Per Larry Stone, Mariner's outfielder Jack Cust has been designated for assignment. The move was made to make room for P Erik Bedard's return. Bedard was activated from the 15-day disabled list and is set to start in Friday's game against Tampa Bay in Seattle. 

Per Stone:

"Seattle has 10 days to trade, release or outright the contract of Cust. Not a huge surprise -- he'd been riding the pines for past month."

Jack Cust was signed this last offseason as the club's designated hitter and was expected to provide some left-handed pop in the middle of the lineup. He struggled to get on track though, and has hit .213 with 3 home runs and only 23 RBI in 67 games. He had 87 strikeouts in 225 at bats. 

Bedard will have a chance to get back on track this season after spraining his knee on July 29th. He has a 4-6 record with a 3.00 ERA. In his last 8 starts, Bedard has gone 3-2 with a 1.72 ERA. The Mariners are looking to feature him this weekend in the hopes they can begin to negotiate a trade for the 32 year old on a one-year deal with the team.