Braves fans puzzled as newly acquired DH Matt Carpenter is released by Atlanta: "Wasted flight. Good luck Matt"

Sources report that the Atlanta Braves have parted ways with newly acquired DH Matt Carpenter, with the reason stated as his bad contract.

Like the moves they took previously in the off-season to acquire Marco Gonzales and Max Stassi and then transfer them away in smaller trades, the Braves planned to trade Carpenter. But everything didn't exactly go as the management would have wanted to justify his release due to bad terms on his contract.

"The Braves have released Matt Carpenter, who they traded for on Friday, after being unable to trade his bad contract" - TalkinBaseball_

Matt Carpenter was acquired by Atlanta a few days ago, essentially acquiring left-handed reliever Ray Kerr from the Padres in exchange for $4 million of Carpenter's $5.5 million payroll this year and the corresponding luxury tax penalty. Braves fans definitely didn't take the news well and had a mixed reaction to the story.

"Thats kinda mean" - Pimp_Lord619

"Wasted flight. Good luck Matt" - BigBreezy29

"Truly one of my favorite AJ Preller signings" - TimRogers2080

"Wait, what?" - Schirombaseball

"His contract had absolutely nothing to do with why they couldn't trade him, they have to pay the contract anyway" - antideathagenda

"It's only a matter of time before the BFIB's start talking about bringing Carp back to the Lou. No fanbase yearns for their old players back like the BFIB's" - stl_dave

"Damn, that was fast. He didn’t produce on the padres but man. Hope he finds a home" - Loogie86

"This sentence doesn't make sense, they only had 2 days to be able to trade him" - corecor

Matt Carpenter has had his struggles in the big leagues

With the Yankees in 2022, Matt Carpenter, 38, had an incredible comeback season, slashing .305/.412/.727 with 15 home runs in just 154 at-bats. Even though his season was cut short due to a fractured foot, his remarkable comeback helped him sign a two-year, $12 million contract with the Padres in the previous offseason.

Unfortunately for Carpenter and the Padres, Carpenter's 2023 campaign appeared more like his declining 2020–21 campaign. He only hit .176/.322/.319 in 237 plate appearances with the Friars in the previous season. Carpenter continued to walk at a staggering 17.3% pace, but his strikeout rate increased as his exit velocity and hard-hit percentage declined.

The former Cardinals great may have overreached himself in 2022 when he lifted the ball at career-high levels, but in his meager sample size of plate appearances in 2023, he lifted 10 innocuous pop-ups. What happens to Carpenter and his final destination next season remains to be seen.