Carpenter signed for a $160,000 bonus after the Cardinals made him their first-round pick in the June 1987 draft. St. Louis originally tried him as a starter, but he fared much better after the club moved him to the bullpen in 1989. He won 10 games in relief during the 1991 season and posted a 2.97 ERA in 73 appearances the next year, his last with St. Louis. Carpenter bounced from Florida to Texas the next two seasons before ending his career with eight games for Milwaukee in 1996.
