Red Sox reportedly sign Matt Carasiti to a minor-league deal

The Red Sox have been adding a whole lot of pitching depth to their upper minor-league system over the last nine months or so, dating back to the unfreezing of transactions last summer. It’s not a bad idea, of course, given all of the questions on their pitching staff along with the questions of what kind of durability issues pitchers in general could be looking at in 2021 coming off the shortened 2020 season. The more arms you can have in tow, just in case, the better. On that note, the Red Sox have reportedly added another pitcher to the mix. This one comes from a report from Rob Bradford of WEEI, who indicates the Red Sox have agreed to terms on a minor-league deal with right-handed pitcher Matt Carasiti.

Carasiti, a Connecticut native, is a former sixth round pick of the Rockies out of St. John’s University back in 2012. He began his professional career as a starter in Colorado’s organization, but in his third season he switched to a full-time relief role and hasn’t looked back since. He made it all the way up to the majors in that organization, too, making his debut in 2016. It was a rough one, though, as the now-29-year-old (he’ll turn 30 in late July) pitched to a 9.19 ERA over 19 appearances and 15 ²⁄₃ innings with 17 strikeouts and 11 walks.

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After that run in the majors, he started to bounce around a few different teams. He was traded to the Cubs in the summer of 2017, and then released at the end of that season. He did end up re-joining the Cubs in 2019 before being cut again at the end of that season. He immediately signed with the Mariners at that point, where he pitched in Triple-A. After 15 appearances there, he made it back to the majors three years after his debut, and this time he pitched to a 4.66 ERA with 10 strikeouts and five walks over 9 ²⁄₃ innings and 11 appearances. It’s worth noting that five of those appearances were starts, but they were not traditional starts as he was only pitching one inning in each.

After that run in the majors in 2019, Carasiti was again on the move, this time signing a minor-league deal with the Giants organization prior to last season. Unfortunately he suffered an injury early in camp and underwent Tommy John surgery in March of last year. According to Bradford’s report, Carasiti worked out for teams earlier in the offseason and the Red Sox apparently liked what they saw. It’s not clear when he’ll be ready to return to action, or if he’ll be ready to go at the start of the regular season.

Either way, he would not be on the major-league radar to start the season. Instead, Carasiti would join a suddenly crowded group of reliever types that would presumably be pegged for Triple-A. As Chris Hatfield of Sox Prospects points out, that group is starting to become a bit crowded. Of course, injuries will almost certainly sort that out. And if they don’t, then you have too many pitchers and have to make some cuts, which from an organizational standpoint is a better situation than not having enough pitchers.