Matt Carpenter ditches Yankees, signs with Padres

The Padres made it public on Tuesday that free agent Matt Carpenter has agreed to join them for the 2023 season. The one-year contract also gives ex-Yankees third baseman an option to stay in 2024. The free agent was in talks with the Yankees but pivoted to San Diego.

Matt Carpenter is set to get a $3 million signing bonus and a $3.5 million salary for the 2023 season. He will also have to decide next winter whether to take the $5.5 million player option. He can get a bonus of up to $500,000 if he is able to have between 300 and 550 plate appearances in each of the two seasons of the contract.

Matt Carpenter, who is 37, gave his career a new boost by hitting 15 home runs in 47 games for the New York Yankees last season. However, he broke his left foot in early August, which put a break on it. Carpenter was hurt and missed the rest of the regular season but came back for the playoffs.

The 12-year veteran played most of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals. He joined the Rangers for 2022 spring training but for a minor league deal. After the MLB season began, Matt Carpenter signed with the New York Yankees. In July, the batter found his hitting groove with nine home runs and a batting average of .356. This helped the Yankees build a big lead in their division.

Why Matt Carpenter didn’t prefer the Yankees

The New York Post’s Dan Martin had earlier claimed that “the Yankees and 37-year-old Matt Carpenter talked about a reunion, but with Anthony Rizzo at first base and Giancarlo Stanton at DH, there was no clear spot on the roster.”

Matt Carpenter could be a super utility player for the Padres, since he could play first base, second base, and left field. His defensive versatility is also an asset. If needed, he can play in any position. The Padres can assign him wide varieties of roles. But Carpenter might play more games in San Diego than in New York. He may have been brought back by the Yankees so that he could bat off the bench.

In his career, Matt Carpenter has hit .263 with an OPS of .825. Carpenter had the best rate of hitting in baseball in 2022. He had the best slugging percentage, isolated power, and wRC+ (217) of any player in baseball. Only Aaron Judge had a better on-base percentage, and his batting average was the 12th-best in the MLB.

Do you think the Yankees were right in letting Matt Carpenter go? Leave your comment below.