Seattle Mariners Trade Mark Trumbo To Baltimore Orioles
Seattle Mariners trade rumors lead to another deal on Tuesday. The Mariners traded Mark Trumbo to the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for Steve Clevenger. A report from baseball analyst Jon Heyman confirms that the deal has been agreed to by both sides.
Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto has continued his offseason work to rebuild the roster in Seattle and this appears to be another way to save some money moving forward. Steve Clevenger, who could play first base for the Mariners, is under team control through the 2019 MLB season. Mark Trumbo is entering his final arbitration year before becoming a free agent in the offseason.
This latest Seattle Mariners trade could lead to a lot of questions from fans of the team, as Clevenger hasn’t played many games at the Major League level. He will turn 30 in April, but has only played in 148 career games. In that time, he has posted a.228 batting average, 32 extra base hits, and a.607 OPS over 446 plate appearances.
Dipoto likely hopes that Clevenger can build off the statistics he posted during the 2015 MLB season. Playing some games at catcher, first base, and designated hitter (just 30 total), Clevenger had a.287 batting average and.740 OPS to his name. Those stats come from a very small sample size (just 101 at-bats), but it’s possible that he could be the type of player that Dipoto is trying hard to fill the roster with in Seattle.
It’s possible that this latest Seattle Mariners trade could be viewed as a salary dump by GM Jerry Dipoto as well. After making $6.9 million with the Mariners in the 2015 MLB season, he will likely see a raise during the arbitration process. He did post decent numbers while splitting time between Seattle and the Arizona Diamondbacks, posting a.262 batting average, 22 home runs, 64 RBIs, and a.759 OPS over 142 games.
The Mariners acquired Trumbo in a trade with the Diamondbacks midway through the 2015 MLB season. In addition to Trumbo, the Mariners acquired pitcher Vidal Nuno in exchange for Gabriel Guerrero, Jack Reinheimer, Welington Castillo, and Dominic Leone. Trumbo saw time in right field, left field, at first base, and as the designated hitter over his 96 games with the Mariners.
As soon as the Mariners hired Dipoto, rumors began that Trumbo had played his last games for Seattle. He doesn’t fit the fold of speed and defense that Dipoto likes to have, but Trumbo still had some value in the trade market. A number of teams expressed interested in acquiring Trumbo, but it seems that Dipoto found the deal he liked the most with the Baltimore Orioles.
This deal likely opens more salary money for Dipoto to spend in free agency. The team has been linked to free agent outfielder Nori Aoki, who could easily slide into the lineup in Seattle. Aoki was with the San Francisco Giants during the 2015 MLB season, posting a.287 batting average,.353 on-base percentage, and.733 OPS during 355 at-bats. A career.287 hitter, Aoki might fit nicely as a second hitter in the Mariners’ lineup.
Though the trade of Mark Trumbo for Steve Clevenger has not yet been confirmed by the Mariners’ front office, it is being widely reported by many sports sites. It’s possible that a prospect or additional player could be included in the deal. That could mean either the Mariners or Orioles acquire a second player when the deal is completed. For fans of the team, this latest Seattle Mariners trade continues to show that the front office is intent on putting a new product on the field for the 2016 MLB season and beyond.
[Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images]
