Earlier this week, Mets manager Luis Rojas told reporters that Carlos Carrasco could join the team and make his debut before being built up to a full workload despite not pitching since the end of last season.
On Saturday, Rojas took it a step further, leaving the door open for the veteran righty to make his Mets introduction after just one rehab start, one that he could make as early as this coming week, when New York and the rest of the league will be on break.
"I think it is now where we want it to be," Rojas said of Carrasco's hamstring, which he tore while doing conditioning drills to work his way back from a sore elbow during spring training. "But maybe after today, we'll see what the next step is with that, and after that step, he might even join us. There's a chance he might even join us after one rehab outing, whenever that is, if it's this week. So let's see."
Carrasco faced live batters again on Saturday, another step closer to getting back to game ready despite multiple setbacks in previous attempts to recover from his hamstring injury. But Rojas said the strength tests on Carrasco's hamstring have been encouraging, something that held Carrasco back from moving forward in his rehab process earlier in the season, and his arm strength has reached a point where it may take only one rehab outing before joining the Mets rotation.
"He's a veteran pitcher, so I think at this point, nobody knows better than him as far as where his arm is," Rojas said. "But that's a conversation that the performance staff is a part of, because the strength in his hamstring is a big factor."
Carrasco's live BP session brought back good results once again on Saturday, and his return would be a massive boost for a Mets rotation that is currently also without Noah Syndergaard, Joey Lucchesi, David Peterson and Corey Oswalt.
"That was really good today," Rojas said. "That was really, really good."
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