UPDATE: It’s done. According to Ken Rosenthal of FOXSports.com, the Mets have signed Carrasco to a two-year contract.
Adam Rubin of ESPN New York hears that he’ll make $2.5 million in the deal, so it’s hard to get too bent out of shape about this one. Good value signing.
5:17 PM: Free agent reliever D.J. Carrasco and the Mets “are working on a two-year deal,” according to Ed Price of AOL Fanhouse.
General manager Sandy Alderson has said that the Mets are likely to be mostly bystanders this winter, shopping for low-cost role players instead of trying to make a big splash, and Carrasco fits the bill as an underrated pickup.
Arizona had MLB’s worst bullpen ERA by a full run this season and Carrasco was only due for a raise to around $1.5 million, so it’s tough to explain why they non-tendered him. After spending 2006 and 2007 in the minors and transitioning to the bullpen full time he’s had ERAs of 3.96, 3.76, and 3.68 with 157 strikeouts in 210 innings and a .255/.327/.356 opponents’ line in the past three years.