SAN DIEGO – There were hints of the coming situation. On Tuesday, following an 8-minute flat-ground throwing session, Erik Bedard was seen pointing to spot on the back of his sore left shoulder for Mariners trainer Rick Griffin.

On Wednesday, just a half-hour before he was supposed to throw a bullpen session in preparation for his next start, scheduled for Saturday, Bedard was seen leaving Petco Field instead.

Later, when hard-hitting Tacoma Rainiers first baseman Mike Carp came out of the clubhouse for early batting practice, it seemed like a foregone conclusion – something was wrong with Bedard.

That something was continued discomfort in his throwing shoulder, which led the Mariners to place him on the 15-day disabled list Wednesday and recall Carp from Tacoma.

“With Erik I’m hoping this is just precautionary,” Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said. “We backdated the DL, which bought us some time. What we’re hoping for is he’s ready to go next week.”

Because Bedard hasn’t pitched since June 7, the Mariners made the move retroactive June 8, meaning Bedard could be activated Tuesday when the Mariners open a home series with the Padres.

But before that happens, Bedard will be in Los Angeles today to meet with orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum, who performed minor shoulder surgery on Bedard the past offseason.

“We’ll know a little bit more after tomorrow,” Zduriencik said. “Nobody wants to take a chance with as good as he’s been throwing.”

For manager Don Wakamatsu, it again burdens a pitching staff that has had to deal with minor injury issues with Bedard and Jarrod Washburn, plus the loss of Ryan Rowland-Smith since the first week of the season.

Left-hander Jason Vargas, whom Wakamatsu was hoping to give a few extra days of rest, will instead start Saturday in place of Bedard. Felix Hernandez will start Sunday.

“The last couple of weeks we’ve been in that patchwork-rotation mode,” Wakamatsu said. “We’ll try to look down the road and get (Vargas) an opportunity for an extra day, just because (he) didn’t play last year.”

The actual decision to put Bedard on the DL didn’t happen until Wednesday afternoon. The Mariners knew Bedard wasn’t feeling great after the Tuesday throwing session. So they flew Carp out of Portland, where he was playing with the Rainiers, on Wednesday as a precaution.

Even though Carp didn’t know for certain he was being called up, he was still “walking on clouds.”

“I set four alarms and got a wake-up call,” Carp said.

Once he got to San Diego, Carp waited at the hotel for the decision to be made and the ensuing call from Zduriencik. So he waited, as did his friends and family in Long Beach, Calif., who were hoping to make the short drive south.

“The call came about 2 p.m. and my family is on their way,” Carp said around 4 p.m. after taking early BP.

At age 22, Carp played in his first big-league game. In fact, starting the season in Triple-A was a big step for him. But he has flourished, coming into Wednesday he was hitting .299 with 16 doubles, 10 homers and 32 RBI with a stellar on-base percentage of .412 and a slugging percentage of .517.

Carp didn’t start Wednesday night, but he’ll start today with Russell Branyan flying back to Georgia to attend his grandfather’s funeral.

Wakamatsu an All-Star

The announcemen that Wakamatsu was selected by Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon as a coach for the 2009 All-Star Game was a secret Wakamatsu had kept since April. When the Rays were in town early in the season, Maddon asked Wakamatsu if was interested in being a coach.

“I said, ‘Absolutely,’ ” Wakamatsu said. “I’ve known Joe for 25 years, and was honored he’d ask me, especially as a first-year manager. It’s quite an opportunity. I’ll bring my family with me and have them share it with me.”

Kansas City manager Trey Hillman was Maddon’s other pick. In the National League, Phillies manager Charlie Maneul chose Los Angeles manager Joe Torre and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa as his coaches.

On tap

The Mariners wrap up the series today with Brandon Morrow (0-3, 5.91 ERA) going against Josh Geer (1-2, 6.14) at 12:35 p.m. on FSN and 710-AM

Ryan Divish: 253-597-8483

ryan.divish@thenewstribune.com

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