Seattle Mariners Acquire John Jaso

According to a tweet from the Seattle Mariners Twitter account, the Mariners have acquired catcher John Jaso from the Tampa Bay Rays. In return, right handed pitcher Josh Leuke will be heading to St. Petersberg, along with a player to be named later or cash considerations. 

This move catches me by surprise, as I thought that Jaso was going to be the Rays catcher long term after two pretty good seasons splitting time with Kelly Shoppach as the starting catcher. Shoppach is also a free agent, so the Rays catching situation is kind of up in the air still.

Jaso will be fighting for a roster spot with the Mariners in spring training and could compete for the starting job as the season gets closer. He is 28 years old, getting a bit older to be considered as a player with much upside, Last season he hit .224/.298/.354 with five home runs. The Mariners and Rays are both teams who had troubled offenses last season.