Carrasco: Hammy ‘nothing’ after win in leukemia battle
PORT ST. LUCIE — As somebody who battled leukemia into remission, Carlos Carrasco can easily put into perspective the emotions of tearing his right hamstring.
So though the veteran righthander is disappointed he won’t begin the season in the Mets’ rotation, he is ready for whatever he will face in rehab over the next several weeks.
“I have been through a lot, and my elbow and my hamstring is nothing for me,” Carrasco said Saturday at Clover Park. “I have been through worse with my leukemia. This is nothing for me.”
Carrasco had just finished throwing live batting practice on Thursday — his first time facing hitters after a shutdown for elbow discomfort — when during sprints he suddenly felt his hamstring pop.
Neither Carrasco nor the Mets are providing a timeline for his return, but a source said he will likely be sidelined for at least 6-8 weeks. Carrasco said it’s the first time in his career he has dealt with a right hamstring issue. While he was with the Indians in 2016, a left hamstring injury sidelined him for five weeks.
Carrasco was late beginning workouts this spring to receive additional medical evaluation, and he was behind the other pitchers in his throwing before he felt the elbow discomfort (a symptom he had developed in previous camps with the Indians that only briefly sidetracked him).
“I came ready for spring training,” Carrasco said. “I was working out at my house to get ready for spring training. If [the hamstring] is going to happen, it’s going to happen. I wish I wouldn’t have any injuries, but this happened.”
The 34-year-old discounted his age as a factor.
“Everyone is a human being and if something is going to happen it’s going to happen, no matter if you are 10, 20, 30s,” he said.
The Mets, who are also waiting for Seth Lugo and Noah Syndergaard to complete rehabs, will dig into their rotation depth to fill Carrasco’s spot. Already, manager Luis Rojas has said David Peterson (who was competing for a job) will likely take a rotation spot, with Joey Lucchesi and Jordan Yamamoto among the possibilities for the fifth spot. Rojas has also suggested the Mets could experiment with an opener, if needed.
Carrasco went 3-4 with a 2.91 ERA last season in 12 starts for Cleveland. He missed about half of the previous season after he was diagnosed with leukemia. But he returned in September 2019 to pitch out of the bullpen for the Indians.
The Mets acquired Carrasco over the winter, along with Francisco Lindor, in a trade that sent Andres Gimenez, Amed Rosario, Isaiah Greene and Josh Wolf to Cleveland.
“[Carrasco] has been a pretty positive guy since the first day we got in touch,” Rojas said.
“I remember from the first conversation, he talked about competing and winning. … This is a guy that has been just through a lot of adversity in life and to be the athlete he is, the professional baseball player that he is, he’s been so successful in his career and also have those battles outside the playing field, watching him every day how he goes about it is outstanding.”
Rojas noted that Carrasco, two days after tearing the hamstring, was among the first players to arrive in the clubhouse Saturday.
“You can tell that is how he goes about these types of things,” Rojas said. “I’m glad that he shared some of his experience battling bigger things before and the way I see him, he’s just approaching it the best way, along with our medical staff.”
PORT ST. LUCIE — David Peterson’s buildup for the regular season is nearing completion.
And following Carlos Carrasco’s right hamstring tear that will place him on the injured list, Peterson can count on that start to the season coming in the Mets rotation.
Peterson threw 74 pitches in a simulated game Saturday, a day after manager Luis Rojas said the left-hander was likely for the rotation. Peterson began the spring competing with Joey Lucchesi and Jordan Yamamoto, among others, for a spot.
“My goal all along has been to come in and show the coaching staff and the organization and the guys in that locker room that I am ready to contribute again at the big league level, and the goal for me is to be in the rotation,” Peterson said at Clover Park. “My work has in spring training has been about as ready as possible to go every fifth day and let the rest take care of itself.”
Peterson added that he hasn’t been told yet by Rojas that he’s in the rotation. Jacob deGrom, Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker line up as the first three.
“I would say [Peterson] is in a really good position right now to be in that fourth spot in the rotation,” Rojas said.
“You have to go off the stuff and the same stuff that we saw last year play at the big league level is the stuff we’re seeing now in camp.”
Dominic Smith took atbats and played left field in the simulated game and will likely return to Grapefruit League action Sunday. Smith has been bothered by a sore right wrist that kept him sidelined from games in recent days.
“He looked really good today — he had a plus day,” Rojas said. “He went to left field and he had a few chances, and I like his reads. We are getting his innings defensively because he missed the last couple of games and that is something we thought about.”
DeGrom will start Sunday against the Nationals in West Palm Beach, Fla., in the Mets’ first “National League game” of the spring — Rojas will let pitchers take at-bats for the first time.