Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Carlos Carrasco underwent surgery on his right elbow to remove bone fragments, the Mets announced Wednesday.
The team says Carrasco is expected to resume baseball activities this winter.
Elbow surgery, which was performed by Dr. David Altchek, puts a cap on Carrasco’s arduous first year as a Met. Acquired alongside Francisco Lindor in January, Carrasco suffer a hamstring strain in March that eventually revealed itself as a pretty severe year–severe enough to keep him out until late July.
The news comes as a bit of a surprise, as Carrasco reported no elbow concerns when he returned from a long injured list stay due to a torn hamstring.
When he made his debut in the rotation, Carrasco was shellacked in nearly all of the first innings of his starts, allowing 18 earned runs in 12 first innings. He often settled down afterward as he pitched to a 3.88 ERA in all non-first innings. He ended the year with a 6.08 ERA (5.22 FIP) in 53 2/3 innings.
The diagnosis of bone chips could offer somewhat of an explanation to those first-inning struggles as he worked through the discomfort and found what worked for him after throwing a dozen pitches or so. Unfortunately, often in that discovery, Carrasco was mashed.
Seth Lugo recently had bone chip surgery in February, and he returned to relieving in June. While the Mets didn’t give a hard timeline on when Carrasco would return to full health, it’s not unreasonable to expect him to be ready to be stretched out come spring training. However, Steven Matz had a similar surgery at the end of the 2016 season, and he struggled to return to the rotation until the middle of the the following season.
Carrasco’s general effectiveness was a question heading into the 2022 season, and now there’s reason for his health to come into question, too. This makes it all the more imperative for the Mets to be heavily involved in the starting pitcher market this offseason.
