2019 has not been kind to Matt Carpenter. (Excluding April 10 when he signed a two year extension of course)
Through 82 games with the Cardinals this season, Carpenter was hitting just .215/.321/.372 with 10 home runs and 29 strikeouts before he hit the IL with a foot contusion on July 16.
Since then, he's been working his way back in the minors. It's fair to say it has not gone well.
In six games, Carpenter has failed to record a hit.
He is currently at AA Springfield mired in an 0-19 slump. He's three for his last 35 overall going back to his last six games in the majors.
In his six games between Memphis and Springfield he has walked four times, and struck out in seven of those 19 at-bats.
It's unclear when Carpenter will be back in the big leagues, but with the Cardinals heading out to Oakland after their series with the Cubs wraps up, it seems later rather than sooner.
Cardinals General Manager Michael Girsch said Carpenter wanted to "find it" too before returning to the big club.
"He's at the point where if things click he could be back here quickly, but there's no definitive timetable," Girsch said.
It's hard to believe that about this time last season, Carpenter was the hottest player in baseball, and on his way to a top ten finish in the NL MVP race.
