Cards decline options on Carpenter, C-Mart

As long expected, but nostalgically emotive nonetheless, the Cardinals declined the team options on Matt Carpenter and Carlos Martínez, buying out each contract and officially adding each veteran to the free-agent fray on Thursday morning.

Thus, it would appear the lengthy Cardinals tenures for both have come to an end -- each having provided sensational memories and scintillating displays of talent at their peaks, with All-Star nods, MVP/Cy Young candidacies and remarkable single-game performances along the way.

Carpenter, 36 by Opening Day 2022, had a vesting option for next season based on accrued plate appearances over the past two seasons. But when his role shrunk in 2020, and he became a bona fide bench player in ’21 due to both playing time availability and struggles, it became impossible to reach that mark and thus turned into a team option. Carpenter was due $12 million in '22, but he was instead paid a $2 million buyout.

Martínez, one of the organization’s most successful international free-agent signings in recent history, possessed team options for both 2022 ($17 million) and ’23 ($18 million), but injuries -- including a season-ending thumb ailment on July 4 -- and subpar performance derailed what had been a stellar start to his career. The Cardinals instead paid him a $500,000 buyout.

Carpenter has publicly expressed his desire to play at least one more season, and he would benefit mightily from the addition of the designated hitter to the National League -- which is a possibility as part of the negotiations set to occur with the Collective Bargaining Agreement expiring on Dec. 1. In a vacuum, he’s appeared to be a prime bench option for the Cardinals with left-handed pop, but power has escaped him in this latter stage of his career.

Martínez, for his part, would appear likely to test the waters with another club, given he remains just 30 years old and has some versatile experience as both a starter and a closer. As he recovers from a torn ligament in his right thumb that required surgery, he has been pictured this offseason in uniform with Águilas Cibaeñas in the Dominican Winter League, though it’s unclear if he plans to take part in the winter ball action.

St. Louis could still return each longtime Cardinal to the organization on a lesser deal, but those chances would seem slim, given lagging performance, surging age and burgeoning young depth that appears primed to take over the production each former All-Star struggled to manufacture in their recent years.

The end of their time as Redbirds does little to diminish their accomplishments. Carpenter went from a 13th-round Draft pick -- a fifth-year senior at TCU in 2009 -- to a three-time All-Star who earned votes for NL MVP thrice, finishing as high as fourth in 2013, when he led the Majors in runs (126), hits (199) and doubles (55) while slashing .318/.392/.481. In '18, when he finished with a career-high .897 OPS, Carpenter provided one of the most impressive single-day shows of might in modern baseball history, belting two doubles, three homers and seven RBIs at Wrigley Field.

Those displays of power marked Carpenter's 11 years as a Cardinal but became too few and far between, as he slashed just .203/.325/.346 with 22 homers since the start of the 2019 season.

Martínez was a two-time All-Star in St. Louis, starting as a reliable high-leverage arm in the 2013 pennant run. But his tenure was marked by a stellar three-year run from 2015-17, when he went 42-27 with a 3.24 ERA, including an NL-leading two shutouts in ’17.

Injuries then found the flame-throwing righty, who was moved to the bullpen in the next stage of his career and performed rather admirably before being given one more attempt in the rotation over the past two seasons. Despite some highs, he pitched to a 6.95 ERA across 21 starts.