On Monday afternoon the St. Louis Cardinals signed third baseman Matt Carpenter to a two-year contract extension worth $39 million with a vesting option for 2022. The vesting option is worth $18.5 million. The $18.5 million was the option on Carpenter's six-year contract worth $52 million that he signed on March 6, 2014. It vests if Carpenter reaches 1,100 plate appearances over the first two seasons. Carpenter, 33, has been with the Cardinals since 2011.Overall, Carpenter has played 9 in the in the MLB. He's played 1,031 games with 660 runs, 1,007 hits, 268 doubles, 25 triples, 134 home runs, 488 rbi's, 19 stolen bases, 585 walks, and a .273 batting average. Carpenter has been an All-Star three times (2013, 2014, 2016). Carpenter won a Silver Slugger Award in 2013. In 2013, Carpenter had a career best .318 batting average with a career high 126 runs scored, a career high 199 hits, and a career high 55 doubles. Before that happened, Carpenter had 55 doubles, the most by a left-handed hitter in franchise history belonged to Stan Musial from 1953 with 53 doubles. Last season Carpenter his a career high 36 home runs, with 81 rbi's.
An interesting thing about Matt Carpenter is that he's one of the best leadoff hitters in the MLB and he doesn't have speed. Coming into the 2019 season, since 2016 Carpenter's OBP (on base percentage) is .382. That OBP ranks 13th best. Since Carpenter started leading off full-time in 2013, has a .391 OBP. His slugging percentage is .486. He has a OPS of .877.
Carpenter has made a nice career since being drafted by the Cardinals in the 13th round of the June draft in 2009. Not many late round draft picks do well. It's a win for both sides to keep Carpenter around. Carpenter loves St. Louis and loves putting on the Cardinals uniform. He can retire as a Cardinal. This also gives time for prospects to develop in the Cardinals minors (Nolan Gorman, Elehuris Montero, Malcom Nunez).
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