The Red Sox have announced that Chris Carpenter has cleared waivers, leaving the Red Sox free to assign him to Triple-A Pawtucket once again.

Chris "Not That" Carpenter, 27, was acquired by the Red Sox as compensation for allowing Theo Epstein to go to the Chicago Cubs, and designated for assignment last week to make room on the 40-man roster for Mike Napoli. He managed to make it up to the big leagues for just six innings last year, managing the questionable achievement of allowing 10 walks (and two intentional walks) in that short period.

Between that figure and the 9.00 ERA, it perhaps would not have been the end of the world had Carpenter been snatched up by someone else. The Cubs in particular were said to have been interested in reacquiring the right-handed reliever. But any team that claimed him would have needed to keep him on the roster, and after his 2012 performance, it's hard for any team to justify that expense. The Red Sox, for their part, will be happy to keep him within the organization--depth is depth, after all.