The depleted Yankees took a slightly different approach than usual to fill a roster vacancy, signing free agent infielder Matt Carpenter to a direct major-league deal and adding him to the roster prior to Thursday’s game against the Rays.
Slightly different, although not a knee-jerk move for the Yankees.
“He’s been on our radar now for a few weeks; he had an opt-out with the Rangers that he used, and he was really playing well in Triple-A,” manager Aaron Boone said prior to Thursday’s game. “We had interest in him as a lefty bat off the bench, maybe a pinch-hit bat, and there’s a fit with us a little banged up right now.”
Due to injuries – COVID IL and otherwise – over the last week or so, the Yankees have cycled through almost every position player available on their 40-man roster (and even one who wasn’t in catcher Rob Brantly, now back in Triple-A after clearing waivers Thursday).
However, with Josh Donaldson on the COVID IL still and DJ LeMahieu battling a balky wrist, Marwin Gonzalez was set to start at third base for the fourth consecutive game, and the Yankees’ lone available backup infielder in that case is Miguel Andujar, who has been starting in left field.
Rather than recall Oswald Peraza or Oswaldo Cabrera to make their eventual MLB debuts, the Yankees decided to roll the dice on Carpenter, who opted out of his MiLB deal with the Rangers last week after hitting .275 with six homers, 19 RBI, 13 extra-base hits, 14 walks, and 15 runs scored in 21 Triple-A games.
Carpenter was playing mostly first base in Triple-A, but with his most major-league experience at third and copious time at second as well, Boone believes he can deploy Carpenter wherever needed until LeMahieu and Donaldson find their way back.
“This was kind of in the works for the last few days, even pre-DJ and G(iancarlo Stanton) going down,” Boone said. “This made it more of a clear path, but it was in the works.”
That came to fruition immediately on Thursday, when Aaron Hicks was a late scratch due to hamstring tightness, pushing Aaron Judge from the DH spot out to center field and getting Carpenter in the lineup as the designated hitter.
A better role than the one Carpenter quipped in the clubhouse when asked about his role, where he said: “If they want me to load the bags on the plane, I’ll do it.”
When it comes to Yankees injuries, the team will hopefully have an update on Hicks postgame, and it’s already known that the team is hopeful LeMahieu – who had a cortisone shot earlier this week after an MRI revealed nothing structural – can be a player sometime this weekend, and Stanton, whose issue is ankle inflammation and not a calf strain according to his MRI Wednesday, won’t be out much longer than his 10-day IL stint.
Donaldson, meanwhile, is still testing negative for COVID and feels better after receiving IV fluids Wednesday, Boone said, but he still has a cough, and the team is still working through a plan for his eventual activation.
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