Fairmont native David Carpenter opens 14th season in professional baseball

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — David Carpenter was selected in the 12th round of the Major League Baseball first-year player draft just months after the WVU football team won the Sugar Bowl and the Mountaineer men’s basketball team advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16. In June of 2006, Carpenter launched a professional baseball career that is still going strong despite several stops and starts and a position change along the way.

“As long as I enjoy playing, as long as I am good enough to continue playing I will do it,” Carpenter said.

Like many big leaguers, Carpenter has returned home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2003 graduate of East Fairmont High School has come back to Marion County from Arizona after opening spring training as a non-roster invitee with the Cincinnati Reds.

“It is not just from a baseball perspective but from a life perspective, everyone is getting thrown off their usual routines. I am definitely trying to make the most of it. Being here at home and spending time with my son (4-year-old Drew) is always a plus. During the season I don’t get to see him that much. So I am taking advantage of that.

“I almost go back to offseason training mode, Monday through Friday doing a very strict throwing and lifting program and not deviating from that. We are aware it is going to be at least a month before there is an opportunity to get back to actual baseball activities as a team, if not a little bit longer.”

Fairmont native David Carpenter is looking to earn a spot in the Cincinnati Reds bullpen this spring.

Prior to the suspension of spring training, Carpenter pitched in six games for the Reds. He allowed 4 earned runs in 5.2 innings while striking out 7 batters. Carpenter hopes to earn a spot on the opening day roster in the bullpen.

“The first outing was definitely a little rough. I was just trying to get in the flow of things. I spoke with our pitching coach Derek Johnson about it and he kind of laughed. He said, ‘You have to remember you are coming out here to work on certain things. Do not worry about the results. I don’t care if the first two or three outings are bad. It is about getting your feet on solid ground, working through counts, working your pitches’.

“I honestly have been throwing the ball really well. As the outings progressed, things got better. My velocity was ticking up where I wanted it to be especially for this time of year.”

 

Becoming a new part of the battery

Throughout his high school and college years, Carpenter took up residence behind the plate as a solid defensive catcher. In the spring of 2006, Carpenter raised his profile for MLB scouts with an impressive junior season. He hit .316 with seven home runs and 38 RBI in 58 games. He also gunned down 17 of 36 potential base stealers and picked off 13 runners that season.

WVU’s David Carpenter was selected by St. Louis in the 12th round of the 2006 Draft.

The Cardinals selected him with the 376th pick and he was the 24th catcher taken. Carpenter began his professional career in the summer of 2006 with the State College Spikes in the New York-Penn League. He batted .189 that season and hit .220 in 2007, splitting time between rookie ball and Class A short-season ball.

In 2008, the Cardinals approached Carpenter about making a switch from catcher to pitcher. In 15 games at two separate rookie ball stints, Carpenter transitioned well. He posted an ERA of 1.84.

“There was a huge amount of resistance to it, to be honest with you. Just from a pride standpoint where it was something I worked at very, very hard from the time I got into baseball. I remember begging my dad for me to catch since I was eight or nine years old. You enjoy the bumps and bruises you get along the way because you are involved in every single play.

“I am glad I finally got over being stubborn and really put my heart and soul into it. I had some really, really good influences along the way. There was definitely a role for me within the organization as a pitcher. The catching was definitely backed up with Yadier Molina being at the top. And the guy is still there.”

Carpenter worked his way up through the Cardinals’ minor league system. On August 19, 2010, he was traded to the Houston Astros. Carpenter opened the 2011 season with Houston’s AA affiliate in Corpus Christi, Texas.

He was quickly promoted to AAA ball in Oklahoma City. After posting an ERA of 1.91 in 33 games, Carpenter was called up to the majors on June 29. He made his MLB debut a day later. Carpenter stayed with the Astros for the rest of season, appearing in 34 games with a 2.93 ERA.

In 2012, Carpenter was on the rosters of three different MLB teams. In July, he was traded from Houston to the Blue Jays. There months later, Carpenter was moved to the Boston Red Sox but was designated for assignment a month later.

 

Finding footing in Atlanta

In November of 2012, Carpenter was claimed by the Atlanta Braves. He needed only six minor league games in 2013 to get called up to Atlanta. That’s where his career started to take off. Carpenter became a mainstay in the Braves’ bullpen. He went 4-1 in 2013 with an ERA of 1.78. He struck out 74 batters in 65.2 innings of work.

“Growing up in West Virginia, there were really only two teams you had to root for. There were the Pirates or you had the Braves because they were on TBS. I remember watching so many Braves games growing up. The years of John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux, Steve Avery and Denny Neagle, I really grew up on that.”

Carpenter continued to excel 2014. He became Atlanta’s primary setup man, appearing in 65 games with an ERA of 3.54.

But he would soon be on the move again. On New Year’s Day of 2015, Carpenter was traded to the New York Yankees. After two months in the Bronx, he was traded to the Washington Nationals. A shoulder injury cut his summer short and Carpenter appeared for the last time in a big league game on July 5.

It would take him nearly four years to return to a mound in the majors.

 

Rediscovering his mechanics in the Pacific Northwest

In 2016 and 2017, Carpenter was signed by four different MLB clubs — Atlanta, Tampa Bay (twice), L.A. Angels and Arizona. He appeared in 25 games over those two years at the AA and AAA levels, but allowed 27 earned runs in 27.2 innings. In between, Carpenter pitched for the Bridgeport Bluefish in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. After appearing in two spring training games with the Diamondbacks in 2018, Carpenter was out of professional baseball.

David Carpenter pitched for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2017 Spring Training.

“You really start to question not only your ability but your purpose on why you are trying to continue to do this. You start to lean heavily on your family and your friends and your faith. Thankfully, I was able to stick through a couple seasons where I had to go to the independent leagues and pitch there. I was able to work through some things but I wasn’t back fully where I wanted to be. That’s when after the 2018 spring training, I decided to give Driveline a call.”

Driveline Baseball is a data-driven performance baseball academy based in Kent, Washington.

“They really look into your biomechanics and really break down what makes you do certain things on the mound. They took my delivery and said they saw deficiencies and they really started to concentrate on it. By doing work with different weighted ‘pylo balls’ for exercises within the throwing motion, they got my shoulder working the way it needed to again.”

In January of 2019, Driveline hosted a scouting combine and a month later, Carpenter entered spring training with the Texas Rangers. They were the tenth MLB affiliated franchise Carpenter pitched for.

“I remember in the pro day sitting 94 and I was touching 95 and 96 and I was like, ‘Wow, this is back’. I get the opportunity with the Rangers and throw a couple games in spring training with the big league team and being out there and competing I realized I can still do this. This is where I need to be.”

Following spring training, Carpenter was assigned to the Rangers’ AAA affiliate in Nashville and he rediscovered the form from his 2013 and 2014 seasons. Carpenter was successful on 21 of 22 save opportunities and he posted an ERA of 1.63 in 39 games. He was named to the Pacific Coast League end-of-season All-Star team.

Carpenter credits Nashville bullpen coach and 2003 National League Cy Young Award winner Eric Gagne for his resurgence in 2019.

“To be able to pick his brain was really important to me and it helped me continue my development into the game.”

Carpenter was called up for four appearances with the Texas Rangers during the 2019 season, returning to the big show on June 4, 47 months after his last MLB appearance.

 

Entering season #14

Following the end of the 2019 season, Carpenter opted for free agency. In December, he signed a minor league contract with the Cincinnati Reds with an invitation to spring training.

Now 34 years old, Carpenter is playing the waiting game and hoping for a 14th season of professional baseball. After pitching in 550 professional games (222 in the majors), Carpenter is hoping to add more chapters to the story of his baseball life.

“I have been blessed having this resurgence with Driveline, realizing the velocity is getting where it needs to be, where I can compete with it again in the big leagues. Just go out and compete and have fun with it. If I can do it, why not? Just do it as long as I can.”





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