The Cardinals announced on Wednesday afternoon that the club and third baseman Matt Carpenter have agreed to a two-year contract extension with a third-year vesting option. Per Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the contract will cover the 2020-21 seasons and the vesting option will be for 2022.
Carpenter, 33, is finishing out his six-year, $52 million contract extension signed in March 2014. He had an $18.5 million club option for the 2020 season. The Athletic’s Mark Saxon reports that Carpenter will earn a combined $39 million in 2020-21 and, if he accrues 1,100 plate appearances over those two years, his 2022 option will vest for $18.5 million.
Carpenter had a career year in 2018, batting .257/.374/.523 with 36 home runs and 81 RBI in 677 plate appearances. He is off to a slower start to begin 2019, owning a .701 OPS with a homer and three RBI across 11 games.