Carlos Carrasco looks good in sim game, may rejoin Mets soon
Carlos Carrasco of the Mets throws from the mound before the first game of a doubleheader against the Pirates at Citi Field on Saturday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Carlos Carrasco looked excellent in pitching two innings of a simulated game and could be rejoining the Mets in short order. After the Carrasco finished the workout — a total of 29 pitches with a break in the middle to mimic the Mets coming to bat — manager Luis Rojas said things could happen fast if the righthander continues to feel good.
"We’ll see what the next step is with him and, after that, he might even join us," Rojas said. "There’s a chance he might join us after one rehab outing, if it’s this week. That was really good today."
Francisco Lindor and Carrasco were acquired in a January trade with Cleveland that was the Mets’ biggest move of the offseason. He has yet to pitch for the team. While coming back from elbow discomfort in spring training, Carrasco suffered a grade 1 right hamstring strain. However, Rojas said the hamstring "is now where we want it to be."
Luis Guillorme was one of the hitters that stood in against Carrasco and said both his changeup and his breaking pitch produced a lot of movement. Asked if what he saw from Carrasco would get big-league hitters out, Rojas said "that stuff we saw today was a real good big-league pitcher’s stuff."
"He has the full repertoire and all his pitches just played," Rojas added.
He said special attention was paid to how Carrasco responded to the break between "innings" and that a goal before he starts pitching for the big-league club is a rehab outing in which he does it three or four times.
The Mets’ rotation is performing well despite a spate of injuries. Noah Syndergaard is eyeing a September return from Tommy John surgery and David Peterson still has not begun throwing since hitting the injured list with soreness along his right side. Joey Lucchesi is lost of the season to Tommy John surgery. This is why Rojas said a return by Carrasco would be "huge" in any capacity.
The Mets might rely on how he feels because the 34-year-old is an 11-year veteran. As Rojas explained, "even if he has [just] the three-inning deal in him and he feels comfortable to pitch in big-league games, it would be great to have him."
DeGrom not likely to pitch Sunday
The Mets continue talking as though Jacob deGrom will not pitch in any role Sunday, yet still haven’t officially ruled it out. Rojas has discussed using an opener and a bulk reliever or going entirely with relief pitchers. But when asked directly after the Saturday doubleheader split whether his ace could be part of any pitching formula in the series finale against the Pirates, he said, "Jake is not one of the options, at least not right now."
The Mets had wanted deGrom to pitch last Tuesday and again Sunday to get as many performances from him as possible. Tuesday’s rainout pushed him into Wednesday’s doubleheader and that made Sunday only an option because he didn't get the traditional fours days off.
Rojas pointed to the three games this season in which deGrom has felt some discomfort and said, "it can be a little risky if we push something right now."
Davis could play outfield
J.D. Davis could be looking at playing time at several positions when he returns from the IL after the All-Star break. Davis was the everyday third baseman before he went out with a sprained left hand in the first week of May. However Jonathan Villar and Luis Guillorme have played well at the hot corner during his absence.
"You always want to have [Davis’] bat in the lineup — he’s a really good hitter," Rojas said. "He’s played the outfield . . . we’re rotating guys and J.D. is going to be in that rotation."
Hartlieb is 27th man
The Mets selected righthanded reliever Geoff Hartlieb from Triple-A Syracuse to be the 27th man for Saturday’s doubleheader with Pittsburgh. Hartlieb had spent all of his professional career with the Pirates until Friday when the Mets claimed him off waivers.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
