Report: Yankees agree to minor-league deal with Carrasco

The New York Yankees added some pitching depth Monday, signing veteran right-hander Carlos Carrasco to a minor-league contract, Jack Curry of YES Network reports.

Carrasco will earn a base salary of $1.5 million if he makes the team, with another $2.5 million available in performance bonuses, according to Joel Sherman of the New York Post.

Carrasco, who will turn 38 in March, pitched for the Cleveland Guardians in 2024. He made 21 starts for the AL Central champions but struggled throughout the year, going 3-10 with a 5.64 ERA and 1.40 WHIP. Cleveland designated Carrasco for assignment in September while in the middle of a pennant race.

Carrasco put up an ERA under four as recently as 2022, when he was a back-end starter for the New York Mets. However, his overall decline over the last four seasons was rapid; he owns a cumulative 5.32 ERA and 1.45 WHIP over that span and hasn't recorded an ERA+ above 97 (the league average is 100) since 2020. Last year, opponents hit .337 against his fastball and .284 versus his slider.

With six starters already on the Yankees' roster, Carrasco projects to serve as a depth piece in the rotation at Triple-A. If he's on the big-league club, it will likely be as a long reliever who can make a spot start as needed.

Carrasco owns a lifetime 110-103 record with a 4.14 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 1.26 WHIP, and 1,662 strikeouts across 15 big-league seasons with Cleveland and the Mets. His best season came in 2017, when he finished fourth in AL Cy Young voting after winning an MLB-high 18 games.