The Red Sox have reportedly acquired first baseman/outfielder Mike Carp from the Seattle Mariners.
Wednesday morning Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington reportedly made a trade to acquire Mike Carp from the Seattle Mariners.
Now the Boston Red Sox have gone fishing, too, acquiring first baseman and outfielder Mike Carp from the Seattle Mariners.
If the Red Sox could find a way to bring former Houston Astro Kevin Bass into the fold, that could make for some good fodder.
As it is now, the Red Sox have made a low-risk, potentially high-reward move.
Carp's major league production has been subpar, and he was not a high draft pick. Carp was selected by the New York Mets in the ninth round of the 2004 Amateur Draft.
He has appeared in limited portions of the last four seasons at the big league level. His 2011 production is what likely drives teams to speculate about his potential for long-term, major league success.
In 2011, Carp hit .276 with 12 home runs and 46 RBI in just 290 at-bats. That came on the heels of 2010, when he put up impressive numbers for the Mariners' Triple-A minor league affiliate in Tacoma. That season, Carp hit .257 with 29 home runs and 76 RBI in only 409 at-bats. Those are the types of impressive power numbers which cause major league general managers to take notice.
Carp has some odd splits within his statistical records.
For one thing, he hits left-handed pitching ( 300 career major league batting average) better than right-handed pitching (.241 career batting average). That isn't a problem, but since the Red Sox are acquiring Carp in hopes he can be the left-handed hitting compliment to right-handers such as Jonny Gomes and Mike Napoli, it could be a problem for Carp if his struggles against righties continue.
Carp could be a "buy-low" type of acquisition for Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington. That's the type of deal that his predecessor Theo Epstein was known for before his legacy was in Boston was tarnished by high-priced deals for the likes of John Lackey, Julio Lugo and Carl Crawford.
When Epstein's star was shining at its brightest in Boston, it was due in large part to deals made for players such as David Ortiz, Bill Meuller, Mark Bellhorn, and Kevin Millar.
All were signed cheaply or acquired in very minor trades, and then played crucial roles on the 2004 World Champion squad. Ortiz has gone on to become one of the most legendary hitters in Red Sox history.
Cherington and the Red Sox are hoping Carp can pan out and provide excellent returns on what is going to be a low-cost acquisition.