If there were a crater at first base, where he was essentially replacing no one, he’s still the kind of player who can transform a roster.
That impact is felt even further when the team already has an excellent first baseman.
In 2018, Matt Carpenter was inside the top 20 position players in Major League Baseball, by fWAR. He was inside the top 10 in the National League.
Acquiring someone who creates a situation where you need to shift a player coming off of a 5-WAR season to another position is pretty impactful.
Moreover, it shores up another important position across the diamond—one that’s also had trouble finding a mainstay since it was last manned by an elite player.