouldn’t stop the humble starter from gaining valuable guidance on how to deploy his curve in the future.
THE PAYOFF PITCH: The Mets entered the offseason in need of depth in their rotation, ideally, top-end depth. And in making one of the biggest trades in franchise history, they found that with a player who wasn’t even the headliner of the deal. Carrasco is older, but he personifies the saying: some pitchers know how to throw, others know how to pitch. While speed quite literally slows players down as they age, with his deep mix of offerings and consistent fastball, Cookie knows how to pitch.
⚾️ Major League Baseball will suspend political donations in the wake of the riot on the U.S. Capitol last week.
⚾️ The Blue Jays announced a five-year contract extension for President & CEO Mark Shapiro.
⚾️ Free agent reliever Pedro Baez signed a two-year deal with the Houston Astros.
⚾️ The San Francisco Giants are among the teams who have “preliminary interest” in veteran pitcher Cole Hamels, per Jon Morosi.
⚾️ San Diego is showing interest in free agent starter Masahiro Tanaka, per Ken Rosenthal.
🔗 Mets view Lindor deal as a win even if he doesn’t re-sign with them, by Andy Martino, SNY: “This was a trade for one year of control over Lindor and two years of control plus a club option for Carlos Carrasco. An extension for Lindor would be a separate transaction, unrelated to the price they paid to acquire him.”
🔗 Solution to Mets’ outfield puzzle being held hostage by DH fight, by Joel Sherman, New York Post: “[H]ow do [the Mets] address center without knowing if there is a DH? Because add a George Springer or Jackie Bradley Jr. and consider the domino effect: Brandon Nimmo shifts from center to left, Dom Smith goes from left to first and Pete Alonso goes … Where? To the bench? Back to the minors?”
🔗 Mets blockbuster prompts new questions, by Anthony DiComo, MLB: “Also tricky is what signing Lindor might mean for Conforto, whose roots run deeper and who has expressed a desire to stay in New York long term. Conforto’s market value isn’t all that different from Springer’s, making it difficult for the Mets to sign him and Lindor while also staying below $210 million.”
🔗 The importance of hiring Carter Capps as rookie league pitching coach, by Jacob Resnick, MetsMinors: “While the specifics of his role aren’t yet known (he’ll be based out of Port St. Lucie), Capps’ hire is a small indication that the new baseball operations leadership team of Alderson, Jared Porter, and Zack Scott — as assembled by Steve Cohen — is dedicated to exploring any avenue to gain a player development edge.”
Thanks for reading! Follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the day.
And please check out our newsletter about the Knicks, too.
First time reading one of your newsletters and it was amazing. Can't wait to see Cookie pitch for the Mets this year.