I wish he were playing, but I don't really care about the story. Maybe, if I knew what the story was, I'd be more interested. I still don't know who Johnny Depp is. I googled him once, but the story was so uninteresting that I forgot.
2020 stats don't mean much to me and he has had everything wrong physically in 2022. 2019 and 2021 are the best markers for what he can do and If he can go mid way between those two years, it would be great. I wouldn't call a 120 OPS+ ambitious, but I undertsand that his health is a concern.
Carlton was going through a rough stretch in Toledo this year, but he has a good track record and his k/bb ratio is good even this year. He is fine as your 13th pitcher.
His lifetime wRC+ is 120. He has a wRC+ of 100 this year with zero home runs His Zips projection for the rest of the season is 132. This is pretty high, but other projection systems have him around 120. There is no ZIPS projection for 23, 24 but his OPS projection suggests about 120 OPS+or more. I don't think 120 sounds ambitious if he is healthy.
That photo even made it to The Boston Globe. Fielder's 1990 season was very memorable as 50 home runs was a really big deal at the time. Fans who only care about making the playoffs won't agree, but I actually though 90-93 was a fun team to watch. They had no pitching, but their offense was explosive.
I was talking about baseball in general. It's a very different ball game than it was in the 60s and 70s. I miss a lot of things about the old game such as complete games, but they just are not practical anymore. It's not because current players are weak or pampered. It's because teams can win more games and get more out of their pitchers if they make more use of relief pitchers.
There is no reason for him to retire even if they pay him. He is still reasonably productive and has actually been durable this year. I doubt he'll want to play beyond next year in a part-time role and smaller salary, although Pujols is doing it so you never know.