The New York Yankees have signed three-time All-Star Matt Carpenter, adding a veteran infielder to a roster that has been plagued by injuries.
The Yankees announced Thursday that Carpenter, who has spent part of the past 11 seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, has signed a major league contract and has been added to their active roster.
He was added to the Yankees roster as the designated hitter, eighth at bat, for Thursday night’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays after Aaron Hicks was scratched with a strained right hamstring.
New York also contract selected 31-year-old left-hander Manny Banuelos of Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ahead of Thursday’s series opener at Tampa Bay. Banuelos was in the Yankees’ minor league system from 2008 to 2014, but never made it to the big league club during that time.
Carpenter, 36, struggled offensively for a long time in his final three seasons with the Cardinals, hitting just .203 with 22 home runs in 309 games from 2019-21.
The former TCU star joined the Texas Rangers on a minor league deal earlier this season, but was released last week from their Triple-A team and became a free agent in a mutual decision in due to lack of opportunities with their big league team. He hit .275 with six home runs and 19 RBIs in 21 games at Triple-A Round Rock.
The left-handed carpenter joins a Yankees team that is currently without third baseman Josh Donaldson, who is on the COVID-19 injured list and also faces a one-game suspension for his comment last week to the star White Sox Tim Anderson.
New York is also without slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who is on the IL with an ankle injury, and infielder DJ LeMahieu, who is day-to-day with a wrist injury and was not in the starting lineup for Thursday’s series opener against the Rays.
In 1,329 games with the Cardinals, Carpenter batted .262 with 155 home runs and 576 RBIs. His primary position was third base with the Cardinals, although he could also play first and second base. He played mostly first base during his brief stint at Round Rock.
Banuelos pitched in the major leagues for Atlanta in 2015 and the Chicago White Sox in 2019, going 4-8 with a 6.31 ERA in 14 starts and seven relief appearances. Banuelos is 0-2 with a 2.35 ERA in five starts and two relief appearances for Scranton, striking out 30 and walking 12 in 30⅔ innings.
Banuelos, a member of the Mexican pitching squad at last year’s Olympics, split the 2021 season between the Fubon Guardians in Taiwan and the Sultanes de Monterrey in Mexico.
New York assigned catcher Rob Brantly to the RailRiders. The Yankees opened up spots on the 26-man active roster by picking left-hander JP Sears and outfielder Estevan Florial in Scranton after Wednesday’s 2-0 win.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.