Matthew Carpenter: Everything you need to know

Carpenter announced his retirement from professional baseball Wednesday in an appearance on Sports Spectrum's "Get in the Game" podcast. Carpenter languished at the plate near the end of his 14-year MLB career, but the 39-year-old had a stretch from 2012 through 2018 in which he batted .275/.377/.471, made three All-Star teams and finished in the top-12 in National League MVP voting three times. He spent 12 of those 14 seasons in St. Louis and won his lone Silver Slugger Award with the Cardinals in 2013.

Carpenter is attending the winter meetings to speak with teams about a contract for next season, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports. Carpenter, 39, slashed .234/.314/.372 with four home runs over 59 contests with the Cardinals in 2024. He would surely have to accept a minor-league contract at this stage of his career and hope to win a reserve role.

Carpenter is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Padres. After going 1-for-12 with a home run and three walks over a stretch of five starts in six games, Carpenter's time as the Cardinals' primary designated hitter looks to have come and gone. He finds himself on the bench for a third straight game, with the Cardinals having faced right-handed pitchers in each of those contests. Luken Baker now looks to be St. Louis' preferred option at DH.