Matt Carpenter feels he had a good season with the Yankees despite his injury. However, at 36, the designated hitter, who wants to remain in New York, is unsure of what his future holds for him next season. He becomes a free agent this offseason.
Matt Carpenter was shocked to see his team lose the ALCS. Greg Joyce of the New York Post reported that he was still sitting at his locker 20 minutes after Game 4 ended with the Yankees’ eliminated from the ALCS on Sunday night before departing the clubhouse.
Joyce found that the limp he had been trying to hide for the past few weeks was back in full force. It was a painful reminder of the broken left foot he had rushed back from to make the playoff roster, but either the injury or the two-month break from it took away the magic he had given the Yankees earlier in the season.
When asked about how much pain he was in, Matt Carpenter replied, “Yeah, it’s not great, I wouldn’t have missed it, though.”
Matt Carpenter went 1 for 12 and struck out nine times in six playoff games. In the ALDS, manager Aaron Boone only used him as a pinch hitter. In the ALCS, Giancarlo Stanton played left field, and Carpenter started two games at DH.
When he broke his foot on August 8 from a foul ball, he was hitting .305 with 15 home runs and a 1.138 OPS in 47 games. He was told he would be out for six to eight weeks and promised to come back. He did what he said he would do, but his offensive work did not come back to him.
“Obviously, I was pressed for time, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way,” said Matt Carpenter, who spent the last days of this season recuperating at Somerset, N.J. He practiced live at-bats against largely minor-league pitchers. He told Joyce:
“I wanted to be back and find a way to get on the field with these guys and be a part of this postseason. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to perform like I would hope.”
Matt Carpenter also said that he didn’t think his foot would need surgery if he took a normal two months off from hitting.
The 36-year-old showed that he still had more to give when he got a second chance during the regular season. Now that he is a free agent, he could be an interesting left-handed bat, and the Yankees might even think about bringing him back.
“Playing for the Yankees is the dream of every 12-year-old,” according to Carpenter, who started games in right field, left field, first base, and third base this season. He told the reporter that he was also open to a reunion.
“I definitely want to play. I feel like I’ve got more to give and I want to keep playing. So hopefully there’ll be an opportunity somewhere.”
Matt Carpenter spent the last offseason changing his left-handed swing and was a free agent until March when he signed a minor league deal with the Rangers. This offseason should be very different. By May, he was still not getting a chance to play in the big leagues with the Rangers, so he got out of his contract and joined the Yankees.
What do you foresee about the future of Matt Carpenter?
