Sports

Larry Stone gives his take on a wide array of baseball issues and weighs in about the Mariners, too.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik confirmed this morning that the Mike Carp situation will be resolved soon. Carp was designated for assignment last week, and multiple teams have expressed interest. They have until Thursday to get something done, but Zduriencik just told me that “probably in the next 24 hours something will be accomplished.”

Zduriencik added, “We’ve got some dialogue going with different clubs. There’s definitely interest.”

Milwaukee general manager Doug Melvin confirmed yesterday to MLB.com that he has made contact with Zduriencik — who used to work for Melvin in the Brewers’ organization. The Brewers are reeling at first base after losing Mat Gamel to a season-ending knee injury on Monday. That’s on top of the absence of Corey Hart for at least the first month of the season. But Melvin told MLB.com that he would look internally first to fill the position.

The Twins, Red Sox and Astros have also been among those mentioned as having interest in the 26-year-old Carp, who has a  career .740 OPS.  He was a victim of a space crunch on the Mariners’ roster and a logjam at first base and in the outfield.

It will be interesting to see what the Mariners get for Carp. Even though there’s demand, teams are never in a great bargaining position with players who have been designated.