Braves come out Matt Carpenter months after having a deal with the Padres
Atlanta got Carpenter and left-handed pitcher Ray Kerr for the Padres on Friday in exchange for left Drew Campbell. The Padres agreed to give the Braves $1.5 million as part of the deal.
Carpenter, who was an All-Star three times with St. Louis and is now 38 years old, got his career back on track with the Yankees in New York in 2022. He used the short porch in right field to hit.305 via 15 home runs and 37 RBI.
From May 26 to August 8, when he broke his leg on the left on a foul ball, he played for the Yankees. When he came back for the playoffs, he hit.012 and struck out nine times.
Carpenter agreed to play for the Padres for two years and $12 million, with a player option for 2024 worth $5.5 million.
From July 1 to August 31, he only had 50 at-bats, but he hit.176 alongside five home runs and 31 RBI. Carpenter couldn’t play after September 10 because of swelling in his right arm.
Carpenter was an All-Star three times, in 2013, 2014, and 2016. He has hit.260 with 175 home runs and 644 RBI in his career with the Cardinals (2011–21), the Yankees, and the Padres. That helps pay some of Carpenter’s $5.5 million salary to the next season.
On Monday, the Braves hired C.J. Nitkowski, a Rangers expert, to be on their main TV broadcast team. This will allow Jeff Francoeur to spend longer with his family.
Bally Sports and the Braves said that Nitkowski, who threw for the Braves in 2004 and still lives in a suburb of Atlanta, will be the main analyst for play-by-play announcer Brandon Gaudin.
The Braves lose $4 million because of the ruling. Atlanta got Carpenter and left-handed pitcher Ray Kerr from the Padres upon Friday in exchange for outfielder Drew Campbell.
The Padres agreed to give the Braves $1.5 million as part of the deal. That helps pay some of Carpenter’s $5.5 million salary for the next season. It’s been almost a year since Carpenter signed a one-year deal with the San Diego Padres.
Even though the Texan chose to sign the $5 million player option for 2024, the Padres didn’t want to keep him around, especially since Matt Carpenter hit.176/.322/.319 with 5 home runs and 31 RBIs to 76 games this year.
When the Atlanta Braves bought Carpenter, they thought they could send him and his contract to another team that wanted to sign him.
Carpenter was let go again so he could sign with any team he wanted because no one was interested in him on the market.
Carpenter has been a part of the St. Louis Cardinals for a long time and has led the National League in both doubles and hits twice.
Carpenter played for the Cards for eleven years and made it to three All-Star games, got a Silver Slugger, and came in sixth place for NL Rookie of the Year in 2012 after hitting.294/.365/.463 via six home runs and 46 RBIs.
Carpenter moved to the New York Yankees in 2022 and hit.305 in 47 games for the Yankees.
But he got hurt in August and couldn’t play for long. He left the team for free agency at the end of the season.
Carpenter had some great moments early in his career, but teams are likely to pass on him because he is old and has a history of bad health.
Also, any team that gets him will have to pay the $5 million, which might be enough to make teams forget about Carpenter.