Texas Rangers release former All-Star 

A former MLB All-Star is available and looking for work.

The Texas Rangers on Thursday released Matt Carpenter. The three-time All-Star started his minor league season slowly, but he had come on in May. Carpenter had six home runs and a .991 OPS in Triple-A when the Rangers let him go.

“We appreciate Matt’s leadership and the example he set during his time with the organization,” Rangers executive Jon Daniels said in a statement. “We have nothing but respect for the way he carries himself and wish him and his family the best.”

According to Rangers reporter Levi Weaver, there was no path for Carpenter to be promoted to the big league team, so the sides agreed to the infielder’s release.

Carpenter is 36 and there is little doubt that his best days are behind him. He was steadily declining with the St. Louis Cardinals and becoming nearly unplayable. He had batted .226 in 2019, .186 in 2020 and .169 in 2021. But if he was posting a .991 OPS in Triple-A, then maybe he has a shot to help an MLB team in a brief stint this season.

Carpenter’s heyday came from 2013-2018 when he made three All-Star teams and regularly posted an OPS in the upper-.800s.