It’s been about nine hours since the Mariners traded for Mike Morse and sent John Jaso to the Oakland A’s in a three-team trade.

Here’s my story on the trade with some good quotes from Morse and Jack Zduriencik.

My first reaction to it? Well, after the sheer panic of looking at my phone and seeing eight missed calls and 12 texts, I guess my next reaction was a shoulder shrug. Maybe a “hey, I got something to write about for a few days.”

There seems to be this need for everyone to determine whether a trade is good or bad or otherwise in the moments after it has occurred.

And in some cases like the Erik Bedard trade it’s easy to have an opinion.  The Mariners gave up five guys, including their best hitting prospect and a top pitching prospect  for a moody starter, with a history of injuries, who had pitched more than 150 innings only twice in his career. It’s easy to have an opinion on something that dramatic.

But this is 1-for-1 trade with two major league players, who have some definite strengths and also some glaring weaknesses. The Mariners did not give up any of their prized prospects in this deal.

Obviously, Jaso was one of the most productive hitters on the Mariners last season. A cynic would point out that isn’t the highest compliment in the world.  Still, Jaso put together solid at-bats understood how to draw walks, while rarely striking out. He also had knack for hitting in big situations. There is value in that. Defensively, his catching skills are considered below average in almost every regard by scouts. Is he functional behind the place? Yes. He gives good effort. And I would rather watch him catch 100 games before one Miguel Olivo game. But with Jesus Montero on the roster, Jaso was never going to be more than a part-time catcher, while stealing some at-bats at DH. Jaso is a good hitter and will be missed, but let’s not turn him into Ted Williams.

Morse, who used to be a part of this organization before being traded for Ryan Langerhans in 2009 (a whole other dissertation for another time), returns as an expected middle of the order threat to hit behind Kendrys Morales. He has power. More power than I ever thought he would possess after seeing him play over 100 games with the Rainiers. In 2011, he hit .301 with 31 homers with 95 RBI and a .910 OPS. Last year, he missed 50 games and still hit .291 with 18 homers and 62 RBI. The numbers might have been better. But basically Morse missed all of spring training and only got 23 plate appearances in his minor league rehab before being activated. Consequently, he struggled early as he tried to find his swing and rhythm. Hit .217 over the first 21 games with one homer and 7 RBIs. In the next 83 games, Morse hit .310 with 18 homers and 55 RBI.

So you have one guy who gets on base at a high rate and doesn’t strike out, and you trade him for another guy who hits homers strikes out more and doesn’t get on base as much. And neither of them is particularly good defensively at their main positions. It doesn’t completely even out. But the Mariners are searching for power and every day player. Jaso, despite some people’s protest, isn’t an everyday player.

Perhaps the biggest difference is contract status. Jaso is under club control for three more years. Morse will be a free agent after this season. Morse could be gone after this season. Heck, he could be gone at midseason if he is hitting and the Mariners are out of it.

Some people will point out that the Mariners have a glut of not great defensive left field types – Jason Bay, Raul Ibanez and Morse – along with several 1B/DH types – Justin Smoak, Mike Carp, Kendrys Morales and Morse. It will sort its way out. It usually does. Injuries, lack of performance and other roster moves will make it work.

I really don’t know what to say about the trade. I can see why people wanted to keep Jaso. I can see why the Mariners traded for Morse. I have no outrage. I have no joy. I have no more words about this ..

From around the Marinersphere ….

• Mike Salk of 710 AM says the Mariners take a worthy risk in trading for Morse
• Dave Cameron of USS Mariner writes about the fundamental flaw in the trade
• Jeff Sullivan covers the trade for Lookout Landing. He’s not necessarily a fan of the trade
• Matthew Carruth looks at the fallacy that John Jaso can’t hit lefties
• And Jeff being Jeff … he also adds this Q&A that is quite entertaining.
• Jon Shields of ProBall NW asks if the trade was really so bad. 
• Keith Law of ESPN says the deal makes no sense for Seattle

From the Nationals perspective ….

• Here’s Adam Kilgore’s story on the trade for the Washington Post. He also has this blog with more comments from Morse
• Dan Steinberg of the Post’s DC Sports Bog has his nine favorite Morse moments 
• The Nats’ SB Nation blog – Federal Baseball - weighs in on the trade
• Here’s a post from the Nats Insider blog

What the A’s have to say ...

• Here’s the trade story from the SF Chronicle with some interesting quotes from Billy Beane.
• There are mostly comments in this blog post. but some are relatively interesting. Oakland fans seem pleased and they should be.