Carlos Luis Carrasco (born March 21, 1987), nicknamed "Cookie", is a Venezuelan-American professional baseball pitcher for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut with the Cleveland Indians in 2009. Listed at and , he throws and bats right-handed.
Early life
Carrasco was born in 1987 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. By age 10 he was playing baseball, initially as a third baseman. He was discovered by a baseball scout in Venezuela at age 16, and threw for Sal Agostinelli, international scouting director for the Philadelphia Phillies, demonstrating a fastball. At a young age, Carrasco learned to throw left-handed, in addition to his natural right-handed delivery, but he does not consider himself ambidextrous.
Career
Philadelphia Phillies
Carrasco was signed by the Phillies as an undrafted free agent on November 25, 2003. In 2006, Carrasco spent the entire season at the Single-A level with the Lakewood BlueClaws, compiling a 2.26 ERA in innings pitched. He split time in 2007 between the Single-A Clearwater Threshers and the Double-A Reading Phillies. Carrasco compiled a 2.84 ERA in innings pitched at Clearwater and a 4.86 ERA in innings pitched with Reading. Carrasco threw his first no-hitter on August 21, 2007. He was on the World roster of the 2006, 2007, and 2008 All-Star Futures Games.
Entering the 2007 season, Carrasco was ranked as the top prospect in the Phillies organization and the 41st-best prospect in baseball. He was still ranked as the top prospect in the Phillies system entering 2008, and was listed as having the organization's best fastball and changeup.
Cleveland Indians
On July 29, 2009, the Phillies traded Carrasco, along with Jason Donald, Lou Marson, and Jason Knapp to the Cleveland Indians for Cliff Lee and Ben Francisco. Carrasco made his major league debut on September 1. In five starts with the Indians, he had a 0–4 record with 8.87 ERA. During the 2010 season, Carrasco had a 2–2 record and 3.83 ERA in seven starts for Cleveland.
On July 29, 2011, against the Kansas City Royals, Carrasco surrendered a season-high 7 runs over innings highlighted by a grand slam by outfielder Melky Cabrera. Carrasco took out his frustration by throwing a pitch at the head of Kansas City Royals' designated hitter Billy Butler. This resulted in his immediate ejection by home plate umpire Scott Barry. Because of this action, MLB suspended Carrasco for 6 games and levied an undisclosed fine. According to Carrasco, the pitch was not intentional, but he was upset because Cabrera had admired his homer. Carrasco made 21 starts for Cleveland, pitching to an 8–9 record with 4.62 ERA and striking out 86 batters in innings. In September 2011, Carrasco underwent Tommy John surgery and eventually missed the entire 2012 season as a result.
On April 9, 2013, Carrasco made his first start since his Tommy John surgery and suspension. His season began with a rather poor outing against the New York Yankees during which he surrendered seven runs in innings. After giving up a 2-run homer to Robinson Cano, on the next pitch Carrasco hit batter Kevin Youkilis. This resulted in Carrasco's ejection by home plate umpire Jordan Baker. Major League Baseball eventually suspended Carrasco eight games and fined him $5,000 for "intentionally throwing" at Youkilis. This punishment appeared to take into account Carrasco's history and past actions. After the game, Indians manager Terry Francona said that Carrasco's actions "didn't look good." On April 10, 2013, Carrasco was optioned to the Triple-A Columbus Clippers. Carrasco was recalled to the majors on June 8, and then sent back down to Triple-A on June 24. He was recalled on July 6, and then designated for assignment on July 7. He was then optioned to Columbus on July 9. Carrasco's record for the 2013 season with Cleveland was 1–4 with a 6.75 ERA.
For the 2014 season, Carrasco appeared in 40 games for Cleveland (14 starts) and had an 8–7 record with 2.55 ERA while striking out 140 batters in 134 innings.