Carlos Carrasco DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

With the way New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone has raved about veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco's swing-and-miss stuff in camp, indications are that Carrasco is likely to open the regular season in the team's starting rotation, according to YES Network's Jack Curry. The 37-year-old has an opt-out on March 22, but Curry thinks Carrasco will remain with the team because of the fact that they need starting depth due to the injuries to Gerrit Cole (elbow) and Luis Gil (lat). Pitching prospect Will Warren has also been deserving of a rotation spot, but he has minor-league options remaining, and the Yankees apparently don't want to lose Carrasco. The veteran hurler has a 2.45 ERA and 1.09 WHIP in Grapefruit League play while striking out 12 and walking six in 11 innings. If Carrasco wins the final rotation spot in the Bronx, he'll merely be a low-upside, matchup-based streamer in deep leagues and DFS.

Free-agent right-hander Carlos Carrasco signed a minor-league deal with the New York Yankees on Monday. Carrasco went 3-10 with a bloated 5.64 ERA (4.93 FIP) in 103 2/3 innings over 21 starts for the Cleveland Guardians last season and will turn 38 in March. The deal that Carrasco signed includes an invitation to major-league spring training. The 37-year-old was booted from Cleveland's 40-man roster in September, making him a free agent. Given how much he has fallen off in recent years, he figures to open the 2025 campaign at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to provide the Yankees with starting-pitching depth. The veteran Venezuelan hurler pitched for the New York Mets from 2021-23 and had a 5.21 ERA (4.55), a 1.46 WHIP and 268:97 K:BB in 295 2/3 innings over 61 starts.

Cleveland Guardians right-hander Carlos Carrasco (hip) threw three innings in a minor-league rehab start for Double-A Akron on Friday and allowed two runs on three hits while striking out three. Carrasco threw 41 pitches (27 for strikes) and felt OK afterwards. In 21 starts for Cleveland in 2024, he has gone 3-10 with a 5.64 ERA. "He's building back up. We want to make sure his hip is feeling better and everything is healed up," manager Stephen Vogt said on Sept. 3. "We want to get Cookie healed back up to be an option for us to start." The 37-year-old veteran went on the 15-day injured list back on Aug. 9 with a strained left hip and is slowing working his way back towards a late-season activation. However, with Carrasco struggling this year and with rookie Joey Cantillo holding his own as the No. 5 starter, it seems more likely that Carrasco will return to a bullpen role when he's fully healthy.