Mark Trumbo is back in Baltimore. He's re-signing with the Orioles for three years and $37.5 million, which is more than reasonable -- and much less than he was anticipated to receive when he hit free agency after rejecting the Orioles' qualifying offer.
Trumbo was pegged to land a contract of at least four years and somewhere in the neighborhood of $50 to $60 million. That market never materialized, and the Orioles didn't bid against themselves. Trumbo's deal with the Orioles includes some deferred money because of course it does, but that has little effect on what seems like a solid signing.
Did you want the Orioles to sign a quality, full-time outfielder? Would you have been fine with signing Chris Carter for the DH spot and using that money to beef up the rotation? Will this signing leave enough money or roster space for the O's to add a speedy, defensive outfielder type, like Michael Bourn? Those are legitimate concerns. But the Orioles went with the power hitter who they are familiar with, and they didn't have to pay a ridiculous price. In fact, the O's may be looking at a relative bargain.
Anyway, who's ready for more Trumbombs? Enjoy this YouTube highlight reel below of all 47 of Trumbo's 2016 taters.
11 comments:
I hate to say it but the O's haven't changed much (just replaced some moving parts) and I feel they've gotten incrementally better than last year. Miley should be better than Gallardo, hopefully. Gausman and Bundy more experienced. LOOGY problem solved. Kim more established. Castillo for Wieters (wash and cheaper). Smith/Tavarez for Alvarez/Reimold (an improvement at least on defense). Addition of Mancini as RH DH. Most of the replacement players are cheaper. This team should be at least as competitive as last year and might hit lefties better. If Caleb and O'Day can stay healthy then we'll be better.
Big fan of Camden Depot, first time commenter.
I agree with Roger, continuity is rare in Baltimore, especially at a reasonable rate (j'accuse Davis, Ubaldo etc), and while I trust DD to unearth some dud year slugger, which as we remember the Trumbomb replaced the Cruz Missile, eventually the luck would run dry. At least with Trumbo he has a proven record, and even if he dips OPACY should give him enough of a leg up. I like Trumbo being there a whole lot more than the other names that have been thrown around. To go with Roger, replacing Wieters with Castillo, at least from an Offensive standpoint is a goer. Corner outfield is a problem, but that's fast becoming an Oriole tradition. Bring on 2017.
Didn't they just get more of what they already had, at the expense of things they desperately needed and have nowhere on the horizon? The team splits were bad and got worse, the outfield defense remains awful, with not a single outfielder better than zero, Trey Mancini is gone, despite potentially being able to do everything the Trumbo does, for league minimum, and and then there's the pitching .
Yes, Trumbo is inexpensive, and yes, he can be traded at mid season if he's not horrible. But he will only be traded if the team is horrible and he is not and the former appears to be more likely than not.
They could have got Carter and Alvarez together for cheaper than Trumbo alone! Please, put that OF glove in the schredder!
Did they get more of what they already had? Yes, if you're just talking about a power hitter who strikes out a lot. But also no, unless you already consider Mancini a definitive, productive full-time major league hitter. I'm also not convinced yet Mancini won't find his way on the roster in a bench role, but he still classifies as an unknown. That's a lot to ride on with a must-win roster.
There aren't a bunch of great starting pitching options out there. Would Jason Hammel be a big enough upgrade? Perhaps they could still pull off such a signing. But yes, the starting pitching is thin. It has been for a long time.
The same goes for the outfield defense. They wanted to improve it. They didn't do that, unless you just view the positive of Trumbo not seeing nearly 800 innings in the outfield again. Smith is not great, but he is not Trumbo either.
The issue vs. LHP is important, but I'm not ready to write Trumbo off in that regard either. Last year he was very bad against LHP, and so was the team as a whole. That's going to happen some years to a team who has right-handed regulars like Jones and Schoop who are not productive against opposite-handed throwers.
Also: "They could have got Carter and Alvarez together for cheaper than Trumbo alone! Please, put that OF glove in the schredder!"
No team really has the luxury of keeping platoon DH-only players on the roster. Cheap or not, that's just not realistic and a poor way to construct a roster. If the Orioles didn't have Chris Davis, that would be one thing. But they do.
Platooning worked wonders in 1983!
Bullpens were smaller and they did not platoon as much as you might think.
Really appreciate your thoughtful answers. It's gratifying to get reasoned answers to questions and comments. Thanks, and also to Joe and Jon, who also respond thoughtfully.
Bob-
Sorry, to clarify, I imagine that Trumbo will see the field much less in 2017 thanks to potentially a Smith/Rickard platoon. I think the Trumbo signing is even better as he will be shifted finally tomore DH'ing
It was fun to watch those Trumbombs! I started counting how many just got out of the park and, unless I missed something, 40 of his 47 home runs were "no-doubters."
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