Pitching-thin Braves patch rotation with another trade
Credit: TNS
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Braves’ attempts to patch their decimated pitching rotation continued Monday, as the team acquired pitcher Carlos Carrasco from the New York Yankees.
The Yankees sent Carrasco to the Braves — whose entire five-man pitching rotation to start the season is on the injured list — in exchange for cash considerations.
Carrasco, a 38-year-old right-hander, has a career 4.18 ERA over 16 seasons, mostly with Cleveland. He compiled a 5.91 ERA in 32 innings earlier this season with the Yankees before accepting an outright assignment to their Triple-A team in May. There, he had a 4-2 record in 11 appearances (10 starts) with a 3.27 ERA across 52⅓ innings.
The trade followed the Braves’ trade Sunday with the St. Louis Cardinals for pitcher Erick Fedde and cash considerations in exchange for a player to be named later or cash considerations. The 32-year-old Fedde, who the Cardinals designated for assignment last week after he failed to win a game in his final 12 starts, will start Tuesday for the Braves in the second game of their series at Kansas City.
The club lost another starting pitcher Sunday when Grant Holmes suffered right elbow inflammation, first going on the 15-day injury list before being transferred to the 60-day IL.
Holmes became the fifth member of the team’s starting rotation at the outset of the season to join the IL, following Reynaldo López (shoulder), AJ Smith-Shawver (elbow injury requiring Tommy John surgery), Chris Sale (fractured rib cage) and Spencer Schwellenbach (fractured elbow).
The Braves were scheduled to begin a three-game series at Kansas City on Monday evening. They had lost their past five games, including a sweep at the hands of the Texas Rangers over the weekend. They also had lost seven of their nine games since the All-Star break and were 44-60.
About the Author
Ken Sugiura is a sports columnist at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Formerly the Georgia Tech beat reporter, Sugiura started at the AJC in 1998 and has covered a variety of beats, mostly within sports.
