Matt Carpenter Remade His Swing This Offseason
3 years agoFree-agent third baseman Matt Carpenter reached out to his old rival from the National League Central, Cincinnati Reds first baseman Joey Votto, on ways to fix his swing late in his career. The 36-year-old Carpenter's decline has been steep in recent years. He hit 36 home runs and finished ninth in the NL MVP voting in 2018, but he regressed in 2019 and then "basically fell off a cliff." Carpenter became a bench player the last two years by hitting .176 with seven home runs and a .605 OPS. He has been traveling the country this offseason in an effort to fix his swing as he looks for a new team. Analytical data proved that Carpenter's swing mechanics had broken down, and he has also switched to a new bat. After all the work he's put in trying to fix his swing this offseason, Carpenter said he's "more confident about where I'm at and where my swing is than I have been in years, maybe ever."
Source: The Athletic - Ken Rosenthal
Source: The Athletic - Ken Rosenthal