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Back on February 20th, the Seattle Mariners traded Mike Carp to the Boston Red Sox. At the time, the move was expected to help solidify Boston's first base situation with Mike Napoli's contribution potential unknown. From the Mariners side, Seattle had the choice of accepting a player to be named later or cash. According to Brian MacPherson of the Providence Journal, the Mariners will take the cash.
MacPherson says the deal is expected to be completed by the end of this month. Although at one point the Mariners had high hopes for Carp, the corner infielder/outfielder has struggled when given Major League at-bats. At 26 years old, this may be Carp's last chance to prove himself as a possible everyday player. He'll have to excel in the limited opportunities he's sure to get with the Red Sox.
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In addition to the injury concerns surrounding Napoli, the Red Sox will start the season with Ryan Kalish on the 60-day DL. This could open up a spot on the 25-man roster for Carp to get some extended playing time. If he can willingly and successfully split time between first base and the outfield, Carp's chances of making it increase drastically. Considering the state of the Red Sox, this trade may have been the best possible scenario for Carp.
Carp has player in 173 career Major League games over four seasons, so it's safe to say we've got a decent sample size for his production. So far in his career, Capr has hit .255/.327/.413. He has some power potential, but Carp simply hasn't shown it consistently. His best power year came in 2011 when he hit 12 bombs and slugged .466. If the Red Sox can get similar production, they should be happy. But at this point, that's a big if.
The Mariners are happy to have at least received something back for Carp. He was designated for assignment which meant the Mariners had to trade or release him in a short time frame as it was clear Carp wouldn't accept the assignment. Had he been released, the Mariners would have come up empty on their former prospect. While Seattle had a pool of players to pick from for the PTBNL, they felt the cash was the best choice for them.
