How Carlos Carrasco is Serving as Key Piece in New York Mets' Rotation

How Carlos Carrasco is serving as key piece in New York Mets' rotation.

This is the way the Cookie crumbles.

In his second year in Queens, right-hander Carlos Carrasco is giving the Mets what they thought they were getting when they acquired him from Cleveland with Francisco Lindor prior to the 2021 season.

On Monday night in San Diego, Carrasco was in vintage form, as he struck out 10 Padres and scattered just two runs on five hits across seven strong innings.

A SEASON-HIGH 10 strikeouts for Carlos Carrasco to finish off 7 strong innings 🍪 pic.twitter.com/nhsfXH8wrs

— SNY (@SNYtv) June 7, 2022

“That was my goal, to get six-plus innings,” Carrasco said. “And I was able to give them seven.”

With the outing, Carrasco has a solid 3.52 ERA and his seven wins are tied with Dodgers starter Tyler Anderson for the MLB lead.

Carrasco had a rough go about in his first year with the Mets. After missing the first half of the season with a torn hamstring, Carrasco debuted with New York on July 30 and started 12 games the rest of the way.

In 53.2 innings pitched, Carrasco had a 6.04 ERA, 5.22 FIP, 4.32 xFIP, and was worth just 0.1 fWAR. Apart from his torn hamstring, Carrasco later revealed that he was dealing with a bone fragment in his elbow and underwent surgery last October.

Now fully healthy, Carrasco has helped soften the blow of the Mets losing fellow rotation mates Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer and Tylor Megill.

When the Mets are back at full strength, Carrasco as the team’s No. 4 starter is not only unreal, but is a daunting task for any opposing lineup.

Carrasco performing well is always a feel good story, because he’s very easy to root for.

The 2019 American League Comeback Player of the Year, Carrasco was sidelined that season with chronic myelogenous leukemia and missed nearly three months of baseball, though he did persevere and returned that season to play baseball.

The 35-year-old is also a Roberto Clemente Award winner, as is represented on the No. 21 patch on the back of his hat.

Carrasco earned the award in 2019 due to his outreach in the Cleveland community. Despite being sick with leukemia himself, he would visit children fighting the disease at local hospitals.

“It's something that I love to do, helping a lot of kids and families," Carrasco said in an Associated Press article from that year.

Carrasco added that Roberto Clemente’s legacy inspired him through the process.

"When I get to read his story," Carrasco said. "I say, 'I just want to be like him,' because that's the way that I love to help the community and that's the way that I am and that's the steps that I want to follow."

Apart from conquering cancer and his amazing impact away from the baseball diamond, Carrasco has also become a United States citizen and taught himself English throughout his lengthy MLB career.

Carrasco has a vesting option in his contract for 2023 that will be exercised if he reaches 170 innings pitched this season. It includes a $3 million buyout.

With the way Carrasco has been throwing the ball, and with his positive impact in the clubhouse, he would be a welcome addition back in 2023 for this exciting Mets team. 

Read More:

- Should New York Mets Sign Trevor Rosenthal?

- Tylor Megill to Rejoin New York Mets on Road Trip

- MLB Insiders Link 'Best Catcher in Baseball' to Mets as Trade Deadline Target

Follow Rob Piersall on Twitter (@RTPiersall), be sure to bookmark Inside The Mets and check back daily for news, analysis and more.