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Matt Carpenter had one of the best comeback stories of the MLB season this year with the New York Yankees, but now his season could be over due to injury. Carpenter fouled a pitch off his left foot during the series opener with the Seattle Mariners (GameTracker) on Monday and fractured a bone in the process, the team said.
Here’s the injury. Carpenter stayed home to complete the at-bat, then was substituted for his next at-bat (he was the DH):
The Yankees have yet to announce a timeline for Carpenter’s return, but other players have missed 6-8 weeks with similar injuries. Los Angeles Dodgers super utility man Chris Taylor broke his foot on July 2 and returned to the lineup on August 5.
Carpenter, 36, hit a .307/.414/.732 batting line with 15 home runs in 46 games on Monday. He hit .176/.313/.291 with the St. Louis Cardinals of 2020-21 but renewed his momentum over the winter, starting this season in Triple-A with the Texas Rangers, getting fired in May, and then with the Yankees signed him on May 26. Carpenter hasn’t stopped hitting since.
The injury comes at a bad time for the Yankees, who have lost 16 of their last 25 games through Monday. Giancarlo Stanton is on the injured list with Achilles tendonitis and is a few weeks away from his return. Also, Anthony Rizzo has a problem every day. Add in Carpenter’s injury and the Yankees are now without their top three non-Aaron Judge power hitters.
About eight weeks remain in the regular season. So if 6-8 weeks is Carpenter’s schedule, it’s possible he won’t return until just before the postseason. Despite their recent slip, the Yankees are still in a good position to secure a Wild Card Series bye, which would give Carpenter an extra week to recover before the ALDS.