The Seattle Mariners have acquired Michael Morse from the Washington Nationals in a three-team deal that included the Oakland Athletics. The breakdown of the deal is as follows…
- Mariners receive: Michael Morse, 1B/OF
- Athletics receive: John Jaso, C
- Nationals receive: AJ Cole, RHP / Blake Treinen, RHP / PTBNL from Oakland
Something to point out, and rather interestingly, is that the trade represents a bit of a homecoming for two of these players, as MLBTR pointed out to me. Morse spent the first few years of his career in Seattle, and he returns there as Seattle looks to bolster their lineup after failing to acquire Justin Upton. Morse is a year removed from his breakout ’11 campaign, where he hit 31 HRs and drove in 95 runs, and supplemented that with a .303/.360/.550 line. In 2012, he hit 18 HRs and drove in 62 runs over 430 Plate Appearances, to the tune of a .291/.321/.470 slash. Morse is a free agent after 2013.
Cole was drafted in 2010 by the Nationals and was actually traded to Oakland in the deal they acquired Gio Gonzalez in, so he returns to the Nationals organization now. He was the #57 prospect on Baseball America’s list and was ranked as Oakland’s third best prospect. He is coming off a season where he pitched at two levels going 6-3 with a 2.07 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and 102 strikeouts in 95 2/3 innings at the Class-A level, but 0-7 with a 7.82 ERA, 1.84 WHIP and 31 strikeouts in 38 innings at the Class-A Advanced level. (Hat tip to RJ White of CBS Sports for those splits.)
Blake Treinen was Oakland’s 7th round pick in the 2011 draft. He is coming off a year where he pitched in 24 games, and he started 15 of those games. He posted a 4.37 ERA in 103 innings pitched with 92 Ks and a 1.350 WHIP.
For what it is worth, Jaso hit .276/.394/.456 with 10 home runs over 361 plate appearances in 2012. The A’s designated George Kottaras for assignment to make room for the move.
By the way, in other news, the Phillies have signed two players to minor league deals: Juan Cruz and Aaron Cook. Cook posted a 5.35 ERA in 94 innings last year, while Juan Cruz posted a 2.78 ERA over 35.2 innings in 2012. Cruz was released after refusing an assignment to the minors.
