Mariners place Justin Smoak on bereavement list, call up outfielder Carlos Peguero

Mariners first baseman Justin Smoak was placed on the bereavement list Tuesday, and outfielder Carlos Peguero was called up from Class AAA Tacoma to replace him.

Smoak flew to South Carolina to be with his father, Keith Smoak, who died later at age 54. When a player goes on the bereavement list, their team is allowed to call up a replacement for a minimum of three days, and a maximum of seven. Peguero, 24, is off to a sizzling start for Tacoma, hitting .311 (14 for 45) with nine runs, three doubles, two homers and seven runs batted in.

Smoak was hitting .291 with two homers and seven RBI. Manager Eric Wedge stressed the team will give him all the time he needs.

"That's something I'm so respectful of," he said. "When it comes to family, everything is secondary as far as I'm concerned. When he contacts us and lets us know how things are going, we'll go from there."

Wedge said he plans to get Peguero into the lineup soon. Chris Gimenez and Adam Kennedy are likely to share time at first base while Smoak is out.

"He (Peguero) is off to a nice start," Wedge said. "More than likely it's something short term, but you never know. We've seen young ballplayers parlay that, too."

Peguero, who throws and hits left-handed, has been in the Mariners system since 2005 and is considered one of their leading power prospects. He hit 31 homers in 2009 for Class A High Desert and 23 last year for Class AA West Tennessee.

"I'm excited to get the opportunity to be here and help the team," he said. "I'm swinging real well, working hard on my swing, and that's why I'm here."

Note

• Wedge had some interesting comments about Milton Bradley and his ear plugs.

Asked if they were affecting Bradley's hearing, and thus his ability to communicate with teammates on defense, Wedge said, "Milton's fine. It's more of a focus for him. It helps him concentrate. It allows him to stay in the zone a little bit better. It's just one of those things; if it helps him, then so be it. It's my job, ultimately, to manage everybody and put them in the best position to succeed. Whatever he has to do to do that, that's what we're going to do. In regard to communication, he's fine."

Bradley entered the game as one of the more productive Seattle hitters with a .263 average (.364 on-base percentage, .474 slugging), two homers and a team-leading eight RBI.

"I love the way he's busting it and getting after it," Wedge said. "I think you've seen some consistency with that. I think we'd like to continue to see what we've been seeing with him."

For the record:

W-L: 6-12 W PCT: .333 Streak: W1 Home: 3-5 Road: 3-7 vs. AL West: 2-4 vs. L.A.: 0-0 vs. Oakland: 2-1 vs. Texas: 0-3 vs. AL East: 2-1 vs. AL Cent: 2-7 vs. NL: 0-0 vs. LHP: 4-4 vs. RHP: 2-8 Day: 1-5 Night: 5-7 One-run: 3-2 Extra inngs.: 0-0 Home attendance Tuesday's crowd: 12,411 Season total: 163,312 Biggest crowd: 45,727 (April 8) Smallest crowd: 12,407 (April 13) Average (8 dates): 20,414 2010 average (8 dates): 26,564