Mets expect Carrasco to return from IL on Friday

NEW YORK — The struggling New York Mets pitching staff will be getting some reinforcements soon.

New York expects starter Carlos Carrasco to return from the injured list on Friday and start against the Cleveland Guardians at Citi Field, manager Buck Showalter announced on Tuesday.

Carrasco completed his second rehabilitation start on Sunday for the Binghamton Mets, throwing 52 pitches. The righty has been on the injured list since April 18 with right elbow swelling due to a bone chip.

Prior to going on the injured list, Carrasco pitched in three games, lasting 13.2 innings with a 8.52 ERA. As a team, the Mets rank 24th in baseball in team ERA and 25th in starter ERA.

Coming into the season, the Mets expected the rotation to feature Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Kodai Senga, Jose Quintana and Carrasco. Quintana remains on the injured list after undergoing rib surgery. Verlander started the season on the injured list with a low grade teres major strain while Scherzer missed time due to a 10-game foreign substance suspension.

The news comes as New York shipped starter David Peterson to the minor leagues, calling up reliever Josh Walker. Peterson allowed six runs on nine hits and nine walks in five innings on Monday against the Washington Nationals, raising his season ERA to 8.08, which would be the highest in baseball if qualified for enough innings.

Showalter said the team hopes Peterson can contribute to the major league team this year.

“If he doesn’t get it going down there, we’ll have to look in another direction,” Showalter said. “I’m hoping to be frank and he knows he’s not doing good enough. We would like to see him get it going.”

Walker has done well for the Triple-A Syracuse Mets so far this season, posting a 0.68 ERA in 13.1 innings pitched so far this season. Walker would be making his major league debut if he appears in a game for the Mets.