Ditch the batting gloves and make room in your fridge for fresh salsa, because Matt Carpenter is coming home!
Too much?
Yes, probably too much.
Some will love the move the Cardinals made Friday, one that reunites the Cardinals with the 38-year-old three-time All-Star infielder who was supposed to finish his career here, but didn’t, because one of the more regrettable contract extensions in the team’s history ended terribly. But lots of fans still love Carpenter, were thrilled to see him rebound with the Yankees in 2022, and like the idea of him ending his career in a Cardinals uniform, probably for real this time.
Some are going to take another route and mock what can be described as yet another hopeful happy-trails reunion addition, accusing the AARP Cardinals of attempting to hitch their wagon to another retirement tour to squeeze a few more tickets sold out of a fan base frustrated by last season’s last-place finish. Tack on another “wanted to be here” veteran free agent added to the roster. Who’s next? The best performer at Cardinals fantasy camp? Imagine how much he would want to be here!
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I’m more interested in the baseball reasons. Some are hopeful. Some are legitimate. Some are telling about the lost team the Cardinals became during last season’s last-place finish.
Here are the reasons Carpenter is now being viewed as the 26th man no matter what bullpen moves still come …
There is a very specific role in mind and Carpenter and the Cardinals are in agreement about what it looks like. The 2024 Cardinals were set up to have a pretty young and pretty inexperienced bench, one mostly stocked with players who lacked been-there-done-that reps but also have the understandable aspirations of wanting to become every-day players. In theory it makes sense to have young guys fill a bench spot until they pass or fail at becoming regulars. In reality, some of the best bench presences across baseball and for the Cardinals in past seasons have been veterans in decreased roles who are good with the assignment and able to make impact in smaller sample sizes. Carpenter knows what he’s being brought in to do here. It’s to be the captain of the bench. He’s not going to be taking at-bats away from fellow southpaw swingers Brendan Donovan and Nolan Gorman. And if Gorman winds up being used regularly as a designated hitter, which seems like a good idea to me to help protect his barking back, Carpenter should be a valuable hitting mentor.
Carpenter’s addition doesn’t automatically mean Alec Burleson isn’t a part of the bench equation in 2024. But Burleson does have options left and could play in the minors (as opposed to mostly sitting in the majors) until or unless a need arises in the Cardinals’ outfield. Carpenter’s addition doesn’t mean center fielder Tommy Edman’s injury is worse than the Cardinals feared, either. Edman’s outlook is going to depend on how quickly he can get back to swinging full go, and none of that has been determined yet. Carpenter has played a lot of different defensive positions, but this was a bench/bat/leadership move. The Cardinals aren’t preparing to trade Gorman or Donovan. While Edman (or Donovan) could have a setback due to offseason surgeries, Carpenter’s addition was not made with that in mind. It was a bench/bat/leadership move.
Cardinals players wanted this. Big time. Carpenter has strong ties to the current clubhouse and there had been a steady drumbeat of players in there who were making the case for this reunion. Mozeliak said there were internal calls for a presence like Carpenter’s. There were internal calls for Carpenter. Carpenter’s voice will now mix in along with Sonny Gray, Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn and others as the Cardinals aim to get their culture back to a hard-nosed, detail-oriented style of play that lapsed last season. Carpenter and Paul Goldschmidt are close friends. Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, it sure sounds like, felt like they didn’t have enough veteran leadership to help them last season. That’s a disappointing conclusion, considering they were brought in to lead, but there’s no debating the theme of the offseason. More leadership needed. Carpenter adds to it.
Jeff Albert, the overcomplicated former Cardinals hitting coach who did nothing to help Carpenter free himself from the hitting tailspin that doomed Carpenter’s last run with the Cardinals, is gone. Carpenter has once again this offseason been working with former Cardinals slugger Matt Holliday, who helped relaunch Carpenter when he found success with the Yankees in 2022, after the Cardinals paid him $2 million to walk away. The last time Carpenter got the full Holliday tune up, he averaged .305 with a .412 on-base percentage and a .727 slugging percentage over 128 at-bats for the Yankees in 2022. The Cardinals checked out Carpenter’s swings from his most recent Holliday sessions, including exit velocity and bat speed readings. They liked what they saw.
It’s not low risk. It’s no risk. Carpenter is owed by the Cardinals a major league minimum $740,000 after he was let go by the Braves. If Carpenter can’t hit, like he struggled to in San Diego last season, he retires. If he gets hurt, he retires. If he fills a bench leadership void, takes some tough walks and brings tough at-bats to tight games where been-there-done-that pays dividends, it’s a no-risk value add. I would say there are no bad one-year deals, but the Cardinals once signed Greg Holland for $14 million and got a 7.92 ERA along with it. So, I’ll say this. There are few bad one-year deals for the major league minimum, especially if an addition that gets mixed reactions from fans is cheered by a clubhouse that clearly needed help.