Not Enough

When the Yankees signed Chris Carter just before Spring Training, they had no illusions. This was an all-or-nothing righty power bat, who averaged 32 home runs in the last four seasons with the Astros and Brewers, as well as 187 strikeouts. And he was no Keith Hernandez or Don Mattingly as a fielder. Let's put it this way: there was a reason the Brewers weren't excited about re-signing him. And for $3.5 million -- cheaper than most middle relievers -- he was worth bringing aboard as "insurance."
Carter wasn't expected to be a regular. Then fate intervened: injuries to Greg Bird and Tyler Austin left Carter as Joe Girardi's best short-term solution. But the Yankees saw far more of the strikeout-prone weak-gloved Carter than the man who led the National League in home runs last year. During the club's recent slump, the manager didn't exactly offer a ringing endorsement.
Friday night might have been the last straw -- with the game against the Rangers tied in the 10th inning, Carter came to bat with one man out and Gary Sanchez on 3rd base. A fly ball to the outfield would be enough to score a badly needed victory. He struck out swinging. Up next with two outs, the fundamentally sounder Ronald Torreyes blooped a single into no-man's land in short center to nail down the win.
Within an hour of Torreyes getting a Gatorade bath on TV, Carter got his pink slip: designated for assignment, while Austin -- with homers in his last three games -- was recalled from Scranton.
I captured this Carter home run on May 23rd against the Royals.

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