Matt

Carpenter

Carpenter hadn’t ruled out a return to the big leagues this off-season, but no opportunity materialized, and he will now hang up his cleats. A 14-year veteran, Carpenter spent 12 of those years with the Cardinals and then a year each with the Yankees and Padres. He will finish his career with a .259/.366/.449 slash line with 179 home runs, 659 RBI and a 31.5 WAR.

He’s DHing and batting eighth. Carpenter lasted started Aug. 26, and he has only three at-bats in September. This isn’t necessarily the end for him — he’s hoping to play in 2025 — but it could be his last start with the Cardinals.

Carpenter said he likes his current role as part-time player and full-time mentor for the Cardinals and is open to doing it again next year. It’s unclear what his salary demands might be. Carpenter cashed in likely for the last time after he hit .305 with 15 home runs and 37 RBI in 47 games for the Yankees in 2022. The Padres signed him to a two-year, $12 million contract that winter. Last offseason, San Diego traded him to Atlanta to offload his salary and the Braves released him, which allowed him to sign a one-year contract with St. Louis. He’s hitting .236 with four home runs and 15 RBI in 127 at-bats this year.

Baker figured to play mostly against lefties, but the Cardinals haven’t faced any since he was recalled Aug. 20. As a result, he didn’t start any of his first seven games on the roster. Now, though, he seems to have overtaken Matt Carpenter, who had started five out of six games before sitting the last three days. There’s no reason to pick up Baker at the moment, but there’s the chance he’ll get hot and hit several homers down the stretch.

It was just the fourth homer of the season for Carpenter, who was activated off the IL earlier today. Carpenter replaced Victor Scott in the eighth inning and turned on a high 96 MPH fastball from Brewers reliever Nick Mears, rocketing it 390 feet into the right field stands to cut the Brewers’ lead to 3-2. Carpenter has homered twice since the All-Star break but hasn’t offered any offensive upside all season. He remains well off the fantasy radar.

Carpenter missed the minimum with his back strain that might or might not have been a real injury. He’s hit .255/.331/.382 in 125 plate appearances for the Cardinals this season, and he’ll probably go back to starting once or twice a week against righties.

The move is retroactive to August 9th. Carpenter was starting about once a week, so the move doesn’t drastically change much for the Cardinals other than opening up a spot for the team to promote Jordan Walker for another shot at the big leagues.

There it is. The highly talented 22-year-old outfielder is back in the big leagues after hitting .338 with a 1.090 OPS over his last 65 at-bats. This recent hot stretch has coincided with a new stance where Walker is more open with his front foot, which allows him to clear his hips earlier and turn on the ball. That has led to a 92.1 average exit velocity and a 50 percent hard-hit rate. However, there is some question regarding how much Walker plays immediately upon arrival. Alec Burleson and Lars Nootbaar seem locked into starting roles, and Victor Scott II is a true defensive center fielder, so Walker would need to push Brendan Donovan to the bench or start only against left-handed pitchers. Regardless, he’s worth a stash while we wait to see what his role is. Matt Carpenter was placed on the IL in a corresponding move.

Carpenter gave the Cards a 2-1 lead with a two-run blast off Nathan Eovaldi. That’s the 38-year-old’s third homer and gives him 11 RBI in his limited time with St. Louis in 2024, and he’s hitting an unimpressive — but again small-sampled — .255/.322/.377.

He’ll likely start the nightcap, but this makes seven straight games out of the starting lineup for Carpenter, even though he was quite productive when the Cardinals used him more regularly last month. It’s possible he’ll soon lose his roster spot, as the Cardinals have Iván Herrera ready to come off the injured list and Tommy Edman on a rehab assignment.