Carlos Carrasco elected free agency on June 1 after the Braves cleared him through waivers and outrighted him to Triple-A Gwinnett, ending another short stop in Atlanta’s daily roster churn. The 39-year-old had the right to refuse that assignment, and he used it.
That decision came the same day the Braves said at 10:53am that Carrasco had gone unclaimed and was headed to Gwinnett. By 6:28pm CDT, he had made the move that put him back on the open market, where he is likely to find another deal within days.
For those following his status, the name has been in circulation for months. Carrasco had already been designated for assignment by Atlanta three other times dating back to last August, and each time he returned on a new minor league deal. He re-signed with the Braves in free agency over the winter, then kept cycling between the majors and Gwinnett as the club treated him like an unofficial 41st man.
The numbers explain why Atlanta kept bringing him back. Carrasco logged 7 1/3 innings for the Braves in the majors this year, allowing two runs on six hits with no walks and four strikeouts. He also posted a 3.00 ERA in 30 innings for Gwinnett, and the arrangement had already delivered him 24 days of big league service and salary in 2026.
There is a catch in the way this relationship has worked. Carrasco cannot be optioned, so every time Atlanta wanted him available, the club had to select him, risk him on waivers and then rebuild the arrangement if he cleared. That has made him easy to move in and out, but it has also made him easy to lose if another team decides it wants a veteran arm for the stretch.
For now, free agency does not signal a clean break so much as another pause. The expectation around him is still that he could land back with Atlanta or somewhere else on a minor league or major league deal within days, which is exactly how this spring and winter have played out before. The only thing that has changed is that Carrasco has taken control of the next move himself.
