Tampa Bay Rays Sign David Carpenter to Minor League Deal

The Tampa Bay Rays have continued to look to upgrade their bullpen. Today, they signed David Carpenter to a minor league deal as a possible reclamation project.

Every team in baseball is looking to bolster their bullpen. As the past few years have shown, a dominant bullpen can overcome a mediocre starting rotation, even helping a team win the World Series. The problem with that is there are not enough dominant arms to go around, leading to a reliever arms race.

So, for teams like the Tampa Bay Rays, that quest to build up the bullpen often leads to the bargain bin. Players like Fernando Rodney had been brought in with minimal expectations, as the Rays hoped to find a way to return them to their former glory. Today, they have signed another bargain bin free agent in reliever David Carpenter, who had actually signed with the Rays last year, but never appeared in a game for them.

Carpenter had been a solid middle reliever for the Atlanta Braves in 2013 and 2014. In those two years, he posted a 2.63 ERA and a 1.121 WHiP, striking out 141 batters against 36 walks in 126.1 innings of work. Even with a league average batting average on balls in play, opponents only produced a .228/.289/.323 batting line against Carpenter during those two seasons.

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Unfortunately, he suffered through an injury plagued 2015, posting a combined 4.01 ERA and a 1.378 WHiP. In 2.42 innings, he struck out only 15 batters. Last year, he was a part of three different organizations before being released in June and signing with the Bridgeport Bluefish in the Atlantic League.

If Carpenter is healthy, he would give the Rays another intriguing arm for the bullpen mix. Typically using a fastball and slider, Carpenter has established a solid ability to generate groundballs. His slider can be a devastating strikeout pitch, generating a high amount of swings and misses.

However, Carpenter’s ability to contribute will rest upon his shoulder. Those injuries halted what appeared to be a promising career, leading to his journeys throughout three different teams and to the Independent leagues. Can he rediscover his form in Tampa Bay?

Next: Rays roster predicaments

With a minor league contract, David Carpenter is the type of lottery ticket that the Tampa Bay Rays like to have fill out their pitching staff. If healthy, he could be worth quite the payoff.