Jim Cowsert – USA TODAY Sports

After signing Josh Hamilton to a five-year, $125 million dollar deal last week, the Los Angeles Angels had a pretty crowded lineup to deal with. With Hamilton in the fold, it was hard to imagine a lineup that gave at-bats to Peter Boujos, Vernon Wells and Kendrys Morales, figuring Hamilton will play a majority of his games in left field or as the Angels’ DH. Therefore, the Angels decided to trade one of their excess bats, Kendrys Morales, to the Seattle Mariners for left-handed pitcher Jason Vargas.

If there was ever a trade that helps both teams, this is it. Vargas, who was the subject of many trade rumors around the trade deadline last season, will fit in the Angels’ rotation pretty nicely. The soft-tossing lefty isn’t overpowering by any means, but he gives the Angels something most teams love having – 200 innings. Vargas has thrown over 190 innings in each of his last three seasons.

In regards to Morales, the Mariners desperately needed some offense. And after whiffing on every single free agent bat so far this winter, trading for Morales makes a whole lot of sense. Although Morales isn’t the beast he once was, he still should fit in the DH role nicely for the Mariners, who used Miguel Olivo in the same role last season. That tells you all you need to know about the Mariners’ DH situation. Moreover, the Mariners have a lot of young pitching, so trading Vargas away will not hurt them in the slightest.

Final verdict: Mariners improve their anemic offense, while the Angels get a solid innings-eater. Both teams come out ahead in this one, seeing as they traded from excess to acquire something they each needed.