The Mariners and Orioles were finalizing a deal Tuesday night to send first baseman/outfielder/DH Mark Trumbo and another player from Seattle to Baltimore in exchange for catcher/first baseman Steve Clevenger, according to multiple reports.
The teams have not confirmed the deal, but a source told the News Tribune's Bob Dutton: "It’s going to get done. We’re down to looking at medicals (records). Barring something unexpected, we’ve got a deal." Dutton was first to report that the Mariners were moving on from Trumbo after just half a season.
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This doesn't seem like a good deal for either team.
The move is clearly a salary dump by the Mariners, who are willing to make a bad deal and get something in return instead of just cutting Trumbo loose by not tendering him a contract before Wednesday's deadline. Trumbo's projected $9.1 million salary for 2016 dwarfs the $520,000 that the left-handed hitting Clevenger is due to make.
The Orioles, meanwhile, want to find somebody with power to replace free-agent slugger Chris Davis at first base, although absorbing Trumbo's salary doesn't seem like the best move.
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Trumbo was acquired by the Mariners from the Diamondbacks in June and hit 13 homers with 41 RBIs in 96 games with Seattle. He hit 22 homers and drove in 64 runs in 142 games between the two teams while hitting .262/.310/.449. Trumbo closed last season strong, hitting .302/.358/.490 over his final 74 games with 12 homers and 36 RBIs.
Clevenger, 29, hit .287./314/.426 last season in 30 games for the Orioles but spent much of the year at Triple-A Norfolk, where he batted .305 in 75 games.
New Mariners general manager Jerry Dipoto must not think very highly of Trumbo, who hit 34 homers with 100 RBIs for the Angels in 2013. After that season, Dipoto, then the GM in Anaheim, traded Trumbo to the Diamondbacks.
Clevenger was acquired by the Orioles in the 2013 trade that send 2015 NL Cy Young winner Jake Arrieta to the Cubs.