Photo by Brian Allen

Washington Nationals fans might want to chuck their libraries of 1980s Scandinavian synthpop with the news that outfielder and first baseman Michael Morse was traded to the Seattle Mariners last night as part of a three-team deal.

Morse began his professional career with the Mariners and shuttled between the majors and the minors, but it wasn’t until he came to the Nats that he flourished in to a reliable cleanup hitter. And he also achieved something even more astounding: Giving a-Ha’s 1985 hit single “Take On Me” renewed relevancy in an era when most players walk to the plate of the latest additions to the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Still, the Nats trading Morse became more and more likely after the team locked down first baseman Adam LaRoche and started planning for a regular outfield of Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth and Denard Span. In an interview with The Washington Post, Morse didn’t show any bitterness about being sent back to Seattle:

“I always thought that I could be a good player if I got an opportunity,” Morse said Wednesday night in a phone conversation. “I got my opportunity here, and all the hard work and everything I’ve always done paid off. I finally felt like I fit in. I finally felt like I had a home.”

In return for Morse, the Nats are also getting back one of their former players, pitching prospect A.J. Cole from the Oakland Athletics. Cole was traded to Oakland last year in the deal that landed the Nats their eventual starting ace Gio Gonzalez.

Although the Nats are making all the moves to suggest that they intend to improve upon their National League East-leading finish last year, there’s one thing that might be more difficult to replace with Morse’s departure: His avid Twitter use, including a ready willingness to interact with fans, such as when he consoled upset Nats fans the night the team lost the National League Division Series.

D.C. Sports Nexus has a short tribute to Morse’s time in D.C., animated appropriately: