Mike Carp Trade Rumors: Brewers Out On Red Sox Trade Target

The Mike Carp trade rumors are coming to a head, but the competition is actually going in the opposite direction as this saga approaches its conclusion.

After an injury knocked out Milwaukee first baseman Mat Gamel for the season, beat writer Adam McCalvy heard from Brewers GM Doug Melvin that the team was indeed in on Carp. That interest was incredibly short-lived. According to Ken Rosenthal, the Brewers are now officially out on Carp, preferring instead to keep their search internal, or their acquisition one on a minor-league deal.

That leaves the Red Sox, Twins, and Astros as the known suitors for Carp. And with McCalvy also dropping a note from Seattle GM Jack Zdurencik that the situation will likely be wrapped up within the next "24-48 hours," well, it seems likely to stay that way.

This may seem like good news for a Sox team that clearly has at least some level of interest in Carp. But should he find his way to Minnesota or Houston, it will frankly be no skin off of Boston's back. While it's true that the Red Sox are looking to fill a 25th roster spot with a first baseman/outfielder, Mike Carp just makes no sense for the team. He doesn't really fill the role the Red Sox need to fill, and he's certainly not good enough to want outside of that.

The Red Sox could use a first baseman who can play outfield without embarrassing himself and hit right-handed pitching. Mike Carp is a first baseman who can't do either of those things. The Mariners and Brewers each passed on him, even with a hole at first as large as Milwaukee's. Why should the Red Sox want him if they did not?