Carlos Carrasco Extends His Contract With Indians

Signing pitchers on the free agent market can be very expensive. Few teams know that better than the Cleveland Indians. They have lost their fair share of starting pitchers over the years to free agency. That is why a team like the Indians with very limited financial resources needs to make very smart moves in order to remain competitive with the likes of the Red Sox and Yankees. The recent signing of Patrick Corbin by the Washington Nationals to a contract paying him $140 million over six years demonstrated how expensive even average starting pitchers can be when they hit the free agent market.

It is with this knowledge in mind that the Indians signed Carlos Carrasco to a contract extension. His new contract will keep him in Cleveland until at least the 2022 season. The Indians picked up the $10 million 2019 option on his contract. The new extension will pay him $34 million over the three years. There is also a $14 million mutual option for the 2023 season. The Indians have the option to buy out Carrasco for $3 million. This contract officially makes Carrasco one of the best bargains in baseball. He could have easily commanded twice the amount of money that this contract extension will pay him if he had opted for free agency after the 2019 season.

This extension of Carrasco shows how savvy the Indians truly are. They offer long-term security to young players who come from impoverished backgrounds. The guaranteed millions of dollars is more money than they could have ever dreamed of making. However, it is far below what other players of similar talent levels are making. This is how Cleveland locks up key players for a long period of time for far below market value.

Carrasco has firmly established himself as one of the best pitchers in the game. In 2018, he won 17 games and struck out 231 hitters on only 192 innings. He also compiled a stellar 3.38 earned run average. The 2017 season saw him lead the majors with 18 wins. He also had 226 strikeouts and a 3.29 earned run average. The only thing keeping him from superstar status has been some injury problems that have caused him to spend some time on the disabled list. He could very well win the Cy Young Award like his teammate Corey Kluber if he can make it through an entire season healthy.