PORT ST. LUCIE – Carlos Carrasco’s slow spring training slowed down even more.
After playing a simulated game on Monday, the Mets right-hand informed the team leaders about pain in the elbow and will be prevented from shooting for “a few days”, according to coach Luis Rojas. Carrasco has yet to appear in a Grapefruit League game this spring.
Rojas said Carrasco indicated to him that the discomfort is not new to him – he had previously experienced it in spring training during his term in Cleveland.
Carrasco, 33, did not undergo an MRI scan, according to Rojas. The Mets plan calls for him to rest, play ball at some point and then shoot in a simulated game at the end of next week.
But that schedule raises doubts as to whether Carrasco will be ready to start the regular season. Rojas mentioned Jordan Yamamoto, Jerad Eickhoff, David Peterson and Jonathan Lucchesi as pitchers with experience in the major league who provide depth of rotation.
Carrasco was late to start training with the team after receiving extra medical evaluation this spring – he is in remission of leukemia – and receiving the COVID-19 vaccine.