ST. LOUIS — Former Cardinals infielder Matt Carpenter has reportedly found a new home.
The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reports that the Texas Rangers have signed Carpenter to a minor league deal. Rosenthal reports that Carpetner, a Texas native, had Major League deals from at least one other team, but decided to sign a minor league deal for the chance to play at home.
Carpenter's Cardinal career as a whole is an impressive one.
In 11 years in St. Louis, Carpenter hit 155 home runs, drove in 576 runs, and hit .262 with an .816 OPS.
Carpenter struggled mightily in his last few seasons as a Cardinal, hitting just .176 with an OPS of .605 across his final two years in St. Louis.
Carpenter penned an emotional tribute to St. Louis in the Players' Tribune in November, when it became apparent he would not be back with the Cardinals.
"Every time I stepped into that box, with the birds on the bat stitched across my chest, I was reminded of what it meant to be a Cardinal. I could close my eyes and see all the greats who put on this jersey before me. I cherished that feeling. I cherished it all the way until the end," Carpenter wrote in the Players' Tribune.
"No matter where we go next, St. Louis is and always will be home.
I’ve tried to soak up these last few months as best as I could. I knew the end might be coming, and I wanted to really feel every last moment I had as a Card. The things that had become monotonous, like the pregame stretch or batting practice, I tried to pretend it was my first ball game again. I looked around the stadium as much as I could, taking mental pictures at every step along the way. Man... just thinking about what an honor this has been.
Just thinking about what an honor it’s been to have represented this city." Carpenter wrote.