After his days as a Mountaineer, David Carpenter was a member of five major league baseball teams.
Now, he wants to try to join a sixth.
On Saturday, Carpenter became the first player cut from the Atlanta Braves spring roster. The 30-year old previously pitched for the Braves in 2013-14 and he was looking to rejoin the club after spending the past two seasons in New York with the Yankees and Washington with the Nationals.
Carpenter, 30, is a native of Fairmont and played with the WVU baseball team from 2004 to 2006.
Saturday’s news was, obviously, not pleasing for Carpenter who has appeared in a total of 218 MLB games since 2011.
“It stings, especially being back around some familiar faces with some guys that I had some really good times with, on the (coaching staff) and still on the team,” Carpenter said. “But in the same light, thankfully, this will give me an opportunity to go somewhere and try to make a big league club.”
With his five years of experience and career ERA of 3.66, it’s safe to say Carpenter’s days are not numbered with professional baseball. Some team will take a flyer on him, plus there’s always the option of playing in a foreign country, like Japan.
At WVU, Carpenter wasn’t actually a pitcher. He was one of the strongest hitters for the Mountaineers, under former manager Greg Van Zant. In 2004, he batted .235 in 81 at-bats, in 2005 he batted .282 in 110 at-bats and in 2006 he batted .316 with 38 RBI in 187 at-bats.
Carpenter was a catcher, which helped him adjust to the life and times of being on the opposite end as a pitcher.
He was drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 12th round of the 2006 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Carpenter still appareled exclusively at the plate in his first year of professional ball in the Gulf Coast Rookie League.
It wasn’t until 2008 where he pitched and hit, while playing for the Quad City River Bandits and Palm Beach Cardinals, both Single-A teams.
In 2009, Carpenter was finally a full-time pitcher.
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Carpenter experienced some soreness in his arm last season with the Yankees and Nationals and that same pain plagued him in a Spring Training game for the Braves, this past week. He only faced three batters, and retired them all.
“I think I showed here that I’m healthy, and that everything is going well,” Carpenter said. “I wish (the Braves) luck. I’ve always been treated well here. It stinks not being around a lot of the guys. But that’s the game we play and the life we have chosen.”
Another pitcher, fellow right-hander Ryan Kelly, was also released by Atlanta on Saturday.