Some 20 minutes after the Yankees had been swept out of the ALCS late Sunday night, Matt Carpenter was still sitting at his locker when he got up and walked across the clubhouse.
The limp he had tried to manage in recent weeks was on full display again, a painful reminder of the broken left foot he had rushed back from to make the playoff roster, only for the injury — or the two-month layoff from it, or both — to sap him of the magic he had provided the Yankees earlier this season.
“Yeah, it’s not great,” Carpenter said when asked about the level of pain he was playing through. “But I wouldn’t have missed it.”
In six playoff games, Carpenter went 1-for-12 with nine strikeouts. Manager Aaron Boone used him strictly as a pinch hitter in the ALDS before Carpenter started a pair of games at DH in the ALCS with Giancarlo Stanton moving to left field.
When he broke his foot on a foul ball on Aug. 8 — at which point he was batting .305 with 15 home runs and a 1.138 OPS in 47 games — Carpenter was given a six to eight week timeline and vowed to return. He lived up to his word, but his offensive production did not make it back with him.
“Look, I was in a crunch for time obviously, but I wouldn’t have had it any other way,” said Carpenter, who spent the final days of the regular season getting live at-bats against mostly minor league pitchers at the Yankees’ alternate site in Somerset, N.J.
“I wanted to be back and find a way to get on the field with these guys and be a part of this postseason. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to perform like I would hope.”
Carpenter said having a normal couple of months off from hitting should completely heal his foot rather than needing any surgery.
Other than that, this offseason should be much different than Carpenter’s last one, which he spent revamping his left-handed swing and remained a free agent until signing a minor league deal with the Rangers in March. After still not getting a big-league shot with the Rangers by May, he opted out of his contract and signed with the Yankees.
With his second chance, the 36-year-old proved during the regular season that he still had more left in the tank. Now, as he enters free agency, he could be an intriguing left-handed bat — perhaps even for the Yankees to consider bringing back.
“Playing for the Yankees is every 12-year-old’s dream. I’d certainly entertain that, no question,” Carpenter, who started games in right field, left field, first base and third base this season, said of a reunion.
“I definitely want to play. I feel like I’ve got more to give and I want to keep playing. So hopefully there’ll be an opportunity somewhere.”
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