The Braves announced Friday that veteran righty Carlos Carrasco has been designated for assignment yet again. His spot on the roster goes to righty Anthony Molina, who’s been recalled from Triple-A Gwinnett.
It’s the fourth time since last August that Atlanta has designated Carrasco for assignment. The 39-year-old has passed through waivers on each of the three prior instances, elected free agency, and re-signed with the Braves on a minor league deal. He also inked a minors pact with Atlanta over the winter after becoming a free agent at season’s end.
This type of setup for veteran arms who can’t be optioned has become increasingly commonplace around the league. In recent years, the Mariners (Casey Lawrence), Yankees (Ryan Weber, David Hale), Orioles (Albert Suarez) and Braves themselves (Carrasco, Jesse Chavez) are among the clubs that have carried something of a “41st man” on the 40-man roster — a veteran who’ll repeatedly clear waivers and is comfortable returning on a series of minor league deals, knowing he’ll be back in the major league fold before long.
Carrasco has pitched well when the Braves have summoned him to the majors. He’s tossed 7 1/3 innings and held opponents to a pair of runs on six hits and no walks with four strikeouts. He’s been sharp in Gwinnett, too, logging a flat 3.00 ERA (21 K%, 5.6 BB%) in 30 innings of work there.
Once a high-end starter in Cleveland, Carrasco was traded to the Mets as part of the Francisco Lindor blockbuster several years ago. He had a strong 2022 season in Queens but has largely seen his effectiveness wane since. From 2023-25, he tossed 239 1/3 big league innings with a 6.36 ERA.
Atlanta will have five days to trade Carrasco, place him on waivers or release him. The former doesn’t seem likely, based on how they’ve handled him to this point. It’s quite probable that Carrasco will hit waivers, and if he goes unclaimed, he’ll briefly become a free agent and re-sign with the Braves.
The two parties are clearly comfortable with this arrangement, which works for all parties. The team gets a flexible long relief option who can make a spot start if needed and serve as a veteran mentor for some younger arms (both in the majors and in Gwinnett). Carrasco gets big league service/pay for any time spent on the big league roster or in DFA limbo. He’s already picked up 22 days of service this year; even at the prorated minimum he’d be approaching $100K in big league earnings this season, though given his veteran status, his minor league pacts are probably coming with a slightly heavier base salary for major league time.
