If you follow me on Twitter you already know that I am deeply saddened by the Seattle’ Mariners latest trade.  The Boston Red Sox have reportedly acquired Jack Hannahan for future considerations (PTBNL or cash).

Hannahan, as you may or may not know, is one of my favorite players in all of baseball.  I liked him for no apparent reason while he was with Oakland and loved him once he was acquired as Adrian Beltre’s caddy early last season.  While he was with Seattle I figured out why I liked him so much.  One, the defense.  He’s one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball, and is pretty darn good across the rest of the infield as well.  Two, the patience.  After watching the Mariners load up with free swingers through the Bill Bavasi years, having GM Jack Zduriencik bring in a guy who can work the counts was a breath of fresh air.  Three, the swing.  Did it produce anything?  Mostly whiffs, but it was awfully pretty if you ask me.  Four, he just looks like a ballplayer.  If I were to draw up a baseball player from scratch, there’s a pretty good chance that rendering looks a lot like Jack Hannahan.

It’s easy to tell that Hannahan is a good and undervalued player based on the teams that have acquired him.  Billy Beane traded for him.  Jack Zduriencik traded for him.  And now Theo Epstein has traded for him.  Obviously, he’s not great considering no one has held on to him, but he’s a nice guy to have in a pinch that not every GM would think to acquire.

While I will miss Hannahan, I’m happy to see him land in a better situation.  He had no where to play in Tacoma following the Dustin Ackley promotion, and Josh Wilson’s “emergence” combined with Hannahan’s struggles at the plate this season kept him out of the big club’s plans.

The Red Sox now have three players that are among my favorite Mariners of all time.  Hannahan, Beltre, Mike Cameron.  If they keep this up I may become a closet SAWKS fan.  I just threw up a little bit in my mouth.

Good luck, Jack.