Carlos Carrasco Makes Pitch to Add Trevor Bauer, Corey Kluber

Speaking with reporters on Tuesday, New York Mets right-hander Carlos Carrasco introduced himself to the fan base, conveying his excitement to join this team after last week’s trade from Cleveland and echoing the sky-high goals expressed by Francisco Lindor on Monday.

One look at the 33-year-old’s stat line is all most will need to be sold on Carrasco (3.57 ERA/3.30 FIP, 10.58 strikeouts/2.20 walks per nine innings, 13.0 fWAR since 2017), but Cookie wasn’t just on Zoom to talk about himself on Tuesday.

During his press conference, the 12-year MLB veteran made his pitch for the Mets to add two former teammates to the team’s still-lacking rotation.

“I’d be really happy to see [Trevor Bauer or Corey Kluber] in this rotation. I spent a lot of time with [Mike Clevinger], Bauer, Kluber, a lot of those teammates,” Carrasco said. “I’d be really happy to see one of those two guys in a Mets uniform […] They are really good pitchers.”

Bauer, 29, is without question the highest-profile starter remaining on the open market. And justifiably so.

Since the start of 2018, Bauer’s 11.6 fWAR ranks sixth among qualified MLB pitchers. His exploits last season (1.73 ERA/2.88 FIP, 100 K, 17 BB in 11 starts) netted him the 2020 National League Cy Young Award and his well-publicized grasp on the cerebral aspect of pitching is nearly unrivaled.

The monetary cost and off-field baggage that comes along with a Bauer signing shouldn’t be understated, but his addition would certainly make the Mets a better team.

Kluber, 34, took a substantially different path to this current offseason. A two-time AL Cy Young Award winner (2014 and 2017), Kluber’s most recent full season pitched was in 2018 (2.89 ERA/3.12 FIP, 1.42 walks per nine, 5.5 fWAR in 32 starts).

Since then, Kluber’s made just eight starts due to a number of injuries (broken forearm, oblique in 2019; shoulder tear in 2020).

The right-hander is set to throw a showcase session for interested teams in Florida on Wednesday. The Mets are expected to be among the teams in attendance.

Let’s see if Cookie Carrasco’s sound of approval carries over into the Mets’ free-agent signings.