D.J. Carrasco Shaky in Spring Debut for New York Mets

D.J. Carrasco's bid to lock up a spot within the middle of the bullpen took a small hit in his very first action of the spring on Monday. Carrasco threw in the towel two runs on four hits and a walk more than two innings, and the last line could have been worse had Mike Nickeas not bailed him out with a fine throw to nail a baserunner at third base. The right-hander doesn't have swing-and-miss stuff and he won't overpower hitters. He had 157 strikeouts in 210.1 innings considering that 2008 and that he relies on his defense to make plays behind him.

If he expects to become a regular seventh-inning man, his insufficient a dominant pitch perform against him. The one particular factor he is doing have to his benefit is when he is only functioning a single inning at a time, hitters may well not be able to get a good luck at the ball appearing out of his hand. Against the Nationals on Monday in Port St. Lucie, Carrasco threw a slider out of a couple various arm slots giving anything from 81 to 84 and a fastball that hit 89 on the gun. He also threw a changeup within the high 60s. Despite the fact that I'd want to see him use this much more the next time out.

Proper now, I still have Carrasco making the 25-man roster, although he's walking a tightrope right after the first weekend of camp. Each Pedro Beato and Taylor Buchholz looked fairly sharp within their very first appearances and also guys like Pat Misch are in the equation. Carrasco gave up a run on two hits and an error within the fourth inning after which a second run on two hits along with a walk in the fifth. In each innings, he threw in the towel a leadoff double that got him into trouble.

He threw in the towel a leadoff double to Wilson Ramos on his 1st pitch of his outing and he then tossed the ball into shallow centerfield attempting to preserve Ramos close at second. Ramos scored from third on Kevin Barker's examine swing that trickled down the very first base line. Daniel Murphy barehanded the ball but his throw was slightly excessive and Nickeas didn't have a probability to slap the tag down. Danny Espinosa then reached on a bunt single, but Jerry Hairston Jr. grounded into a force out at second when he was way in front of the changeup. The 33-year-old got out of the inning having a 4-6-3 double play to double in the speedy Nyjer Morgan.

In his second inning of work, Ian Desmond doubled off the glove on Russ Adams, an infielder playing in proper field, and Matt Stairs drove him home right after Roger Bernadina walked. In the six seasons in the majors, Carrasco is 23-18 having a four.31 ERA. He split 2010 between Pittsburgh and Arizona, appearing in 63 games and posting a decent 3.18 ERA.