1B/OF Mike Carp has requested to the Red Sox that they trade him, Pete Abraham of the Boston Globe tweets. Abraham notes that Carp spoke to the Red Sox soon after the All-Star break, but the news of that discussion arrives just after the last-place Sox began trading veterans by sending Jake Peavy to the Giants.
Carp has hit poorly in limited opportunities this season, batting .215/.337/.304 in 95 plate appearances. Mike Napoli has hit well for the Sox at first base, but no one in the outfield has hit much, and the Red Sox still haven’t found much playing time for Carp. A contender could see Carp as an interesting buy-low bench candidate, but his trade value surely is limited at this point. He had a breakout season in 2013, hitting .296/.362/.523 in a part-time role.
Ok Mike whatever you say.. Im sure they will accomodate you ..anyone want a sub 230 hitter who cant hit lefties ??
The Red So…oh wait.
Probably the Brewers, honestly.
Brewers, Pirates, possibly Reds depending on how long Votto will be out… and that’s just the NL Central.
Very true. Hopefully the Brewers can work something out. They don’t have any real options at 1B coming up from the farm in the foreseeable future. Maybe Carp can be a good buy low lottery ticket. He can immediately replace Lyle Overbay and the Brewers wouldn’t be any worse off. Since Carp can at least fake LF they’d probably be better off.
As a Pirates fan, I don’t support this idea… ;)… but I agree. Carp can fill in at corner OF, and the Red Sox were trying him out at 3B at one point, although I don’t know if he ever played in a game there. The Bucs already tried “Lyle Overbay Light”, a.k.a. Travis Ishikawa, earlier this year.
Don’t see it at all. Brewers are not going to trade for a no upgrade type player when the combo they have now is not that bad. The Brewers aren’t going to trade for Carp thinking about next year. They are in first place if you haven’t noticed.
Also they have Hunter Morris at AAA who is likely to take over next year. Or they will trade for a real 1st baseman in the off-season…Not trade for an iffy hitter in the middle of a playoff race.
I’m well aware they’re in first place. They’re not trading for any full time players now. They can only upgrade incrementally.
Overbay hasn’t been good this year so slotting the more defensively versatile Carp would be an upgrade. Carp has hit RHP better than Overbay too.
Also, Hunter Morris is hurt and has been awful for 2 years straight. He’s not taking over for anyone and he might never get a chance with the Brewers in any capacity ever.
Mike Carp has put together a 114 wRC+ in his 946 MLB plate appearances. The short porch in right field at Miller Park would only help his HR numbers. Guy could be a legitimate 1B for years for the Brewers if given a chance.
This is called a buy-low opportunity. If it pays off, Brewers get their future 1B for cheap. If not, they didn’t give up much to get him. Why in the world wouldn’t you want to take that chance?
Let me just make the final point that no one can deny:
As the article and Carp clearly state he wants at bats. There is no way the Brewers trade for an upset player and platoon him with Reynolds. It makes no sense as he wouldn’t want to be with the Brewers. And there is no sure thing he gets more next year as Hunter Morris has a very good shot at making the club(his stats are no that bad this year) and I’m sure they would explore other options as well before ever thinking about Carp as the starter.
And halarious you call him versitle after saying all he can do is play first and fake LF. The Brewers don’t have any added interest for a player like that.
If Carp wasn’t demanding a trade for more at bats I could see it, but since he is I just don’t see it….you are just bringing in an angry player. I’m not really sure if Lyle Overbay at bats is what he wants…hard to say.
And back to that playoff race I think the Brewers will take veteran presence over Carp, who seems to have a mouth, if they will both be comparable players.
Carp hits both lefties and righties equally with a mid 7 ops. When given the opportunity to play he does quite well as seen in his only two years with more than 200 PA. It does not seem fair to judge him based soley on his 2014 as we would be judging a number of red sox players quite harshly.
.215 hitter. Good luck
Come back home and join Mike Trout. Angels have a great history of players with fishy last names.
I can only imagine an outfield of Trout, Carp and Salmon.
Does he really hold any leverage to request a trade?
Teams are always on the lookout for power. Sure, his numbers aren’t good this year, but in a very limited sample size… and last year they were very impressive.
Remember in the off season, When Carp was a hot commodity? Yeah. Those were the days.
It makes me wonder all the more why the Red Sox didn’t deal him then, if they never planned to use him.
If he had hit at ALL this year, I would guess he’d have seen more playing time…
How about a trade to the Pawsox?
japan might be a good destination
Yes, he could be a superstar for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp.
There he’d play for the name on the front of the jersey.
In the only 2 seasons of his career where he got over 200 at-bats, Carp has put up very good numbers, including 2013. I said it this past offseason, and I will say it again: Neal Huntingdon, pick up the phone and call Boston. At worst, Carp would improve the bench; at best, he replaces Ike Davis, who just hasn’t cut it so far.
Ike’s been much better of late, and is notorious for good 2nd halfs, for as much as you can put into that. And he has a knack for getting on base, which is what the Bucs lineup is turning into. Sure he’s not spectacular, but I don’t think Carp is any bit of an upgrade.
I honestly wasn’t thinking of Carp as an upgrade, more of another alternative. I like Ike, and he has been better of late, but the Bucs are never going to have enough lefty power for games in PNC.
“I like Ike…”
That’s got a certain ring to it.
Call me crazy, but that’s the kind of thing that could really catch on.
yah but the pirates may not be willing to part with taillon.
I’m not sure the Pirates would part with Taillon for the entire Red Sox MLB roster.
i was joking, i hope that is clear (though unfortunately, sometimes its hard to tell on these boards)
I know, so was I. 😉
Just looking for another team to carry him to a world series ring,the guy thinks he’s so high an mighty over everyone else,good riddance carp if we can find a team that wants you
i demanded a trade too. they just hung up the phone.
Fit’s Jack Z’s reclamation project perfectly. He’ll be in a Mariners uniform shortly.
He was already there, remember?
And why will that stop Jack Z? C’mon, we have Smoak, Morrison, Morales, Hart, & Montero in Tacoma. The M’s could always use another 1B/DH type with a bit of power and a ow OBP.
It’s a no-brainer.
Look up the word “reclamation”.
Wouldn’t surprise me.
9 RBI and 5 ground into double plays. Not a good ratio.
And the sample size is how large?
Should’ve traded him this offseason for *something* if he wasn’t going to be getting playing time anyway (seems they never intended to really use him). Now the best he can be flipped for is some other middling bench guy
Bingo. Doesn’t make any sense.
Or cash
His numbers this year don’t mean much, not everyone can handle part time play. I think this guy would look real good in a Padres uni.
Can’t be worse than Quentin Franceour Brooks Conrad and whoever else we have tried this year.
I too request a Carp trade.
I have mixed feelings about the way the Sox handled Carp. He could’ve played his way into the line-up and didn’t, but this is also a team that employed Darnell McDonald for two and a half seasons and gave him more playing time than he deserved.
Yeah, I don’t get why they kept him around if they weren’t going to use him. The preseason rumor mill had multiple teams inquiring about Carp.
Because when he did play he didn’t hit well and then he got injured. If you’re not getting enough offense, you have to sit someone, and I doubt it was that hard of a decision.
Fair enough. I had not remembered him being hurt this year, but I usually keep tabs on the NL better than the AL.
Carp has the Bret Saberhagen good year/bad year pattern going on. He’s down in even number years, but someone should stash him for 2015.
Josh Beckett is the best example of good year/bad year pattern.
The first nine years of Saberhagen’s career transition perfectly from bad to good to bad to good to…
I disagree, Francisco Liriano wears that crown.
His down seasons have all been the most limited with regards to plate appearances. And in 2012 he still walked at an 11% clip. He’s a good hitter.
With the OF situation being what it is in Boston, I’m surprised he didn’t get more time platooning with Gomes. They must really not like his defense to barely play him even in LF at home.
“…the Red Sox still haven’t found much playing time for Carp.”
Which is odd. Considering the .215 AVG and the sub .100 ISO, you’d figure they’d have thrown 400 PA at him by now. Like I said. Odd.
I don’t think 95 plate appearances is something you should be making a judgement on.
I bet the Hiroshima Carp would be interested
My Mariners will give you Corey Hart or Justin Smoak for Carp. Your choice. Carp will turn it around. I definitely have more faith in Carp than Smoak.
Brewers Brewers Brewers please Brewers! Would cost virtually nothing, and his statistics right now are basically a wash with Lyle Overbay (in terms of wOBA, wRC+, WAR). Factor in, then, that Carp is due for at least a little bit of positive regression, and that Overbay is playing about at the level expected of a 37-year-old has-been, and this is a trade that we really need to look hard at making.
A guy hitting .215 shouldn’t boss around the front office. Can him.
Reds pick up him. Put him at 1B until Votto gets back. Then he can move to LF. Great buy low candidate, had a great 2013.