Cardinals' reunion with former All-Star will have fans feeling nostalgic

While "Waino" and "Yadi" spent their combined 37 years in the big leagues entirely with the Cardinals, Carpenter and Pujols had some time outside of the organization.

The 38-year-old infielder was selected by the Cards in the 13th round of the 2009 MLB June Amateur Draft and debuted in the show with a seven-game stint in June 2011. Carpenter played in 114 games in 2012 before becoming the team's full-time starting second baseman in 2013.

"Carp" had one of his best seasons in 2013, posting career-highs (and MLB-bests) in runs scored (126), hits (199) and doubles (55), as well as career-highs in triples (seven), batting average (.318), on-base percentage (.392) and total bases (301). Carpenter earned a Silver Slugger award, finished fourth in the NL MVP voting and secured his first of three All-Star honors in the next four seasons.

Along with Molina and Wainwright, who were both All-Stars that year as well, Carpenter helped lead the Cardinals to their most recent NL pennant, though they were defeated by the "Boston Strong" Red Sox in the Fall Classic. Molina finished just ahead of Carpenter in third place in the NL MVP voting, while Wainwright was the NL Cy Young runner-up.

Pujols was in his second of 10 seasons with the then-Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and 10 years away from St. Louis before returning in 2022.

Carpenter stayed with the Cardinals through the 2021 campaign before signing with the Texas Rangers (and then New York Yankees) in 2022. He played the 2023 season with the San Diego Padres, recording five home runs and 31 RBIs with a .176/.322/.319 slash line across just 188 at-bats covering 76 games.

Nobody will be expecting Carpenter to produce the type of numbers from his 2013-18 prime playing days, but he's shown in recent years that he still offers plenty of pop. He went on one particularly memorable heater during his one season with the Yankees, finishing with 15 home runs over just 128 at-bats.

With his trio of former teammates all having hung up their cleats, Carpenter should be a familiar face for Cardinals fans to joyously welcome back, perhaps for his final season.