St. Louis Cardinals great Matt Carpenter is retiring from baseball after 14 seasons. The Cardinals confirmed the news, thanking Carpenter for his contributions to the franchise.
Carpenter made the announcement during a podcast appearance with former teammate Scott Linebrink.
Carpenter spent 14 seasons in the majors, 12 of which came with the Cardinals. After being drafted by the team in the 13th round of the 2009 MLB Draft, Carpenter reached the majors in 2011, getting just 19 plate appearances. At 25, he was considered old for a player making his major-league debut. Expectations for Carpenter’s career were muted due to his age and minor-league production.
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He opened the 2012 season with the club and proceeded to prove all the doubters wrong, hitting .296/.365/.463 as a rookie, earning him a sixth-place finish in the National League Rookie of the Year voting. He followed that up with his best year in the majors. Carpenter hit .318/.392/.481 in 2013. That performance netted Carpenter his first of three All-Star appearances. He finished fourth in MVP voting that season.
From 2012-18, Carpenter was a mainstay in the Cardinals’ lineup. He hit .275/.377/.471 over that period, good for a 131 OPS+. He was a true utility man, playing nearly every infield position and even appearing in the outfield early in his career.
Carpenter’s numbers dropped in his final three years in St. Louis, prompting him to leave the franchise after the 2021 season. He joined the New York Yankees on a one-year deal and experienced a resurgence in a part-time role, hitting .305/.412/.727 over 154 plate appearances.
He spent the 2023 season with the San Diego Padres, though failed to build on his Yankees success. To finish out his career, Carpenter signed a one-year deal to return to the Cardinals in 2024. He hit .234/.314/.372 in his final season.
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Carpenter, 39, said he was open to continuing his playing career last September. No job materialized, leading to Carpenter’s retirement Wednesday.
Carpenter leaves the game as one of the biggest development wins in recent Cardinals memory. Carpenter was always an underdog and never appeared on top prospect lists. Despite that, he turned in a strong major-league career, one that saw him receive MVP votes in two separate seasons and take home one Silver Slugger award.
Carpenter will go down as one of the Cardinals’ best players of his era, a grinder who defied the odds and exceeded all expectations in the majors.
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