The Mariners announced today that they have acquired 3B Jack Hannahan from the Oakland A’s in exchanged for minor league reliever Justin Souza.

Hannahan makes poor contact and lacks power, but he draws some walks and plays top notch defense at third base.  Hannahan ranks 6th in UZR this year among third basemen with at least 300 innings in the field.  He’s a 1+ WAR player over the course of a whole season, meaning he’s not the guy you want starting in an ideal situation but he’s certainly an adequate fill-in.  Chris Woodward has done a fine job filling in but his bat is slowing down from his hot start and while he’s shown great range and made some stellar plays at third base, the errors on easier plays have been crippling at times.

Souza has had a pretty solid career in the Mariners organization and has a good chance to be a useful arm at the big league level based on the numbers, but it’s hard to complain about getting a useful part for a probable reliever.

No corresponding roster move has been announced, but I would guess this spells the end of the Josh Wilson era.  (Edit: Wilson just won’t go away.  Brandon Morrow has been optioned to Tacoma.)

This is a solid move for both teams.  Hannahan improves the team and didn’t cost enough to stop them from making another move if the opportunity presents itself.  The A’s get a useful arm that could be in the big leagues as a starter or reliever by some time next season, maybe even this September (it’s the A’s, after all).

While I like the deal, the infield offense is a massive black hole minus Russell Branyan.

Hannahan (134 PA): .193/.278/.360
Cedeno (155 PA): .152/.209/.283
Lopez (328 PA): .256/.286/.430

I think another move is on the way.  I originally thought Pirates SS Jack Wilson was the guy, but keep an eye on 2B Freddy Sanchez now.  It’s weird to think that the team would replace Lopez based on the batting lines of Hannahan and Cedeno, but at least those two are legitimately good fielders.  Lopez’s range is getting worse at second base and he’s going from a fringe average defender to a clearly bad one, all the while not pulling his weight offensively.  The .430 SLG is nice out of a second baseman, but the .286 OBP is downright embarrassing.