Former TCU star Matt Carpenter signs minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers
TCU baseball legend Matt Carpenter is coming home.
The former St. Louis Cardinals infielder has agreed to a minor-league deal with the Texas Rangers, a source confirmed.
Carpenter is expected to join the Rangers’ spring training camp in Surprise, Ariz., on Saturday. The deal is pending him passing a physical.
The Athletics Ken Rosenthal first reported the deal.
Carpenter, who lives in Fort Worth, helped lead the Horned Frogs to their first ever Super Regional in 2009. He has been a Cardinals mainstay since 2012, including three All-Star selections. He led MLB in runs scored, hits and doubles in 2013, his breakout season.
Carpenter had a major-league offer from at least one other club, “but decided to bet on himself for chance to play at home,” Rosenthal said in a social media post.
Carpenter announced in November that he was parting ways with the Cardinals after the club declined to pick up his 2022 option.
Carpenter has started 671 games at third base, 333 games at first base and 246 games at second base. He batted .169 with three home runs and 11 doubles in 130 games in 2021.
This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 5:28 PM.
