Matt Carpenter has been one of the best comeback stories of the MLB season with the New York Yankees this year, but now his season may be over because of an injury. Carpenter fouled a pitch off his left foot during Monday’s series opener with the Seattle Mariners (GameTracker) and suffered a fracture, the team announced.
Here’s the injury. Carpenter stayed in to finish the at-bat, then was replaced for his next at-bat (he was the DH):
The Yankees have not yet announced a timetable for Carpenter’s return but other players have missed 6-8 weeks with similar injuries. Los Angeles Dodgers super utility man Chris Taylor fractured his foot on July 2 and returned to the lineup Aug. 5.
Carpenter, 36, took a .307/.414/.732 batting line with 15 home runs in 46 games into Monday’s game. He hit .176/.313/.291 with the St. Louis Cardinals from 2020-21, but remade his swing over the winter, started this season in Triple-A with the Texas Rangers, got released in May, and then the Yankees signed him on May 26. Carpenter hasn’t stopped hitting since.
The injury comes at a bad time for the Yankees, who have lost 16 of their last 25 games heading into Monday. Giancarlo Stanton is on the injured list with Achilles tendinitis and is still a few weeks away from returning. Also, Anthony Rizzo is day-to-day with a back issue. Add in Carpenter’s injury and the Yankees are now without their three best non-Aaron Judge power hitters.
There are roughly eight weeks left in the regular season, so if 6-8 weeks is Carpenter’s timetable, it’s possible he won’t return until right before the postseason. Despite their recent slide, the Yankees are still in good position to secure a Wild Card Series bye, which would give Carpenter an extra week to heal prior to the ALDS.
KVSP