He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Toronto Blue Jays, Cincinnati Reds, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Seattle Mariners, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Seibu Lions.

Carrera initially struggled as a starting pitcher in the major leagues but later became an effective long reliever.

On August 15, 2001, Carrara combined with fellow Venezuelan pitchers Omar Daal, Kelvim Escobar, and Freddy García to win their respective starts: Carrara, of the Dodgers, facing Montreal, 13–1; Daal, in a Phillies victory over the Brewers, 8–6; Escobar, of the Blue Jays, over Oakland, 5–2, and García, of Seattle, against the Red Sox, 6–2.

This marked the first time in major league history that four pitchers coming from Venezuela recorded a winning game in their respective starts on the same day.

He was called up in September 2006 when rosters expanded and used sparingly after re-joining the big league club.