Matt Carpenter Trade Update: Braves not expected to keep veteran hitter, per Insider

Matt Carpenter is on his way from the San Diego Padres to the Atlanta Braves. But there is wide speculation that he will be the third player who will be flipped to a different franchise by the Braves after getting recently acquired.

The Atlanta Braves have adopted a vivid strategy this offseason. The NL East team is flipping some of the players they recently got in order to get better deals or players from other franchises.

The Braves acquired Carpenter along with leftie Ray Kerr and $1.5 million in exchange for outfielder Drew Campbell. But as per David O'Brian, an Insider of the Braves and reported by Ken Rosenthal, the franchise is most likely to move the former Padres player elsewhere to get a better return:

"[The] Braves plan to trade Matt Carpenter, just as they flipped Marco Gonzales and Max Stassi after acquiring them in separate trades earlier this offseason, sources tell @TheAthletic . Team took on Carpenter’s $5.5M salary today to obtain LH reliever Ray Kerr from Padres," Rosenthal said.

The Braves acquired Gonzales from the Seattle Mariners before letting him go to the Pittsburgh Pirates. While Max Stassi was shelled out to the White Sox after staying just one day in the Braves organization from the Angels.

Matt Carpenter's inconsistent run of form in last few years

Matt Carpenter seems to be the latest name added to that list. The former Cardinals batter had a successful long stretch with the team, however, his final season in 2021 with the team saw him hit just .169. He followed that up with a resurgent year with the New York Yankees slashing .305/.412/.727 in just 47 games before an injury ended his season.

He was picked up by the Padres for a two-year contract but his rollercoaster career continued where he could hit .176 with five home runs and 31 RBIs. Carpenter exercised his $5.5 million player option but it was rejected by the Padres and he instead was traded to the Braves.