The Braves announced Monday that they’ve yet again designated righty Carlos Carrasco for assignment. Atlanta also placed veteran lefty Martín Pérez on the 15-day injured list due to a left forearm contusion. In a pair of corresponding moves, Atlanta recalled right-hander JR Ritchie from Triple-A Gwinnett and selected the contract of right-hander and former first-round pick Owen Murphy from Gwinnett.
Baseball fans — certainly MLBTR readers — ought to know the drill by now with Carrasco. The 39-year-old veteran has been designated for assignment by Atlanta a ridiculous seven times in the past calendar year. This is the sixth time this season alone that the Braves have chosen to DFA Carrasco.
The cycle isn’t tied to Carrasco’s performance, nor is it an indication that the team has soured on him. Quite to the contrary, the Braves clearly value Carrasco as a depth option and a veteran mentor for their younger arms. But since he can’t be optioned to the minor leagues, Atlanta designates Carrasco for assignment whenever there’s a need to bring some fresh arms into the ‘pen. Carrasco clears waivers, elects free agency and quickly re-signs on a new minor league deal. As I laid out a month ago in our weekly Mailbag column for Trade Rumors Front Office subscribers, there are various financial and contractual benefits available to Carrasco by choosing the elect-free-agency-and-re-sign route rather than simply accepting an outright assignment.
More to come.
