St. Louis Cardinals SP Chris Carpenter moving to bullpen

September 1, 2008 @ 03:50:32

By Ryan Dodson
Edited by Tim Heaney

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Derrick Goold reports St. Louis Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter (shoulder) was activated from the 15-day disabled list and will be a reliever the rest of the season.

Carpenter and the team felt it would be better for him to pitch a few times before the end of the season rather than build his pitch count back up to make a couple of starts. Carpenter will be available to pitch Tuesday, Sept. 2.

This move eliminates most of his fantasy value. There's an extremely slim chance that Carpenter could enter the equation as a closer, though. Rookie reliever Chris Perez has nailed down six straight save opportunities, but manager Tony La Russa has yet to officially anoint him the closer. Carpenter could be the reason La Russa has done so.

However, the Cards want to transition Carpenter back into the rotation next year, so they likely wouldn't throw him into many pressure spots. Plus, Perez holds the "closer of the future" title, and since he's excelling in that role now there's little justification for the Cards to remove him. 

Most of Carpenter's value comes in NL-only setups. Speculative owners can pick up and stash Carpenter if they feel he will earn some save chances late in the season. Expecting more than that, though, is not a wise move in mixed setups.

KFFLians are saying....

Comment

 

---

What do you think? We want to hear from you!

Name: E-mail: Please, enter the number that you see

Comment Guidelines

Ryan Dodson

Dodson is a KFFL Contributor and has been with KFFL since 2002.

Talk Sports 24/7!
KFFL Sports Forums: Over 24,000 strong and growing!

One Day FREE Fantasy Contest - $350 in cash prizes (05/25)
Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market: John Danks placed on DL (05/24)
Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market: The substandard Roy Halladay (05/24)
Fantasy Baseball Player Prospecting: Danny Hultzen, Roger Kieschnick, more (05/24)
Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market: Austin Jackson headed to DL (05/24)
Fantasy Baseball Closer Hot Seat: Addison Reed, J.J. Putz, Ernesto Frieri, more (05/24)
Fantasy Baseball Diamond Market: Brian Roberts seeing the light at the end of the rehab tunnel (05/24)
I am not afraid of Hakeem Nicks' foot injury (05/24)
Fantasy baseball closer depth charts - AL (05/24)
Fantasy baseball closer depth charts - NL (05/24)