Alex Carrillo

From BR Bullpen

Alejandro Carrillo

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Biographical Information[edit]

Pitcher Alex Carrillo did not take a straightforward path to the majors. He was not a big star in high school and had to go through a community college and then to a college in the NAIA, Faulkner University, not known for producing major league players. He was signed by the Texas Rangers as an undrafted free agent in August of 2019 after pitching well in the summer collegiate Northwoods League. He pitched three times for the AZL Rangers that summer, and did not give up a run in 4 1/3 innings, and then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. In the spring of 2020, facing an uncertain future, many organizations decided to cut costs by releasing some of their more marginal minor leaguers, and Alex was caught in that movement. He signed with the Pericos de Puebla of the Mexican League shortly after that, but that league cancelled its season as well.

He had to go to extraordinary lengths to regain a footing in professional baseball. In 2021 he latched on to the New York Boulders of the independent Frontier League, but was rocked for a 7.11 ERA in 14 outings. He then had to look for work in the Mexican League again, spending the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Tigres de Quintana Roo, and putting up more unimpressive numbers: 1-2, 8.49 in 21 games the first year, and 1-0, 8.06 in 22 games the next. He looked about as far from a future major leaguer as could be. During that time he developed a pitching style as a submariner, but one with unexpected heath that would sometimes hit triple digits on the radar gun, something he had never done previously. It finally clicked for him in 2024, with another Frontier League team, the Washington Wild Things, when he went 3-1, 3.31 in 35 games. That led to the New York Mets taking a chance on him by signing him as a free agent on November 14, 2024. He continued to pitch well the following winter with the Tigres de Aragua in the Venezuelan League, posting a 3.38 ERA in 17 games.

In 2025, his first season in organized baseball since 2019, he started off in AA with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, going 2-1, 4.19 in 15 games, then was promoted to the AAA Syracuse Mets on June 23rd. He did not give up a run in his first four outings for Syracuse, picking up a win and a save, and on July 8th, he was called up to the Big Apple. He made his big league debut the same day, giving up one run on a solo homer by Jackson Holliday in 1 1/3 innings of relief against the Baltimore Orioles.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Anthony DiComo: "Carrillo's 'pretty cool story': From soft-tosser to flame-thrower, indy leagues to Mets", mlb.com, July 8, 2025. [1]
  • Billy Heyen: "Meet Alex Carrillo, the Mets' new pitcher who made it from the Washington Wild Things to MLB", The Sporting News, July 8, 2025. [2]

Related Sites[edit]

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