New York Yankees infielder Matt Carpenter is serving as the designated hitter and is batting leadoff on Thursday in Game 1 of a doubleheader against Los Angeles Angels right-hander Shohei Ohtani. Carpenter has some sleeper appeal in DFS out of the leadoff spot, but the matchup against Ohtani isn't an ideal one. The 36-year-old veteran only has 16 plate appearances for the Yankees this year in five games, and he's gone 2-for-13 with five strikeouts. However, both of his hits were home runs, making him an all-or-nothing DFS sleeper in the first game of New York's double-dip on Thursday.

The New York Yankees have signed infielder Matt Carpenter to a one-year deal. He will be part of the team's active roster for Thursday night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. Carpenter was released by the Texas Rangers a week ago, despite putting together some nice stats at the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock this year. Over 21 games, he slashed .275/.379/.613 with six home runs, 19 RBI and 15 runs. The 36-year-old veteran could have a chance to carve out a utility role with the Yankees if he's able to produce at the plate.

The Texas Rangers released infielder Matt Carpenter from his minor league deal on Thursday. The 36-year-old had been putting together a nice year at Triple-A. Over 21 games, he slashed .275/.379/.613 with six home runs, 19 RBI and 15 runs. Carpenter spent the entirety of his MLB career with the St. Louis Cardinals prior to this season. Last year, he struggled immensely at the plate, slashing .169/.305/.275 with just three home runs over 130 games. We'll see if another team is willing to take a chance on the three-time All-Star.

Free-agent infielder Matt Carpenter agreed to a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers on Friday, according to a source. Carpenter had offers for a major league deal from at least one other team, but he decided to bet on himself for a chance to play at home. Carpenter lives in Fort Worth, Texas, and will try to revitalize his career with the Rangers. The 36-year-old is a three-time All-Star, but he dropped off a cliff offensively with the St. Louis Cardinals in recent seasons. In 130 games in 2021, he hit just .169/.305/.275 with three homers, 21 RBI and 77 strikeouts in 249 plate appearances. Carpenter has been working all offseason to retool the mechanics of his swing, and it will be interesting to see if he can make a triumphant return to the big leagues. If he earns his way into regular playing time at third base, he could be worth a look in mixed leagues in 2022.

Free-agent third baseman Matt Carpenter reached out to his old rival from the National League Central, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, on ways to fix his swing late in his career. The 36-year-old Carpenter's decline has been steep in recent years. He hit 36 home runs and finished ninth in the NL MVP voting in 2018, but he regressed in 2019 and then "basically fell off a cliff." Carpenter became a bench player the last two years by hitting .176 with seven home runs and a .605 OPS. He has been traveling the country this offseason in an effort to fix his swing as he looks for a new team. Analytical data proved that Carpenter's swing mechanics had broken down, and he has also switched to a new bat. After all the work he's put in trying to fix his swing this offseason, Carpenter said he's "more confident about where I'm at and where my swing is than I have been in years, maybe ever."

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter and pitcher Carlos Martinez each had their options declined by the club. This was a foregone conclusion in each case, as Carpenter has slashed just .176/.313/.291 with a 29.9 percent strikeout rate since the start of 2020, and Martinez was responsible for a 6.95 ERA in the same time frame. They will be paid buyouts of $2 million and $500 thousand dollars, respectively. While it's likely that each will latch on somewhere in 2022, neither needs to be drafted by fantasy managers to start the season regardless of where they end up.

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter said that he would like to continue his playing career into the 2022 season. The 35-year-old versatile infielder has struggled for several years now, putting up a disappointing .204/.325/.348 line since the start of the 2019 season. The Cardinals have an $18.5 million option on Carpenter for next year, which they should easily decline (instead paying his $2 million buyout). Carpenter could find another team to play for next year, but he hasn't been worth starting in any fantasy formats for a while now.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alcides Escobar homered in the eighth inning and hit a winning single in the ninth Sunday as the Washington Nationals wrapped up a disturbing weekend with an 8-7 win over the San Diego Padres. A day after the game was suspended in the sixth inning because of a shooting outside Nationals Park, the Padres completed a 10-4 victory. Washington then came back to end a six-game losing streak. Tres Barrera singled off Mark Melancon (2-2) with one out in the ninth and, after failing on a bunt attempt, Victor Robles was hit by pitch. Escobar hit a flyball that center fielder Trent Grisham couldn’t corral and Barrera scored. Brad Hand (5-2) earned the victory. Juan Soto joined Josh Harrison with three hits and added a two-run homer. Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer and Jackson Profar homered for the Padres. Nationals ace Max Scherzer allowed four runs on four hits in seven innings. He struck out eight. In the completion of Saturday's suspended game, Fernando Tatis Jr. had his third four-hit... [More]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alcides Escobar homered in the eighth inning and hit a winning single in the ninth Sunday as the Washington Nationals wrapped up a disturbing weekend with an 8-7 win over the San Diego Padres. A day after the game was suspended in the sixth inning because of a shooting outside Nationals Park, the Padres completed a 10-4 victory. Washington then came back to end a six-game losing streak. Tres Barrera singled off Mark Melancon (2-2) with one out in the ninth and, after failing on a bunt attempt, Victor Robles was hit by pitch. Escobar hit a flyball that center fielder Trent Grisham couldn’t corral and Barrera scored. Brad Hand (5-2) earned the victory. Juan Soto joined Josh Harrison with three hits and added a two-run homer. Manny Machado, Eric Hosmer and Jackson Profar homered for the Padres. Nationals ace Max Scherzer allowed four runs on four hits in seven innings. He struck out eight. In the completion of Saturday's suspended game, Fernando Tatis Jr. had his third four-hit... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso broke a seventh-inning tie with a two-run double off All-Star Brandon Woodruff, and the New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Monday night in a matchup of National League division leaders. Edwin Díaz pitched out of trouble in the ninth, retiring three straight batters with two on after giving up an RBI single to Tyrone Taylor. Michael Conforto added an RBI single and Dominic Smith had a sacrifice fly for the Mets, who managed only one hit against an efficient Woodruff (7-4) through six innings. Omar Narváez homered for the Brewers, who won 11 straight before a 2-0 loss Sunday in Pittsburgh. Seth Lugo (2-1) struck out two in a perfect seventh, and Díaz earned his 18th save in 19 opportunities. Woodruff (7-4) allowed four hits, four earned runs, with six strikeouts and a walk in 6 1/3 innings. RED SOX 5, ANGELS 4 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rafael Devers hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs, and Boston retired Shohei Ohtani on a grounder to right field... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso broke a seventh-inning tie with a two-run double off All-Star Brandon Woodruff, and the New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Monday night in a matchup of National League division leaders. Edwin Díaz pitched out of trouble in the ninth, retiring three straight batters with two on after giving up an RBI single to Tyrone Taylor. Michael Conforto added an RBI single and Dominic Smith had a sacrifice fly for the Mets, who managed only one hit against an efficient Woodruff (7-4) through six innings. Omar Narváez homered for the Brewers, who won 11 straight before a 2-0 loss Sunday in Pittsburgh. Seth Lugo (2-1) struck out two in a perfect seventh, and Díaz earned his 18th save in 19 opportunities. Woodruff (7-4) allowed four hits, four earned runs, with six strikeouts and a walk in 6 1/3 innings. RED SOX 5, ANGELS 4 LOS ANGELES (AP) — Rafael Devers hit a two-run homer and drove in three runs, and Boston retired Shohei Ohtani on a grounder to right field... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso broke a seventh-inning tie with a two-run double off All-Star Brandon Woodruff, and the New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Monday night in a matchup of National League division leaders. Edwin Díaz pitched out of trouble in the ninth, retiring three straight batters with two on after giving up an RBI single to Tyrone Taylor. Michael Conforto added an RBI single and Dominic Smith had a sacrifice fly for the Mets, who managed only one hit against an efficient Woodruff (7-4) through six innings. Omar Narváez homered for the Brewers, who won 11 straight before a 2-0 loss Sunday in Pittsburgh. Seth Lugo (2-1) struck out two in a perfect seventh, and Díaz earned his 18th save in 19 opportunities. Woodruff (7-4) allowed four hits, four earned runs, with six strikeouts and a walk in 6 1/3 innings. CARDINALS 5, GIANTS 3 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Kwang Hyun Kim pitched seven scoreless innings, Matt Carpenter hit a two-run triple in the seventh for the first runs... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso broke a seventh-inning tie with a two-run double off All-Star Brandon Woodruff, and the New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Monday night in a matchup of National League division leaders. Edwin Díaz pitched out of trouble in the ninth, retiring three straight batters with two on after giving up an RBI single to Tyrone Taylor. Michael Conforto added an RBI single and Dominic Smith had a sacrifice fly for the Mets, who managed only one hit against an efficient Woodruff (7-4) through six innings. Omar Narváez homered for the Brewers, who won 11 straight before a 2-0 loss Sunday in Pittsburgh. Seth Lugo (2-1) struck out two in a perfect seventh, and Díaz earned his 18th save in 19 opportunities. Woodruff (7-4) allowed four hits, four earned runs, with six strikeouts and a walk in 6 1/3 innings. CARDINALS 5, GIANTS 3 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Kwang Hyun Kim pitched seven scoreless innings, Matt Carpenter hit a two-run triple in the seventh for the first runs... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso broke a seventh-inning tie with a two-run double off All-Star Brandon Woodruff, and the New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Monday night in a matchup of National League division leaders. Edwin Díaz pitched out of trouble in the ninth, retiring three straight batters with two on after giving up an RBI single to Tyrone Taylor. Michael Conforto added an RBI single and Dominic Smith had a sacrifice fly for the Mets, who managed only one hit against an efficient Woodruff (7-4) through six innings. Omar Narváez homered for the Brewers, who won 11 straight before a 2-0 loss Sunday in Pittsburgh. Seth Lugo (2-1) struck out two in a perfect seventh, and Díaz earned his 18th save in 19 opportunities. Woodruff (7-4) allowed four hits, four earned runs, with six strikeouts and a walk in 6 1/3 innings. CARDINALS 5, GIANTS 3 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Kwang Hyun Kim pitched seven scoreless innings, Matt Carpenter hit a two-run triple in the seventh for the first runs... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Pete Alonso broke a seventh-inning tie with a two-run double off All-Star Brandon Woodruff, and the New York Mets beat the Milwaukee Brewers 4-2 on Monday night in a matchup of National League division leaders. Edwin Díaz pitched out of trouble in the ninth, retiring three straight batters with two on after giving up an RBI single to Tyrone Taylor. Michael Conforto added an RBI single and Dominic Smith had a sacrifice fly for the Mets, who managed only one hit against an efficient Woodruff (7-4) through six innings. Omar Narváez homered for the Brewers, who won 11 straight before a 2-0 loss Sunday in Pittsburgh. Seth Lugo (2-1) struck out two in a perfect seventh, and Díaz earned his 18th save in 19 opportunities. Woodruff (7-4) allowed four hits, four earned runs, with six strikeouts and a walk in 6 1/3 innings. CARDINALS 5, GIANTS 3 SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Kwang Hyun Kim pitched seven scoreless innings, Matt Carpenter hit a two-run triple in the seventh for the first runs... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco right-hander Kevin Gausman had his no-hit bid ended by St. Louis slugger Nolan Arenado's one-out single to left on Monday. Gausman — named an All-Star on Sunday — issued a one-out walk to Paul Goldschmidt in the first and didn’t allow another baserunner until Matt Carpenter walked with one out in the fifth. Gausman turned an inning-ending double play getting Harrison Bader to fly out and Carpenter was caught off first. Third baseman Wilmer Flores made a nifty diving stop of Edmundo Sosa’s hard grounder to start the sixth and fired to first to catch the speedy runner. Arenado's hit started a two-run rally in what had been a scoreless game. After Yadier Molina struck out, Tommy Edman singled before Carpenter's RBI triple. Gausman began the day with a 1.68 ERA, the lowest through 16 starts of any Giants pitcher since the team moved West in 1958. There have been seven no-hitters in the majors this season, matching the mark for most in a season since 1900.... [More]

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco right-hander Kevin Gausman hasn't allowed a hit through six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals on Monday, closing in on what would be the record-tying eighth no-hitter in the majors this season. Gausman — named an All-Star on Sunday — issued a one-out walk to Paul Goldschmidt in the first and didn’t allow another baserunner until Matt Carpenter walked with one out in the fifth. Gausman turned an inning-ending double play getting Harrison Bader to fly out and Carpenter was caught off first. Third baseman Wilmer Flores made a nifty diving stop of Edmundo Sosa’s hard grounder to start the sixth and fired to first to catch the speedy runner. Gausman began the day with a 1.68 ERA, the lowest through 16 starts of any Giants pitcher since the team moved West in 1958. The Chicago Cubs’ combined no-hitter against the Los Angeles Dodgers on June 24 was the seventh in the big leagues this season, matching the mark for most in a season since 1900. The record... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Braves starter Charlie Morton lost his no-hit bid with one out in the seventh inning when Paul Goldschmidt singled for the St. Louis Cardinals. Morton hit Matt Carpenter with a pitch in the third inning Thursday night and also drilled Dylan Carlson in the fourth, the only baserunners he allowed before Goldschmidt ripped a full-count sinker, the 10th pitch of his at-bat. The 37-year-old Morton entered the seventh with six strikeouts and 72 pitches thrown. St. Louis starter John Gant didn't allow a hit until Ronald Acuña Jr. singled to open the fourth. Freddie Freeman followed with a single, but the inning ended when Austin Riley lined out to third. Morton entered 2-12 with a 5.68 ERA in 18 career starts against St. Louis. The two-time All-Star signed a $15 million, one-year deal with Atlanta this winter after helping Tampa Bay win the AL pennant in 2020. Plagued often by big innings this year, Morton was steady with a fastball up to 96 mph, mixing in plenty of curves and cutters,... [More]

ATLANTA (AP) — Braves starter Charlie Morton has not allowed a hit through six innings against the St. Louis Cardinals. Morton hit Matt Carpenter with a pitch in the third inning Thursday night and also drilled Dylan Carlson in the fourth, the only baserunners he's allowed. The 37-year-old right-hander has struck out six and thrown 72 pitches. St. Louis starter John Gant didn't allow a hit until Ronald Acuña Jr. singled to open the fourth. Freddie Freeman followed with a single, but the inning ended when Austin Riley lined out to third. Morton entered 2-12 with a 5.68 ERA in 18 career starts against St. Louis. Plagued often by big innings this year, Morton has been steady with a fastball up to 96 mph, mixing in plenty of curves and cutters, too. The Braves led 2-0 on Guillermo Heredia's third homer in the fifth and Ozzie Albies' RBI triple in the sixth. There have been six no-hitters already this season, and a seventh would match 1990, 1991, 2012 and 2015 for the most since 1900, one shy... [More]

NEW YORK (AP) — Jacob deGrom was pulled from a second straight start with an arm injury, this time leaving after three perfect innings with right shoulder soreness, but the New York Mets bullpen stepped up to finish a three-hitter in a 6-3 win over the Chicago Cubs on Wednesday night. One start after being pulled from a gem against San Diego with flexor tendinitis in his right arm, deGrom went directly down the clubhouse tunnel after finishing the third against the Cubs. DeGrom said initial tests ruled out a serious issue, but he planned to get imaging and more observation Thursday. The right-hander struck out eight of the nine batters he faced and lowered his ERA to 0.54. Sean Reid-Foley (2-0) relieved deGrom and allowed one run over two innings. Anthony Rizzo ended the bid for a combined perfect game or no-hitter by homering with one out in the fourth. Kevin Pillar opened the scoring with an RBI double off Robert Stock (0-1) in the second and homered in the fifth. GIANTS 13, DIAMONDBACKS... [More]