Every year, or at least every year since 2012, we’ve taken some time after the season was over to look at the past 162 games through the lens of the players that played them (and the management that was in charge of them). Last year, the Exit Interview series spent less time digging into splits and finding numerical oddities and more time reflecting on the player and their season. It was a style that seemed to work so we’re going to bring it back again this year. The legendary cardinalsgifs is back to bring us excellent series art, so it’s all downhill after you see that!
Player: Matt Carpenter
Stats: 59 G, 157 PA, 15 R, 7 2B, 4 HR, 15 RBI, 2 CS, .234/.314/.372, -0.1 bWAR
Statcast: 6.8% barrel, 46.6% sweet spot, 106.5 max exit velocity, .303 wOBA, .292 xwOBA, 32.5 K%, 9.6 BB%
Grade: C
When Carpenter was brought in, there was a lot of concern that the club would overuse him. We have seen that before, of course, and some past administrations might have had Carpenter start 70 games and bat higher than he should in most of them. Instead, he started just 38 games, a more appropriate number for a player at this stage of a career. Carpenter had a few fun moments and didn’t humiliate himself even if he wasn’t exactly the strongest bench bat in the league. He still had a little power, though his home runs usually didn’t make a difference in a game. Overall, if he wasn’t Matt Carpenter and didn’t have the connections to the team, the club probably wouldn’t have bothered bringing him in.
However, they did and it also seems to have been a chance for Marp to start transitioning into his post-playing career, coaching. He was a voice in the clubhouse that many listened to and he was credited with helping Alec Burleson make the adjustments that led to his strong season. We know that Carpenter has hosted people at his ranch for hitting tips in past winters and it seems pretty clear that, at some point, he’ll be a hitting instructor or coach for someone, likely St. Louis.
What’s in store for 2025: Carpenter has said that he’d be up for playing again next year. If he returns to St. Louis, you would expect a lot of the expectations would be more on the coaching and development side rather than any sort of offensive punch. Given that the main focus of the organization isn’t going to be the major league team, there’s a case to be made for letting him return in a similar role next year. I wouldn’t expect there would be a lot of other opportunities for him to be on an active roster around MLB.
