Yankees Hope Matt Carpenter Can Return Before Season’s End

Nothing is official, but Aaron Boone is "holding out" for Carpenter’s return during New York’s last regular-season series in Texas.

The Yankees would love to see Matt Carpenter play in Texas next week, but there’s no guarantee of that just yet.

Carpenter has been out since Aug. 8 after breaking his left foot on a foul ball. He immediately set a goal for returning before season’s end, and Aaron Boone said the team is “holding out hope” that Carpenter can play against the Rangers next week. New York ends the regular season with four games in the Lone Star state from Oct. 3-5.

However, nothing is set in stone.

"We're still a ways from even having an idea if that's gonna be possible or not,” Boone continued Monday before the Yankees began a series in Toronto. “Obviously, a lot of it depends on how his week unfolds. He's just starting to do a lot of weight-bearing things. We've tried to keep that in play with how we've maneuvered the roster and stuff, but we'll just have to see."

Carpenter, 36, was enjoying a resurgent season with the Yankees before fracturing his foot, but he actually began the 2022 campaign with the Rangers.

A Cardinals staple for 11 years, the utility man struggled over his last two seasons in St. Louis, hitting just .176 from 2020-2021. The Cardinals opted against bringing Carpenter back this year, which led to a brief stint with the Rangers’ Triple-A affiliate.

Texas eventually released Carpenter, paving the way for one of the Yankees’ better pick-ups this season. Signed to a big league deal, Carpenter slashed .305/.412/.727 with 15 home runs, 37 RBI, a 217 OPS+ and a 2.4 bWAR over 47 games for New York before getting hurt.

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