Mariners recall Smoak, Carp placed on DL

SEATTLE, Wa. -- Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jack Zduriencik announced today that the club has placed first baseman Mike Carp on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin muscle. To take his place on the 25-man roster, first baseman Justin Smoak has been recalled from AAA Tacoma.

Smoak (#17) will be in uniform and available for tonight’s game vs. Tampa Bay (7:10 pm PT) at Safeco Field.

Carp, 26, left Sunday’s game at Los Angeles (AL) with discomfort after stretching for a throw in the 5^th inning.

Carp was hitting .308 (16x52) with 3 doubles and a homer in his last 15 games, dating back to July 26. Overall this season, he has appeared in 49 games with Seattle, batting .206 (29x141) with 6 doubles, 2 triples, 5 home runs and 20 RBI.

This is Carp’s third stint on the disabled list this season. His previous two DL placements were due to right shoulder injuries. He originally injured it diving on the artificial turf in Seattle’s season-opening game against the Oakland A’s in Tokyo, Japan. He was on the disabled list from March 29-May 1 with a sprained right shoulder. After being activated from the DL, he hit .165 (13-for-79) with 3 doubles and 4 home runs in 31 games with the Mariners. He returned to the DL June 13-July 23 with inflammation in the right shoulder.

Smoak, 25, was 5-for-his-last-10 with 3 doubles and 2 walks in his last three games with the Rainiers. He is hitting .265 in August with a .444 on-base percentage, and raised his AAA average to .242 (16x66) overall. Smoak was optioned to Tacoma on July 23 (post-game) in the midst of a 1-for-25 stretch that had dropped his average with Seattle to .189. He is still tied for the team lead in home runs (13), and is fourth on the club in RBI (38) in 90 games played.