Cleveland Guardians Make Roster Move With Disappointing Pitcher

The Cleveland Guardians have made a roster decision on this veteran starting pitcher.

Aug 2, 2024; Cleveland, Ohio, USA; Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco (59) celebrates during the fifth inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Progressive Field. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images / Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

The Cleveland Guardians have made a roster decision on starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco.

After designating Carrasco for assignment earlier in the week, the veteran right-handed has accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Columbus, via Paul Hoynes of Cleveland.com.

At the very least, Carrasco will stick around as a depth piece for the Guardians the rest of the way.

However, whether or not Cleveland even opts to use him from this point going forward is questionable.

It's hard to blame the Guardians for not trusting Carrasco at this juncture.

In 21 starts this season, the 37-year-old has gone 3-10 with a 5.64 ERA while allowing 112 hits and registering 89 strikeouts over 103.2 innings of work.

This is Carrasco's second stint in Cleveland.

He broke into the big leagues with the Guardians back in 2009 and spent the first 12 years of his career with the club, with his best season coming in 2018 when he went 18-6 with a 3.29 ERA and finished fourth in AL Cy Young award voting.

During his prime from 2015 through 2018, Carrasco was a very dependable option for Cleveland, logging ERAs in the 3s all four seasons. He never made an All-Star appearances, but he was widely viewed as one of the better pitchers in the league during that stretch.

The Guardians then traded Carrasco in the deal that sent shortstop Francisco Lindor to the New York Mets in January 2021.

Outside of the 2022 campaign, where Carrasco went 15-7 with a 3.97 ERA, injuries have largely derailed him ever since.

He returned to Cleveland last offseason.