A Braves’ Bullpen Solution: Acquire David Carpenter?

There are two things that continue to blow my mind about this 2015 Atlanta Braves team.  The first is how great President of Baseball Operations John Hart is at making trades.  It seems like everyone he has made since taking over for Frank Wren has been in Atlanta’s favor.  We all know about Cameron Maybin, Mike Foltynewicz, and of course Shelby Miller, but there is one under the radar move Hart made that looks like another winner for the Braves.

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Hart sent RHP David Carpenter and LHP Chasen Shreve to the New York Yankees for LHP Manny Banuelos.  Manny has been lighting it up in AAA Gwinnett and should join the team in Atlanta sometime soon.  While Shreve has been a great lefty out of the ‘pen for the Yankees, Carpenter struggled and ended up getting designated for assignment to make room for NY ace Masahiro Tanaka who was coming back from the DL.

So it looks like Carpenter’s career in pinstripes is coming to an abrupt end.  Should the Yankees release him, the Braves should pounce on the opportunity to bring Carpenter back to Atlanta.  Which brings me to the second thing.  Atlanta’s bullpen has been abysmal, no two ways about it.  In 2012-13, David Carpenter was an integral middle relief pitcher for the Braves.  He often pitched in the seventh or eighth innings.  With his electric fastball and powerful delivery, if you weren’t paying attention he looked like Craig Kimbrel out their on the mound.  I would ask myself ‘Why is Kimbrel pitching the seventh?’ only to realize it was actually David Carpenter.

While John Hart still may look to trade some pieces for more bullpen help, it’s a low risk, high reward move to sign David Carpenter should he clear waivers if the Yankees don’t trade him.  And because Hart ‘stole’ Banuelos from New York, I don’t think GM Brian Cashman will entertain John Hart’s offers any time soon.  Even Phil the Bucket from The Home Depot Tool Race squad endorses this transaction.  I’ve been a big fan of Phil the Bucket these last few years.  When he’s done running around the Turner Field warning track for a living, I think the Braves organization should look into bringing him into the front office full-time.

Seriously though if David Carpenter goes to waivers, I have to believe that John Hart will highly consider bringing a proven Atlanta veteran reliever back into our ‘pen that is in Dire Straits.  With its lack of production, the bullpen is really getting Money For Nothin’ from Liberty Media.  I’m not saying that David Carpenter is the cure-all solution for the Atlanta ‘pen, but it’s definitely an option for Atlanta’s front office to explore.  Plus David Carpenter won’t have to face Juan Uribe anymore.  They’ll be teammates!