[1] He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, and Cleveland Indians.

Prior to playing professionally, he attended Yucaipa High School and then Brigham Young University (BYU).

At BYU, he majored in mechanical engineering and was named to the Mountain West Conference All-Tournament Team in his freshman season, which was also the event's inaugural year.

Carson signed as a minor league free agent with the Oakland Athletics on December 1, 2008, and played with the Sacramento River Cats.

[9] Three days later, he hit his first major league home run in the 9th inning off of the Texas Rangers' Eddie Guardado.

[citation needed] He was purchased by the Tampa Bay Rays from the Athletics on August 1, 2011,[10] and briefly played with the Durham Bulls, where he hit .250 in 22 games.

[18] He played in 33 games for the Triple-A Nashville Sounds, batting .209/.296/.336 with three home runs, 13 RBI, and three stolen bases.