Peter Gammons and Ken Rosenthal are reporting that the Marlins have sent Scott Olsen and Josh Willingham to the Washington Nationals for second baseman Emilio Bonifacio, right-hander P.J. Dean and outfielder Jake Smolinski.

We are quite surprised by this trade because I always assumed the Marlins would get more for Olsen (for some reason we feel like Willingham is a throw-in).

Rosenthal adds:

The addition of Bonifacio will enable the team to move Dan Uggla to third base. Smolinski, 19, is coming off reconstructive knee surgery. He was the Nationals’ second-round pick in the 2007 draft and Dean was their seventh rounder out of New Caney (Texas) High School that same year.

I guess Bonifacio brings speed and defense but he’s still a career .240 hitter so I wonder how the Marlins plan to make up for his offense. Also, if Dan Uggla ends up at third does it mean that Jorge Cantu will end up at first base with Dallas McPherson and Wes Helms coming off the bench?

Whenever the Marlins make a trade that doesn’t seem to make sense, we always close our eyes, take a deep breath and say: “In Larry We Trust”

Update: It’s official.

Update 2: More info on the players we received.