KNEE-JERK REACTIONS: Orioles, Trumbo Agree on Three-Year Deal

Per multiple reports, the Orioles and slugger Mark Trumbo have agreed on a new three-year contract.

Sources: Three-year deal between #Orioles, Trumbo expected to be under $40M. Two sides close to agreement.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 19, 2017

#orioles have had internal tug-of-war. Wanted Trumbo back but liked the draft pick they'd receive. Price came down and deal could get done https://t.co/OhZDXbxqyC

— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) January 19, 2017

ESR staff react to the news here:

Derek Arnold

While I’m not overly excited about having Trumbo back, at three years and just $37 million, it’s hard to complain about the deal. The Birds will hope that they get first-half Mark back, and not the guy who fell apart in the second half.

It’s not reasonable to expect 47 home runs and an .850 OPS again, but if Trumbo puts up numbers that are in line with those of his career (34 HR, .776 OPS), O’s fans will be satisfied.

There are plenty who would have rather seen the O’s spend some money on a pitcher, but what pitcher are you going to get for that kind of deal?

Here’s to another three years of majestic TRUMBOMBS at the Yard!

Phil Backert

The Orioles once again get their player at their price, a strategy that has worked well for them in the Duquette era. Trumbo can now DH against right-handers and possibly play right field against lefties with Trey Mancini sliding in at DH. I still can’t get over how cheap Trumbo signed for. If the numbers shake out correctly, Ubaldo Jimenez could earn more this season than Trumbo. Wild.

Joe Polek

This is a good deal for the Orioles. Now that they have a couple corner outfielders to use and rotate, Trumbo can be the everyday DH. And keeping him in this lineup was crucial. The Orioles are set up to be better in 2017 than they were in 2016 without upgrading pitching.

Ryan Blake

All offseason, I’ve been part of the “let him walk” camp. Trumbo, last season, posted the lowest fWAR among single-season home run leaders in the live ball era. That essentially means he was a “HR or Bust” type of player with bad defense. For that reason, and as a fan of a team that’s has lived and died by the home run for several years now, I had no interest in bringing him back.

Now, as the Orioles have their outfield spoken for and will seemingly use Trumbo almost exclusively as a designated hitter, I’m happy with this deal, especially at such a low price. His value will increase since he probably won’t be playing much outfield. As long as the power numbers don’t dwindle, he’ll be a valuable asset to the team.

Andrew Stetka

The Orioles went ahead and did the one thing I hoped they wouldn’t do this offseason and gave Mark Trumbo a multi-year deal. Whether they were hypnotized by his career season and home run swing or just decided to give out their money to a guy who wore the same uniform last year, it’s a bad deal.

Last year aside, Trumbo is not a very good baseball player. He’s a power hitter who strikes out a lot and plays awful defense. Now they are locked into paying him for another three years. Look, getting Trumbo for Steve Clevenger in retrospect was a great deal. I’m not going to deny that. But it’s also important to remember that it only took Steve Clevenger to get Trumbo (and C.J. Riefenhauser).

Attaching yourself to him like this isn’t a good idea. It’s not like they are paying massive dollars for him, but I think there is a big misconception about the type of player Trumbo really is because of the season he had last year. The only saving grace in this deal is that it’s for three years, and not four. Also, the O’s didn’t bid against themselves after pulling their previous offer. They got him at a (very) small discount to what the initial offer was reported at.

The Birds still don’t have a very good defensive outfielder on their roster (aside from Adam Jones). Joey Rickard will be talked up, but who knows if he’s even in line to make the roster at this point. There are more cooks in the kitchen.

Jonathan French

I’m not a fan of this deal for a few reasons. The first is that is Trumbo doesn’t solve any current needs for the Orioles as they needed to drastically improve their hitting against LHP and outfield defense. Trumbo, although he has a career wRC+ of 113 against LHP, only had a wRC+ of 54 against them last season so there’s reasonable doubt if he’ll be as effective against them as he has been in the past. Trumbo’s defense also is questionable because of his -9 DRS in RF last season. With a likely platoon of him with Seth Smith in RF, however, the Orioles may be able to mitigate that some by having Trumbo only play the field against LHP instead of the opposite last season. Like Kim though, he may need a defensive replacement in the later innings, so this makes Rule 5 pick Aneury Tavarez more likely to stick on the roster as Joey Rickard will already likely be playing LF.

The contract terms are reasonable, but the Orioles could have had a better overall hitter in Chris Carter against LHP for less or they could have kept Trey Mancini, who will now have a harder time sticking on the 25-man roster as only a platoon DH against LHP. Pedro Alvarez would have been a better fit against RHP at DH for less which is where Trumbo will see most of his PAs. The Orioles also lose the compensation pick that they would have received had another team signed Trumbo before June which was highly likely. For a team that desperately needs top quality talent in its minors, giving up that draft pick is not without consequences.

When you look at all of that, this may have played out like the Chris Davis saga did last season, and it will certainly be spun that way. The Orioles waited around long enough get their slugger that nobody else really wanted for the price they were willing to pay. This time though, I think Trumbo was the wrong target.

Joe Serpico

It has been rumored for some time now that the Orioles and Mark Trumbo were inching to a deal. It was a deal that made sense for everyone.

Trumbo does not get the huge pay day that he was expecting after his career year, but gets to keep playing in the ballpark where he hit 25 home runs. While it’s unlikely he posts the same numbers, the O’s have a legitimate designated hitter for the next few years.

For Baltimore, keeping the reigning home run leader for $37.5 million over three years after Jose Bautista suckered the the Blue Jays for $18 million this season is a bargain. This is also a deal that does not hamper them when the discussions start for Zach Britton and Manny Machado. It’s good to see the Orioles keeping their own in recent years.

We’ll add more knee-jerk reactions as they roll in…