Cardinals sign former All-Star to bring leadership, accountability back to the clubhouse

The St. Louis Cardinals have taken every available opportunity this winter to press their desire for an improved culture and returning to a tradition of winning. Their actions on Friday are another firm, if shocking, leap in that direction.

Matt Carpenter, a three-time All-Star, two-time top 10 finisher for the National League most valuable player award, and eventual Cardinals Hall of Famer, signed a contract for the 2024 season, the team announced.

“As we were looking at our club right now, we definitely wanted to try to find somebody with some experience,” president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said. “He’s been through some things, and in speaking with Oli [Marmol] and his group, we thought this would be a pretty good fit.”

“I’ve got a lot of emotions right now,” Carpenter said. “I feel like I’m coming home to a great family.”

Carpenter, 38, played last season in San Diego, where he posted a .176/.322/.319 batting line and hit five home runs in 76 games played. The Padres traded him this winter to Atlanta, alongside reliever Ray Kerr, primarily for salary relief. The Braves then released Carpenter, making him a free agent.

The Cardinals will be responsible for the major league minimum portion of his $5.5 million salary, the rest of which will be paid by Atlanta.

In 2020 and 2021, his last two seasons in St. Louis, Carpenter struggled. He hit just .176 with seven home runs and 125 strikeouts in 347 at bats before leaving in free agency to the New York Yankees, where had a resurgent campaign in 2022 in part thanks to Yankee Stadium’s very-left-handed-hitter-friendly dimensions.

“When you think of players that helped shape our success in the 2000s, Matt Carpenter’s name is one that is synonymous with winning,” Mozeliak added in a press release. “Matt showed from the very beginning of his career how hard work and determination can lead to success, and we are excited to have his leadership and experience back in a Cardinals uniform.”

Carpenter joins Lance Lynn as members of the 2011 World Series champion and 2013 pennant winning clubs to rejoin the organization as players this winter.

“The conversations that are taking place from a culture standpoint and expectations has been a lot of fun to be a part of,” Marmol said Monday of his team’s offseason. “It’s real. I think it’s sustainable. I’ve been highly encouraged by our offseason.”

Marmol was also, two weeks ago, pictured alongside Carpenter and other Cardinals alumni in attendance at the wedding of Orioles prospect Jackson Holliday, who is the son of Cardinals Hall of Famer and brief bench coach Matt Holliday. The relationship between Carpenter and Marmol stretches back through the decades, as they were each other’s first minor league roommates after having been assigned to the same affiliate following the MLB draft.

Marmol was not immediately available for a comment on the signing.

“At this point in my career, I just really know who I am,” Carpenter said. “I know what I am as a player, what I bring to a team, what I bring to a clubhouse, and I don’t shy away from that.

“If there’s something that looks like it’s all out of whack and needs to be addressed, I’m not afraid to have those conversations and do it in a way that is respectful to the guys and hopefully they appreciate it.”

From a roster perspective, the addition of Carpenter creates an additional complication on the infield. With Iván Herrera set as the backup catcher, the necessity of carrying players capable of backing up in the middle infield, and Dylan Carlson’s positioning as the fourth outfielder, slots on the bench are slim. Carpenter’s presence should provide direct competition to Alec Burleson’s spot as the team’s primary left-handed pinch hitter and substitute.

Mozeliak said Friday that he could envision a roster which includes both Burleson and Carpenter, citing the team’s flexibility among its middle infielders. He also said that ongoing injury recovery by Brendan Donovan and Tommy Edman did not play a role in the decision to bring Carpenter aboard.

In the clubhouse, however, is seemingly where the Cardinals are counting on Carpenter to have his most pronounced impact.

“”I think part of it is leadership by example,” Mozeliak said about Carpenter’s off-field appeal. “But I also think part of it is the ability to speak up when you see something. Last year, I think a lot of that was falling on [Paul Goldschmidt] and I just think that’s pretty demanding.”

Both Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, the team’s anchors at the corner infield spots, expressed concerns in end of year interviews about the volume of leadership they were asked to carry in a dismal 2023, Mozeliak explained.

“I feel like last year, those two guys were kind of left with having to pick up the lion’s share of this,” he said. “Being able to spread [that] out was something that I think was important.”

Mozeliak would not go so far as to say Arenado and Goldschmidt requested the return of Carpenter specifically, but did say both expressed a desire for additions with “a Carp type of mindset and experience.”

That target, then, was relatively simple to identify.

“When you get to this point in your career, it’s really special to be able to instill and spend time with some of these younger players that you were once there and in their shoes,” Carpenter said. “If the conversations that I have with these guys, if it helps speed up that learning curve that I went through, to me that’s worth it.”