Mariners DFA Mike Carp

The Seattle Mariners have designated corner outfielder/infielder Mike Carp for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster for new acquisition Joe Saunders, the team has announced.

The M's agreed to a one-year, $6.5 million deal with Saunders (aka Jason Vargas 2.0) last week but the move was not official until yesterday.

Carp, 26, proved to be the odd man out on a roster that is still chock-full of corner outfield and 1B/DH types. The lefty-swinging player out of Southern California served in a part-time role for the M's the last four seasons, but was out of a job with the additions of Kendrys Morales and Mike Morse.

Related: The Mariners and Joe Saunders, Together

Carp hit a solid .255/.327/.413 with 18 home runs in his 608 plate appearances with Seattle, but his sub-par defensive numbers kept his overall production down at just about replacement level for his tenure with the M's.

Any hope that Carp might be a stronger player away from cavernous Safeco Field is trumped by the fact that his offense numbers were actually slightly better in Seattle than they were around the rest of the American League.

There's a pretty good chance that Carp will get snatched up on waivers in the next week, though in the early-goings of Spring Training most teams tend to stand pat with their 40-man rosters.