DETROIT — If anything, the decision was too long in coming, but Friday the Indians cut ties with Johnny Damon by designating him for assignment and calling up Ezequiel Carrera from Triple-A Columbus.

“We had to make a tough decision in designating Johnny,” manager Manny Acta said. “He was not performing the way he expected or the way we expected.

“But you can only imagine what kind of impact he would have made if he had performed better. He still made an impact on our kids. I think he was affected by not having a spring training.”

What probably affected Damon more was his age, 38.

Damon failed to latch onto a job all winter and signed with the Indians on April 17, making his debut May 2, after two weeks of preparation at the Indians’ extended spring training program in Arizona.

He started slowly and never blossomed into the hitter that made him one of the premier offensive players in baseball for more than a decade. Yet he quickly became a regular in left and played 64 games for the Indians, batting .222 with six doubles and four home runs in 207 at-bats. The one thing Damon still could do was run, and he stole four bases without being thrown out.

In his final month with the Indians, Damon batted .258.