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December 29, 2010 10-11 Offseason Joe Janish

Quick Look: DJ Carrasco

The Mets biggest winter acquisition thus far has been the signing of free-agent pitcher D.J. Carrasco. Personally, I don’t know much about Carrasco, since he spent most of his career in the Adulterated League and Japan. What little we saw of him in 2010 with the D’backs and Pirates was inconclusive.

That said, I called on fellow SweetSpot blogger Jim Margalus of Sox Machine to give us a quick and dirty background on Carrasco:

First of all, Carrasco wears some kick-ass stirrups. If that was his only contributions to the Sox, I’d be thrilled with his career.

But beyond fashion, he’s extremely useful. Ozzie Guillen called him his team MVP in 2009 for pitching nearly 100 innings in relief thanks to his rubber arm. Aesthetically, his stuff doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in high-leverage situations, because he will subtract off his fastball and throw a lot of sweeping curves. Throw in his deceptive delivery, and it looks like he’s experimenting with pitches.

Watch him for a while, and that’s just the way he attacks hitters. He compensates with a lack of power by not giving in. It’s worked for him for three years now, ever since the Sox picked him up off the scrap heap. I’m a fan.

Stirrups? Heck, right there he’s pulling on my old-school heartstrings. “Useful” and “rubber arm” are descriptors I like to see from someone in the bullpen, as well.

D.J. Carrasco may be no Rafael Soriano, but he should be adequate in his role of reliever / swingman. Barring injury, we’re likely to see him fairly often in 2011.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. TOakaTDot December 30, 2010 at 12:35 am
    Its Really Hard to Believe That He Was Ozzie’s MVP. I Believe The Sox Probably Would of Kept Him if That Was The Case, Especially With Him Having a Very Affordable Contract. I do Think He Will Contribute to a 2011 NYM Team, But Who Really Knows How Much. Its Worth Giving Him Atleast a Shot at The Rotation (I Don’t See Him Having The Smarts of an R.A. Dickey or a Rick Reed to Pill That Off) or a Definite Spot in The Pen, But Him Being The Biggest Off Season Acquisition For The Mets Really Doesn’t Say Much… Although in it’s Own, it Says a Whole Bunch About What The Mets Are Doing This Off Season.
    • mike December 30, 2010 at 9:01 am
      I would rather see Sandy sign a mid level risk for 2 years or less at a steal of a price than see Bozo the Omar sign same player to a 3 year deal at 10mil/season. Come on here, Sandy’s way will pan out in the long run !