Carlos Carrasco has a low-grade oblique strain

An MRI revealed that Carlos Carrasco has suffered a low-grade oblique strain, the Mets announced this afternoon. With Carrasco already struggling last night, the Mets sent him back to the mound after an hour-long rain delay interrupted the second inning and he appeared to suffer the injury on the final pitch of the inning.

A typical timeline for recovery from this type of injury is 3-4 weeks, according to the Mets’ announcement. However, the last time Carrasco suffered a soft tissue injury—a hamstring tear he suffered in spring training last season—it took him much longer to recover than expected. Even if Carrasco meets the typical recovery timeline for this level of oblique strain, it will take him some time to ramp back up, leaving little margin for error regarding any sort of setback if he is to contribute in the postseason in a meaningful way. Also in danger is Carrasco’s vesting option for $14 million, which kicks in if he reached 170 innings this season. He has currently pitched 126 ¹⁄₃ innings.

This is a huge blow to the Mets’ rotation, which is trying to help carry the Mets to an NL East title and deep postseason run. Carrasco’s spot in the rotation will likely be filled by David Peterson, who is primed and ready in Triple-A. The Mets have a doubleheader scheduled for Saturday, meaning they will need to find another starting pitcher to make a spot start—likely Trevor Williams, the Mets’ current long man in the bullpen.

But the injury bug is starting to bite the Mets...at exactly the wrong time.