Last year, the St. Louis Cardinals had one of their worst seasons in recent years. Finishing the year with just 71 wins, the team fell short of making the playoffs for the first time in five years. This resulted in many offseason moves, one of which was the signing of Matt Carpenter.
A familiar face within the franchise, Carpenter agreed to a one-year deal with the team this 2024. The former Silver Slugger played with the Cardinals for 11 years before stints with the New York Yankees and the San Diego Padres in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
Now back with his old team, Carpenter will be providing a veteran presence to the Cardinals, and he has Paul Goldschmidt to thank for that. In a recent interview, Goldschmidt revealed that he pushed for Carpenter's offseason signing.
“I’ll be honest, I pushed for Carp — when he was a free agent — for him to come back,” Goldschmidt said, via MLB's John Denton. “I saw the impact he can have on the field and off it. The best teams always have players like him because they make the players around them better. That can’t always be measured in the stats. I’ll really rely on him a lot and ask what he sees with my swing.”
His stats may not be like they used to be back in the day, but a three-time All-Star like Matt Carpenter still carries value in other ways. He was there during St. Louis' contending seasons a little over a decade ago. Maybe he can bring a bit of that old culture back to the Cardinals.
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