As someone who feels like the only Matt Carpenter fan left, I both feel obligated to write this and am seriously dreading the snark my title will bring. Have no fear, everyone else: Matt Carpenter is guaranteed to not have his option vest for next year. That was already true by the way. But it’s really true now. Best case scenario for Carpenter, the NL institutes the designated hitter before the season, and he’s the left-handed side of a platoon.
So before I get started on Matt Carpenter’s role on the 2021 team, allow me to make a sort of quasi-defense of any playing time he’ll receive.