Carlos Carrasco Agrees to Minor League Contract with Cleveland Guardians

Carlos Carrasco is returning to Cleveland…

The 36-year-old Venezuelan-American professional baseball pitcher, who spent 11 seasons pitching for the Cleveland Guardians, has agreed to a minor league contract with the team featuring an invitation to spring training, per ESPN.

Carlos Carrasco

Carrasco’s base salary will be $2 million if he is on the big league team, according to ESPN sources.

The Athletic was first to report Carrasco’s return to the Guardians.

Carrasco, nicknamed Cookie, was a dependable part of Cleveland’s rotation for several seasons. He led the American League with 18 wins in 2017, and he became one of the team’s most popular players because of his warm personality and later for his courage in battling cancer.

In 2019, Carrasco was diagnosed with leukemia and was sidelined for three months. He was recognized during an emotional appearance on the field during the All-Star Game in Cleveland that season.

Carrasco went 88-73 with a 3.77 ERA in 242 games (195 starts) with Cleveland from 2009 to 2020.

He was traded as part of the deal that sent MLB All-Star shortstop Francisco Lindor to the New York Mets in 2021. Carrasco went 19-20 in three seasons with the Mets, going 15-7 in 2022. Carrasco went 3-8 in 20 starts last season.

Carrasco was sidelined during Cleveland’s run to the World Series in 2016 after he was struck by a line drive on his pitching hand in the final month of the season.