The St. Louis Cardinals succeeded in accomplishing their goal of retooling the rotation this winter and can now look to other areas for improvement.
After finishing with the 13th highest-ranked OPS in Major League Baseball last season, the Cardinals could add another bat or two.
A potential option to bolster St. Louis' lineup could be a homegrown talent who just became available on the market.
Matt Carpenter has been officially released according to the Major League Baseball transaction log on Monday.
Carpenter batted .262 with 484 extra-base hits including 155 home runs, 576 RBIs, and .816 OPS throughout 11 seasons played for the Cardinals.
The 38-year-old departed from St. Louis after a brutal season and signed with the New York Yankees in 2022 -- where he had his last solid season before spiraling downward again in 2023 with the San Diego Padres.
The Atlanta Braves recently acquired Carpenter in a trade with the Padres as a way to get left-handed reliever Ray Kerr -- the Braves were forced to take on $4 million of Carpenter's $5.5 million contract to get Kerr. After being unable to find a trade partner for the designated hitter, the Braves released him.
The right-handed hitter went from logging .305/.412/.727 with the Yankees in 2022 to .176/.322/.319 with the Padres the following season. The drastic decline in performance has made it difficult for Carpenter to land a spot on a roster.
This could be a great opportunity for St. Louis to bring back a familiar face while adding a bench bat. The Cardinals could sign Carpenter to a minor league deal and invite him to spring training to see if he still has some juice left in the tank.
If not, they can part ways knowing they gave Carpenter a shot to prove himself one more time as a member of the Cardinals.
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