ST. LOUIS (KMOX)- Less than 12 hours after the Cardinals freed up a roster spot on the 40-man roster, it has been filled, but this time a familiar face is back on the club.
The Cardinals announced Friday the team has brought back Matt Carpenter on a one-year deal. According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal the deal will be for the league minimum value of $740,000.
Carpenter played for the Cardinals from 2011-2021, making three All-Star appearances with the club and winning a Silver Slugger Award.
Carpenter played last season with the San Diego Padres, where he was rather uninspiring, hitting a .176/.322/.319 slash line, smashing only five home runs and 31 RBIs in 76 games for the Padres.
Carpenter was dealt to the Atlanta Braves in a de-facto salary dump deal on Dec. 15, but was designated for assignment three days later. The Braves and Padres will still pay the remaining $5.5 million that was left in the two-year, $12 million deal he signed with the Padres in Dec. 2022.
Carpenter return is a really low-risk move by the Cardinals, since he is only getting paid the league minimum with the club. But at first glance, it does seem like Carpenter will compete with Alec Burleson as the left-handed batter on the bench for 2024.
While Carpenter was rather ineffective last year for the Padres, he still showed he could hit lefties, hitting a .940 OPS in a rather miniscule 18 games he faced against left-handed pitchers in 2023.
Burleson made the 2023 Opening Day roster and faced some early troubles last year, hitting a pedestrian .650 OPS in the first half of 2023. But he showed his talent and potential in the second half, hitting a respectable .742 OPS in the 47 games.
The 2023-24 offseason has been defined by the Cardinals adding pitching and along that, bringing back familiar faces to the club. Longtime catcher Yadier Molina returned to the club as a special advisor with potential opportunities to be in uniform during games, fan-favorite infielder Daniel Descalso also returned, but on the coaching staff as the club's newest bench coach. Along that, they team brought back Lance Lynn on a one-year deal with a 2025 club option.
The Cardinals have made it open about their need to bring in veterans that could bring an 'edge and accountability' to a clubhouse that felt like it didn't have last year. Cardinals manager Oli Marmol discussed the need for more veteran clubhouse presence when he spoke to KMOX about the signings of Lynn and Mizzou-made Kyle Gibson.
"One of the things that it's really hard to measure in this game is the combination of personalities you put together in the clubhouse and both of these guys both know what it's look like to win," said Marmol. "Although they are different personalities, they bring something to that clubhouse. There's an edge and accountability to what they bring, but also the know how."
Cardinals President of Baseball Operations John Mozeliak echoed that sentiment when he spoke to the media about the signing on Zoom Friday afternoon, saying it felt too much a burden that younger players were falling too much on Paul Goldschmidt.
"I think part of it is leadership by example," Mozeliak said on Zoom. "But I also think part of it is the ability to speak up when you see something."
"Also talking with Marmol was part of that, and when you have people that are advocating for you to be on this club, that's helpful. I do think a lot of what they were telling me makes a lot of sense, and trying to address it, so I'm hoping it works and hoping he can be successful in the clubhouse and on the field."