Mets relief pitcher Alex Carrillo savors his MLB debut
Field at Camden Yards after game was postponed because of rain and will be made up Thursday, July 10, 2025, as part of a split doubleheader. Credit: Scott Taetsch/Scott Taetsch
BALTIMORE — The game ball from Alex Carrillo’s first major-league appearance is in his hotel room, nestled with his wife’s things. It’s eventually going to make it back to the couple’s home, but for now, it’s an apt metaphor for his career thus far — it’s precious to him, cared for, but fully in transit.
Carrillo might’ve caught your attention Tuesday: Seemingly coming out of nowhere, the former Independent League pitcher, 28, was tendered a major-league contract that day and pitched the same day. He let up a solo homer to Jackson Holliday in the Mets' 7-6 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards, yes, but it was the only hit he allowed in 1 1/3 innings — a span where the sidearmer showcased a vibrant fastball with tailing action that ticked up toward the triple digits, along with a high-80s slider and splitter. He also throws a changeup.
“When I was told to go in . . . I focused on controlling my breathing, and when I went out, I was like, ‘Wow,’ I’m here. I did it,” he told Newsday on Wednesday. “It was emotional walking out of the bullpen, and I about cried — like, you know when you can feel the tears behind your eyes? But then I felt good. I felt ready to go. And once I was on the mound, it was just me, the catcher and the hitter.”
All major-league debuts are special, but it has to hit especially hard when you almost quit baseball, like Carrillo nearly did.
See, Tuesday was the culmination — and continuation — of a journey seven years in the making. He was signed by the Mets out of Venezuela winter ball last year and prior to his MLB debut, he'd only pitched in 19 minor-league games and 22 overall; he has a 3.24 ERA there, including 5 2/3 scoreless innings with Triple-A Syracuse. His only other experience with affiliated baseball came in 2019, where he played three games with the Rangers rookie ball team before getting released.
Before that, the righthander, who started his career at Faulkner University, spent years bopping around the United States, Mexico and Venezuela, and nearly decided to quit baseball altogether.
He was a different pitcher for most of that, though. He didn’t throw nearly as hard — his fastball can hit up to 100 now, and he sat around the 80s back then — and though he worked on increasing his velocity over the years, his control suffered in the beginning. Marrying the two — the finesse of his youth, coupled with the power of a stocky 6-2, 245-lb frame took work and conviction.
“I had doubted myself the past couple of years, I thought I was going to be in Mexico the rest of my life,” he said. “When my velocity first jumped up, I didn’t have control like I could. I struggled, my mechanics were a little off . . . But everything’s been mental, because at this point, my body knows what I need to do.”
There are, of course, zero guarantees. Carrillo knows that about as well as anyone in this sport, and with the Mets getting healthier, and options on his contract, he’s expendable in the bureaucratic sense. But Carlos Mendoza Tuesday implied that Carrillo might get a bit more of an opportunity than some of the one-and-done minor leaguers the Mets have called up to plug their battle-worn bullpen.
“I remember getting a call from someone that I know from Venezuela in winter ball telling me about this guy,” Mendoza said. “He’s like, ‘Hey man, there’s a kid here that’s throwing 100 and he’s got like six, seven appearances and around the league, there’s a lot of talk. You might want to give it a chance. I got on the phone right away.”
That phone call went to president of baseball operations David Stearns and assistant general manager Eduardo Brizuela “and we got him into the organization,” Mendoza said. “Pretty cool story there.”
It is, and possibly one that wouldn’t have happened without the difficult journey that came before it. In a lot of ways, Carrillo doesn’t have anything to lose: he’s got his wife, his son and his faith, and those are his priorities, and “once I’m out of baseball, I’m out of baseball . . . when I’m on the field, I just enjoy the game . . .
“I’ve been through a lot,” he said. “In Mexico, I struggled a good bit and I struggled mentally as well, and I think God allowed that to happen to the point where I can be comfortable now. I don’t have to worry. Just enjoy it. I know what I an do . . . and whatever happens, happens. Just go along for the ride.”
And now, that baseball — that symbol of this twisting journey into a major-league uniform — can ride along with him.
Notes & quotes: The Mets game against the Orioles Wednesday was postponed because of rain and will be made up Thursday as part of a split doubleheader, at 12:05 p.m. and 5:05 p.m. . . . Kodai Senga (hamstring) recovered well from his bullpen and is still slated to start the first game of their series against the Royals Friday. Sean Manaea (oblique, elbow) is primed to make his season debut Sunday, barring any setbacks . . . Brooks Raley (Tommy John) pitched another inning of scoreless relief in his rehab outing with Syracuse Tuesday; he’s yet to allow a run in seven minor-league games, a span of eight innings. He’ll pitch in back-to-back days this weekend, Mendoza said, and could rejoin the team after the All-Star break . . . David Peterson will pitch Game 1 of the doubleheader; the Game 2 opener is to be determined, but it will be a bullpen game, Mendoza said.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
