Matt Carpenter

The Padres have agreed to a deal with free agent infielder/outfielder Matt Carpenter. Read more at MLB Trade Rumors.

[first reported](https://twitter.com/AJCassavell/status/1605254060625403905) the two sides had agreed to a deal with a 2024 player option. With the Padres, Carpenter becomes the favorite for DH work, though the Yankees played him at both corner infield slots and in both corner outfield positions in 2022. [projected by Roster Resource](https://www.fangraphs.com/roster-resource/payroll/padres). After hitting .275/.379/.613 in 21 games with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate, Carpenter was released by Texas (oops) and signed a Major League deal with the Yankees, for whom he posted a borderline comical .305/.412/.727 slash. A predictably rusty Carpenter jumped directly back onto the Yankees’ playoff roster but went just 1-for-12 with an alarming nine strikeouts between the ALDS and the ALCS. A three-time All-Star with the Cardinals, Carpenter looked to be on the downswing when he posted a combined .176/.313/.291 batting line in 418 plate appearances with St. Simply put — and in rather stunning fashion — Carpenter was baseball’s best hitter on a rate basis in 2022 (min. He led all of baseball in slugging percentage, isolated power (slugging minus batting average) and wRC+ (217), ranked second to only Aaron Judge in terms of on-base percentage, and posted the 12th-best batting average of any player in the game. The contract pays Carpenter a $3MM signing bonus and $3.5MM salary for the 2023 campaign, and he’ll have to decide on a $5.5MM player option next winter. Carpenter’s rate of “barreled” balls (as defined by Statcast) was elite, and his average exit velocity and hard-hit rate both clocked in comfortably north of the league average. The Rangers were intrigued enough to sign him to a minor league contract. Carpenter, a client of SSG Baseball, can opt out of the contract after the 2023 season by declining a 2024 player option.

After batting .176 over his last two seasons with the Cardinals, Carpenter signed a minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers in March. He had six homers over 21 ...

Carpenter signed a minor-league deal with the Rangers in March. He latched on with the Yankees in May. It wouldn’t be a surprise if Carpenter is A.J. The Padres had been searching for at least one more bat, preferably left-handed and also some pop. [The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal chronicled last offseason](https://theathletic.com/3142459/2022/02/23/help-me-fix-this-inside-matt-carpenters-cross-country-quest-to-remake-his-swing/), Carpenter transformed his swing with help from a hitter named [Joey Votto](https://theathletic.com/mlb/player/joey-votto-mgH5pklq1KWVxVWb/). He had six homers over 21 games with a .275/.379/.613 slash line for Round Rock, the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate.

The San Diego Padres added another bat to their lineup Tuesday, agreeing to terms with free agent infielder Matt Carpenter on a one-year contract.

Bogaerts is expected to play shortstop for the Padres. [OPINION: Carlos Correa's $350 Million Contract Will Not Age Well](https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/news/opinion-carlos-correas-350-million-contract-will-not-age-well) [OPINION: Jed Hoyer, Cubs Made Right Decision Passing on Carlos Correa](https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/news/opinion-jed-hoyer-cubs-made-right-decision-passing-on-carlos-correa) [REPORT: New York Mets Want to Sign Shohei Ohtani Next Winter](https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/news/report-new-york-mets-want-to-sign-shohei-ohtani-next-winter) [New York Yankees' 2023 Projected Lineup After Re-Signing Aaron Judge](https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/news/new-york-yankees-2023-projected-lineup-after-re-signing-aaron-judge) [New York Mets' 2023 Projected Starting Lineup After Re-Signing Brandon Nimmo](https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/news/new-york-mets-2023-projected-starting-lineup-after-re-signing-brandon-nimmo) [San Francisco Giants' 2023 Projected Starting Lineup After Signing Carlos Correa](https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/news/san-francisco-giants-2023-projected-starting-lineup-after-signing-carlos-correa) [San Diego Padres' 2023 Projected Starting Lineup After Signing Xander Bogaerts](https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/news/san-diego-padres-2023-projected-starting-lineup-after-signing-xander-bogaerts) Their offseason is not over yet. [@JackVitaShow,](http://twitter.com/jackvitashow) and subscribe to his podcast, the [Jack Vita Show](http://jackvita.com/), available on [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jack-vita-show/id1366064261), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/5bfwYRxkua8fl8Cyp5Ju7i?si=bU85dgJdR7KKuC4kdUwoIw&nd=1), [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/jackvita), [Amazon](https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f29527c0-7534-4401-9891-8d0e7d09363a/jack-vita-show), [iHeartRadio](https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-jack-vita-show-74691662/), and wherever podcasts are found. DH Matt Carpenter .305/.412/1.138 Ha-Seong Kim could slide over to second base, and Jake Cronenworth can play first base. SS Xander Bogaerts .307/.377/.833 2B Ha-Seong Kim .251/.325/.708 [agreeing to terms on an 11-year, $280 million contract with free agent shortstop Xander Bogaerts](https://www.si.com/fannation/mlb/fastball/news/san-diego-padres-sign-xander-bogaerts-to-monster-11-year-contract) two weeks ago. Carpenter could be the club's regular designated hitter, but the Padres likely aren't finished adding to their club, this winter. Fernando Tatis Jr., who the Padres signed to a 14-year, $340 million contract extension prior to the start of the 2021 season, could find a new home in left field, with Trent Grisham in center, and Juan Soto in right field. The San Diego Padres added another bat to their lineup Tuesday, agreeing to terms with free agent infielder Matt Carpenter on a one-year contract.

The San Diego Padres and utility player Matt Carpenter are in agreement on a one-year contract with a player option for 2024, per MLB.com's AJ Cassavell.

The deal includes a $5.5 million player option for 2024. An outfielder, third baseman and first baseman, Carpenter has a .263 average and .678 OPS in 12 seasons with the St. He signed with the Yankees on May 26 and hit .305 with 15 homers and 37 RBIs in 47 games and 154 plate appearances before breaking his left foot when he fouled off a pitch at Seattle on Aug.

The New York Yankees lost Matt Carpenter to an offer by the San Diego Padres that guarantees him so, so much more money than Cash would've given.

If you could add that at a Major League minimum to the 2023 roster, you do it in a heartbeat. No matter the end result, the Yankees never had a chance here after resurrecting his career on a minor-league flyer last season. For those who watched him all summer long, it isn’t hard to envision. After Carpenter and his WB Mason mustache rejuvenated his career with one of the hottest summers on record, the team rushed him back from his foot fracture only to receive a piteous playoff run for their efforts. Instead, an out-of-rhythm Carpenter was an automatic strikeout, whiffing nine times in 12 plate appearances in a touching tribute to Joey Gallo. They just don’t seem to happen often enough in a Yankee uniform.

The veteran rejuvenated his career by hitting .305 in 47 games with the Yankees last year.

In 2015 he cracked a league-leading 44 doubles and finished 12th, and in 2018 he hit 36 home runs and finished ninth. In 2013, he hit .318, led the league in runs, hits, and doubles, and finished fourth in NL MVP voting. Last year, Carpenter underwent something of a career renaissance with the Yankees. Carpenter spent the first 11 years of his career with the Cardinals, where he was a three-time All-Star and a key contributor on several contending teams in St. Last season, the Padres finished 89–73, upsetting the Mets and Dodgers in the playoffs before falling to the Phillies in the NLCS. [Matt Carpenter](https://www.si.com/mlb/player/matt-carpenter) with a player option for 2024, according to a Tuesday afternoon [report](https://twitter.com/AJCassavell/status/1605254060625403905?s=20&t=2OPZf3dk8-L4C3ijPU4w1A) from MLB.com's AJ Cassavell.

Matt Carpenter, a New York Yankees' feel-good story in 2022, used free agency to land a two-year, $12-million contract with the San Diego Padres.

“There was just all the way through it a selflessness about him that I think rubbed off on everyone,” Boone said. In the biggest games of the year, Carpenter was a dud at the plate going 1-for-12 with nine strikeouts in six playoff games. “I thought that was impressive and a testament to a guy that’s done a lot in his career. “I wouldn’t say left field is an option, but that said, what he was able to do for us even in a pinch playing a little bit of right field … Ahead of schedule, Carpenter returned for the playoffs before his foot was healed, and But Carpenter regained confidence after [making over his swing last winter](https://www.nj.com/yankees/2022/06/armed-with-old-swing-matt-carpenters-yankees-home-debut-was-a-blast-from-past.html) and added more while he put up solid Triple-A numbers early into the 2022 season. His career appeared to be on its last legs last May when Carpenter signed with the Yanks a week after opting out of a minor-league deal with the [Texas Rangers](https://www.mlb.com/rangers). Playing all over the field, Carpenter was basically a left-handed Judge until he fractured a bone in his foot on Aug. Louis Cardinals](https://www.mlb.com/cardinals), then didn’t hit a lick from 2019-21 and it didn’t work out early last season with the Rangers. At age 36, Carpenter was better than ever, and this surge was even more shocking considering he’d hit .186 with four homers and 21 RBI in 50 games in 2020 and then .169 with three homers and 21 RBI in 130 games in 2021. He was great in the room, too. He asked for the contract details, which are $12 million for two years with an opt out for 2024.