Mariners GM Jack Zduriencik has had an impressive tenure thus far, but the reported trade of Brandon Morrow to the Blue Jays for Brandon League and prospect Johermyn Chavez is baffling.

Not in that it's necessarily a bad trade on its face, but the trade doesn't seem to square with the front office's heretofore establised philosophy. Since he took over the Mariners a year ago, Zduriencik has been all about value. From Franklin Gutierrez to Russell Branyan to Cliff Lee to Milton Bradley,  Zduriencik acquired real value for a relatively small price.

I don't see the value in the Morrow deal. Brandon League is a decent reliever, throws hard, has even closed games. But he's still just a reliever, and as the Mariners themselves showed last season, bullpens can be built on the cheap. The prospect involved feels like a throw-in -- repeated Low-A as a 20-year-old last year, good power, horrible plate discipline (137 K, 40 BB in 134 games last year. In two years at Low-A he has 265 K, 65 BB in 249 games).

Morrow's only drawback is that he he's been yanked around by the organization since he was drafted (starter, reliever, rinse, repeat), which has stunted his growth. But a guy who pitches in the high-90s has a lot of upside, and Morrow, despite needed development, still makes for a decent fourth starter.

Weird trade. Unless there's something else coming that will make this one make sense. Or unless Zduriencik is just purging the organization of all of Bavasi's first-round picks (three down, one to go).