MLB Insider: Mets’ Carlos Carrasco could be a trade candidate

MLB Insider: Mets’ Carlos Carrasco could be a trade candidate.

The New York Mets are on an unprecedented spending spree. After losing Jacob deGrom, they have added Justin Verlander, Brandon Nimmo, Jose Quintana, Kodai Senga and David Robertson.

They have spent slightly more on Verlander, Quintana and Senga ($187 million) than it did for the Rangers to sign deGrom ($185 million). Now armed with an abundance of veteran starting pitching, as well as talented young options, they could look to make veteran Carlos Carrasco available via trade.

Carrasco, 36 in March, is scheduled to earn $14 million in the final season of his contract. But there has been talk in league circles that the Mets could do something similar to what the Brewers did with Kolten Wong: pick up his club option and attempt to trade him later on in the offseason.

There’s expected to be a market for Carrasco, too, especially with prices so high for free-agent starting pitchers throughout the league. Of course, those prices have soared in large part because of a slow trade market. But Carrasco could be of interest to a team that 1) has missed out on the free-agent starting pitchers or 2) isn’t willing to pay such a high price.

Among the teams that could make sense include the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angels, who both remain on the lookout for starting pitching. Acquiring Carrasco doesn’t figure to cost too much — perhaps a reliever or prospects — and that will be intriguing, especially since he’s coming off a season in which he posted a 3.97 ERA and 152 strikeouts in 152 innings.