Yankees News: Matt Carpenter Likely to Return from Injury for ALDS, Aaron Boone Says

A big bat is going to be added to the Yankees lineup.

During an appearance on The Michael Kay Show on Thursday, the Yankees manager said he expects left-handed hitter Matt Carpenter to be on the roster for the American League Division Series. He has not played since breaking his foot.

According to Marly Rivera, Carpenter was able to ramp up his baseball activities last week to the point where he was taking live batting practice and running the bases. He was in a walking boot for a while.

Carpenter was in the middle of a career resurgence. After signing with New York at the end of May, the 36-year-old appeared in 47 games and had a slash line of.305/.912/.702 with 15 home runs and 37 runs scored. He had hit under.200 in each of the previous two seasons.

Most of the Yankees' hitters are right-handed and adding Carpenter to the lineup is a big boost. It's not clear if Carpenter will be used in the outfield or strictly off the bench for hitting, but it sounds like he is looking forward to adding his offensive production.

According to Randy Miller of NJ.com, the biggest thing is that he gets to see live pitching. We will be watching him through the weekend and into next week because he has had five or so at-bats each day. I think he is in a good place.

The Yankees await the winner of the wild-card game.