Padres' Matt Carpenter: Exercises player option

Carpenter (elbow) exercised his $5.5 million player option for 2024 on Friday, Ari Alexander of KPRC 2 Houston reports.

Carpenter slashed .176/.322/.319 across 236 plate appearances with the Padres in 2023 and was unlikely to attract a large offer in the open market, so he'll opt into $5.5 million heading into his age-38 season. Carpenter battled injuries and saw his playing time decrease during the latter half of the season, and it's possible he remains in a reserve role to begin the 2024 campaign.