Inside The Pinstripes

How Yankees' Matt Carpenter Is Positioning Himself For Postseason Return

Carpenter won't play during New York's final series of the regular season in Texas, but he's positioning himself to return from injury in the playoffs.

Max Goodman

In this story:

Rather than returning for the final series of the regular season, slugger Matt Carpenter will spend the next few days working at the Yankees' alternate site, getting ready for the postseason. 

New York placed Carpenter on the 60-day injured list on Sunday morning, a retroactive roster move to make room on the 40-man roster after the 36-year-old fractured his foot in early August. 

Carpenter's storybook season with the Yankees isn't over, though. As much as he won't add to his stunning regular season stat line—.305/.412/.727 with 15 home runs in 47 games—he's poised to play a role for this club when the postseason begins next week.

The veteran will take the next several days to face other pitchers within the Yankees organization at New York's facility at Double-A Somerset. That means plenty of live at-bats and more baseball activity, getting Carpenter ready for meaningful appearances in the American League Division Series and beyond.

“The biggest thing is we just want him to start getting at-bats,” Boone told reporters on Sunday, including Brendan Kuty of NJ Advance Media. “Between now and the start of the Division Series when we get back, he should be able to rack up a number of live at-bats.”

MORE:

Follow Max Goodman on Twitter (@MaxTGoodman), be sure to bookmark Inside The Pinstripes and check back daily for news, analysis and more.

Published
Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Yankees for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. Goodman has been on the Yankees beat for three seasons. He is also the publisher of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Jets site, Jets Country. Before starting Inside The Pinstripes, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. At school, Goodman was an anchor and reporter with NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. While at Northwestern, Goodman interned with MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman. You can connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

Home/News