Indians and Carlos Carrasco avoid arbitration with one-year contract - MLB

CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman reports that the Indians and right-hander Carlos Carrasco have avoided arbitration by agreeing to a one-year, $2,337,500 contract.

Carrasco was arbitration-eligible for the first time this offseason. MLB Trade Rumors projected him to make $1.4 million, but the two sides struck a deal well north of that figure.

Carrasco is coming off a breakout season where he posted a 2.55 ERA and 140/29 K/BB ratio in 134 innings. The 27-year-old was moved to the bullpen after getting off to a rough start in April, but things clicked for him from there. After putting up a 2.30 ERA over 26 relief appearances, he got another chance in the rotation and finished with a fantastic 1.30 ERA across 10 starts.

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CINCINNATI — The Los Angeles Dodgers placed pitcher Noah Syndergaard on the 15-day injured list Thursday with a blister on the index finger of his right throwing hand.

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said the timetable for Syndergaard’s return is unknown despite the 15-day designation.

“The physical, the mental, the emotional part, as he’s talked about, has taken a toll on him,” Roberts said. “So, the ability to get him away from this. He left today to go back to Los Angeles to kind of get back to normalcy.”

Syndergaard allowed six runs and seven hits in three innings against the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday night, raising his ERA to 7.16.

Syndergaard (1-4) has surrendered at least five runs in three straight starts.

Syndergaard has been trying to return to the player he was before Tommy John surgery sidelined him for the better part of the 2020 and 2021 seasons.

Roberts said Syndergaard will need at least “a few weeks” to both heal and get away from baseball and “reset.”

“I think searching and not being comfortable with where he was at in the moment is certainly evident in performance,” Roberts said. “So hopefully this time away will provide more clarity on who he is right now as a pitcher.

“Trying to perform when you’re searching at this level is extremely difficult. I applaud him from not running from it, but it’s still very difficult. Hopefully it can be a tale of two stories, two halves when he does come back.”