The Boston Red Sox acquired first baseman Mike Carp from the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday, adding another potentially useful bat to their roster shortly before the start of exhibition games.
Seattle designated the 26-year-old Carp for assignment earlier this month, and the Mariners will receive a player to be named or cash from Boston. Carp can play both first base and left field.
“It increases the competition,” Boston manager John Farrell said. “We’ve been able to add a talented player to camp here, someone that we’ve had conversations about throughout the course of the offseason. Finally he became available.”
Carp was drafted by the Mets in 2004, and he was traded to Seattle in December 2008 in a deal that sent reliever J.J. Putz to New York.
Carp appeared in 173 games with Seattle from 2009-12 and batted .255 with 28 doubles and 18 homers. In 2011, Carp hit .276 with 12 homers in a career-high 79 games. His average dipped to .213 in 59 games last year.
The Mariners have Justin Smoak and Kendrys Morales as their top first basemen. Carp also played some outfield but was deemed expendable with the club in need of pitching. He was designated for assignment Feb. 12 to make room on the 40-man roster for pitcher Joe Saunders.
Boston made room for Carp on its 40-man roster by putting outfielder Ryan Kalish on the 60-day disabled list. Kalish is recovering from right shoulder surgery.
Giants pitcher hurt
San Francisco left-hander Javier Lopez will miss up to a week after a warmup pitch hit him on the top of his left hand during practice.
Lopez, who was catching for fellow left-hander Madison Bumgarner at the time, showed off the injury Wednesday, two days after the injury. The seams of the baseball were clearly visible on his hand.
Giants manager Bruce Bochy was not too concerned about it and did not think it will put Lopez behind schedule.
N.Y. pitchers grounded
New York Yankees pitcher Phil Hughes could be sidelined for two weeks because of a bulging disk that will be treated with anti-inflammatory medication. Hughes said he will be treated with the anti-inflammatory medication for four or five days. General Manager Brian Cashman said it could be two weeks before he could throw off a mound.
Pitcher Michael Pineda pleaded no contest to driving under the influence in a Tampa courtroom. Pineda was arrested and charged with DUI in Tampa on Aug. 20 last year. Cox says a judge ordered that Pineda serve 50 hours community service, up to one year of probation, attend DUI school and pay a $500 fine.
Murphy has strain
New York Mets second baseman Daniel Murphy has a strained muscle on his right side and is day-to-day after receiving a cortisone shot in New York. Murphy was back in camp Wednesday morning and said he didn’t have a timetable for his return to regular workouts. He planned only a bike workout Wednesday.
Royals’ Yost has surgery
Kansas City Royals manager Ned Yost had surgery to remove his gall bladder. Yost attended the Royals’ workout Tuesday morning, but missed the Royals’ intrasquad game in the afternoon to have the surgery at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Phoenix. He was back at the Royals’ camp on Wednesday with an ice pack under his jersey.
