The Orioles don’t yet know whether Chris Davis will return to Baltimore, but they have a potential replacement on the roster now in the event that he signs elsewhere, as the team has announced the acquisition of Mark Trumbo and left-hander C.J. Riefenhauser from the Mariners in exchange for catcher Steve Clevenger.
Trumbo, 30 in January, provides insurance in the event that Davis does not return and can be an option in left field or at DH in the event that Davis is re-signed. Alternatively, the Orioles could deploy Trumbo at first base for his final season of club control and use Davis primarily in the corner outfield in 2016 before shifting him back to first base when Trumbo reaches free agency next winter.
Trumbo averaged 32 homers per season from 2011-13 with the Angels and D-backs, but injuries slowed him in 2014, and his power output declined a bit in 2015. In total, he’s a career .250/.300/.458 hitter with 30-homer power that is coming off a .262/.319/.449 season split between Arizona and Seattle. This marks the second time in the past three years that Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto has traded Trumbo, as he sent him to Arizona in a three-team deal that netted Tyler Skaggs and Hector Santiago while serving as GM of the Angels.
From a defensive standpoint, Trumbo is limited. While he has experience at third base, in the corner outfield and at first base, he’s below average at the hot corner and in the outfield. While that limitation and his low on-base numbers suppress Trumbo’s value, he’s still a legitimate source of right-handed power that can handle first base. The Mariners don’t value that skill set at Trumbo’s projected $9.1MM salary, but he can certainly help the Orioles next season, and a move out of Safeco Field could benefit his overall production.
Riefenhauser, a 25-year-old southpaw, was acquired earlier in the winter in the trade that also delivered Nate Karns from the Rays, but will apparently never suit up for Seattle. Riefenhauser has yet to do much of use in the big leagues (6.30 ERA in 20 innings), but has put up excellent minor league numbers. In 113 innings at the Triple-A level, Riefenhauser has a 2.15 ERA to go along with averages of 8.7 strikeouts and 3.2 walks per nine innings pitched.
The 29-year-old Clevenger gives the Mariners a left-handed-hitting complement to Chris Iannetta and makes it easier for the club to give Mike Zunino some further development time at Triple-A. Clevenger, who also has experience at first base and third base, batted .287/.314/.426 with a pair of homers in 105 plate appearances in Baltimore last season. He’s been shuffled between the Majors and minors with the Cubs and Orioles over the past four seasons due primarily to questions about his defense, as he doesn’t have much to prove at the plate in Triple-A. The former seventh-round pick has never shown a great deal of power but consistently hits for average and gets on base at the top minor league level, where he’s a lifetime .310/.372/.413 hitter in 1061 plate appearances.
Clevenger is out of minor league options, so he’ll need to stick with the Major League club out of Spring Training in 2016. While he was projected to split time with Caleb Joseph behind the plate for the Orioles in 2016, a wrench was thrown into those plans when Matt Wieters accepted a qualifying offer. With Wieters and Joseph now slated to be the primary catching duo next season, Clevenger’s role with the team is uncertain.
The trade leaves the Mariners without a definitive answer at first base in 2016. With Trumbo now in Baltimore and Logan Morrison having been dealt to Tampa Bay in the aforementioned Riefenhauser trade, Seattle will likely look outside the organization to bring in a new first baseman. While some might speculate on the possibility of Davis — the man that could theoretically be replaced in Baltimore by Trumbo — Dipoto has operated primarily on the trade market to make his biggest additions thus far and has voiced a preference for that route to free agency. Considering the fact that Seattle has the top unprotected draft pick in 2016 (No. 11 overall), adding Davis would be more costly for the Mariners than any other club. None of that, of course, precludes a run at Davis, but it’s hard to envision him as the team’s top priority.
Bob Dutton of the Tacoma News Tribune first reported that a Trumbo-for-Clevenger swap was close. Jon Heyman of CBS Sports said an agreement was in place (Twitter link). Dutton and MLB.com’s Greg Johns said a second player was in the deal (Twitter links). Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun tweeted that Riefenhauser was the second player.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Wonder who will be playing 1B for the M’s now?
Jesus M.? Marte? Petersen?
Don’t need another Catcher? Maybe Walker?
Marte is a ss/2b not a 1b
Robinson Cano – just do it a little early.
Then who would play 2b? 1b/DH is probably two of the easiest positions to fill while getting league average production. Montero should be slotted to start at one of those spots against lefties. All you would need is a platoon mate for him or a full-time 1b.
Cano is not great defensively, throwing him to first to either sign a new second basemen like Murphy or Kendrick maybe even sobriety or utley, the other option would be letting ketel marte handle the full time second base duties either way I see taking cano off second as a win win for Seattle
Zobrist***
Sobriety is good too.
Montero should be in AAA.
If they wanna help a charity, they could always adopt Adam Laroche from the white Sox.
Chris Davis. Count it.
Doubtful.
Servais was in the Texas org with Cruz, Martin and Davis. Oh great seamaholic, post that right as I am typing. LOL
Bye bye Chris Davis.. Trumbo = Chris Davis -2.0
No
Odd trade. Didn’t think Clevenger had any trade value. I figured it would be something like Matusz for Trumbo. Does’t make much sense from Seattle’s side unless other players are involved.
Really only makes sense because the non-tender deadline is so close for Trumbo and this manager doesn’t want to spend any more on a player he doesn’t want on the team to begin with so he latched on to anyone willing to take a sniff.
They want another player for Clevenger?
Cmon man read again
C’mon man yourself. Trade for Trumbo and then tender him–problem solved.
Needlessly Surrendering Clevenger sounds like a really bad movie title.
Needless editorializing
Starring Nicolas Cage
Hey last time Clevenger was traded a nice young man by the name of Jake Arrieta switched uniforms
This trade seems pretty lobsided in the Os favor. Trumbo has some decent offensive value… Who the heck is Clevenger?? Ms just signed Iannetta and have Zunino…this does not make too much sense unless more players are involved. If not, I’d keep Trumbo…otherwise you still have to pay $$ for a medicore 1st baseman. There are better deals out there and there is plenty of time…just tender him
Welcome to the world according to Dipoto. This guy trades anyone who can hit homeruns. For players who can’t pitch catch or hit.
its about clearing $9 million – and getting something back – Pirates non tender similar guy in Pedro and get nada
Because guys who only hit homeruns has worked so well in the past, just look at the Mariners roster last year when they were essentially boom-or-bust. What they’re Dipoto is doing now is getting high OBP guys. If you’re referring to his prior signings of Hamilton or Pujols in LA, then you should know that the owner wanted those deals.
He’s talking about guys like Chris Iannetta and Matt Joyce. Jerry Dipoto is all about OBP, so much so that he’ll likely take any sort of manufacturing strategy away from the M’s; and with Servais as his puppet manager we’ll probably never see a bunt or a decent amount of stolen bases from Seattle as long as Dipoto is there. High OBP is a good thing, but Dipoto will acquire it even if it means a .240 lifetime hitter. And the Angels’ offense in 2015 showed the down side of that approach.
lol what. who on the angels was a good obp guy other than trout and calhoun?
I already mentioned Iannetta and Joyce. But they both had the worst years of their careers. It’s been well publicized already that Dipoto took the Angels philosophy away and decided to run all player development through the front office and took away the Angels’ aggressive approach. Meaning fewer stolen bases, no more bunting, and just high OBP and power. Station to station. That was Dipoto’s approach. But he resigned before he could fully transform the Angels lineup into a high OBP lineup. Because his approach didn’t fly with the coaching staff or the players. His intention was to replace Mike Scioscia with Scott Servais to be his puppet manager, but that wasn’t in the cards with the Angels. But he finally was able to hire Servais with the Mariners. The question now is whether or not his approach will succeed with the Mariners.
Never saw a bunt anyway from McClendon so nothing new there lol
Probably an indication that the Mariners will be receptive to Dipoto’s approach. But the question is whether or not it will actually work. High OBP/station to station offense can be very tricky in a pitcher friendly ballpark.
This would let the M’s send Zunino to Tacoma, and free up salary for another move possibly.
Zunino needs time at AAA. He’s not getting anywhere at the big league level. He can’t be their everyday catcher, and sitting on the bench won’t help him.
Trumbo hasn’t been anything since he was traded from the Angels
Trumbo is worth a 3rd string catcher, seems about right, lol.
Well the Mariners got him from the Dbacks by giving up a second string catcher, so that does seem about right.
second string because they are dumb, look at castillo’s line in arizona and his first 3 years with the cubs. dude’s a starter.
Maybe, the Orioles are looking for Taijuan Walker as that extra player.
In all seriousness, I think Trumbo is going to be a great fit for the Orioles!
Welcome to them Mark!!! (Hopefully!)
No! 🙂
Yeah, a future ace with tons of potential and a legitimate power hitter for a third catcher.
Seems right.
The O’s have fleeced the Mariners before.
There has to be more players involved. Trumbo for Clevenger straight up is pretty lopsided. Trumbo may not be great, but at least he has one tool, unlike Clevenger who really isn’t good at anything besides warming the bench.
Clevenger costs almost nothing. The same isn’t true of Trumbo.
Even if Trumbo hit’s .240 and 20 bombs I’d still take him for 9 million over a 4th string catcher who won’t even play.
It’s not a question of paying Trumbo 9 M$, it’s a question of what the Mariners can now purchase for that 9 M$. And it’s a great deal if they were simply going to non-tender him tomorrow and get nothing in return.
The catcher isnt owed 9.1 million to play bad defense and swing the bat like an old man
Can you say “salary dump”?
yeah, it’s not what would you rather have, trumbo or clevenger. it’s what would you rather have, trumbo, or clevenger plus nine million dollars
clevenger doesn’t have power but he’s actually not a bad hitter. i wouldn’t call him fourth string. the orioles were using him at DH down the stretch last year. depending on how well iannetta rebounds he might be the best hitting catcher on the M’s roster. he’ll probably be the main backup while zunino tries to pull it together in AAA
Trumbo for Moss that’s a even swap
Which Moss we talking here?
How many notable players named Moss are there?
Brandon Moss, Steven Moss, Erin Moss, Kyle Moss, Muhammad Moss, Yin-Chen Moss, and theres always Moss Moss. Which one?
Randy Moss! Wait, am I getting my names mixed up again?
This whole discussion is an absolute moss.
Zunino to Atlanta for Aybar next?
Nah. Mariners already have a SS and then the Braves wouldn’t have one.
Or the fact that the deal would be severly lopsided in Atlanta’s favor. Even with Zunino’s struggles, he’s still young for a catcher with elite defensive skills and a potentially good bat (as he tore up the minor leagues, which is why he got promoted too quickly). In what world (besides the delusional Braves fan world) does it make sense to trade a promising young catcher for an old shortstop especially, as you stated, that the Mariners already have a SS.
It isn’t definite that Marte is the answer at SS. Using his athleticism while resting 4 or 5 positions and quickening the transition of Cano to first can solve a couple of Seattle’s remaining questions. Additionally Dipoto has the obvious ties to Aybar.
As for cost, I should have added “spare parts” to even things up.
spare parts as in arodyz viscaino? who has good closer potential. thats more than a spare part. remember to take in account control and potential surplus value.
No, but you’re not going to give up on Marte at SS so early. At least give him spring training to prove he’s the real deal.
I agree that transitioning Cano now would be good, but they don’t need to make him the full-time 1b right away. He’s still an average 2b (throw out any defensive metrics from last year considering he was hurt) and with no obvious 2b replacement the best thing would be to slowly give him time at 1b instead of shifting him off 2b completely.
And if by spare parts you mean good prospects/good players (maybe not the top 4-5 prospects/players) then yeah it could still be considered even. But the Mariners shouldn’t be giving up on Zunino yet. Again he’s still too young to label him a bust and everyone in the organization knows he was rushed through the minors (played about a year in the minors).
Lol. They are giving up nothing for trumbo
They will pay the clown $9.1 million
so this means the o’s probably wont resign chris davis. maybe the astros sign davis and trade carter.
Astros have been trying to trade Carter for 2 years, thus far no takers. He should probably be non-tendered tomorrow.
Idk big daddy pete might pull a rabbit out his as# and sign crush
Maybe they know something about Davis going to another team
I think this is a distinct possibility. They’ve likely already made their play, offering Davis a big contract (that will leak at some point to try to keep O’s fans morale up) that was trumped by a big market team. Somebody is going to pay way over $100 million for Davis, which is too much, and the O’s can’t compete at that level.
Trumbo is gonna smash in Camden yards plus its his walk year good pick up o’s
Another Birds move to not pony up! Good Bye Mr Crush!
Clevenger is ready to succeed at the major league level. His bat is already there. The question with him has always been defense. The last couple years he has been super focused on improving and it shows. He will be the starting catcher for Seattle within a few weeks and for next couple years.
Except for the fact that Chris Iannetta was already signed to be the starter for the next couple of years. This move makes no sense for Seattle.
Clevenger was traded for in order to platoon with Iannetta. Gives Zunino a chance to develop in the minors and now you maximize production from the catching spot, makes perfect sense.
It’s probably a safety net considering Iannetta is coming off the worst season of his career.
No more Crush Davis
so essentially the Ms traded catcher Welington Castillo, reliever Dominic Leone, and prospects Gabby Guerrero, Jack Reinheimer, and a player to be named for somebody named Steve Clevenger…29 year old minor league catcher…..another Ms great deal!
That’s Jack Z’s fault, not Dipoto’s. The original Trumbo deal was a disaster, this one was fine.
What
Peter o is cheap
If there’s one certain thing in baseball,it’s that Jerry DiPoto hates Mark Trumbo.
I don’t see this as a good move at all by the Mariners. A 30+ HR hitter and a prospect for a veteran catcher that played 30 games? Really?
I don’t think they shoud, but I think they are going to go after Davis now
They don’t need another bat. Cano-Cruz-Seager is decent enough and Davis is a boom-or-bust guy. Has a good OBP just because he can draw walks, whether intentional or not. RF and rotation are still bigger needs. Iwakuma needs to be resigned, or some additional depth guys/replacement for Iwakuma if he leaves. And a outfielder who can play RF so Cruz isn’t there everyday is a bigger concern.
Man… wonder how it feels being “the guy” that the manager is just itching to trade? Trumbo wasn’t a complete bust here. Hopefully he doesn’t become the Casper Wells of the off season (getting traded 3 – 4 times before Spring Training hits).
And there goes the final piece in the infamous Jake Arrieta trade.
The other would backup Joseph next year.
This doesn’t surprise me one bit considering Jerry Dipoto is an OBP fanatic. Not a good trade on the surface but Dipoto’s high OBP approach (to me) suggests that he’s freeing up this money to go after a player (or players) with much higher OBP skills.
Well we all knew Davis was not coming back so we pull a trade for a 1b and a player not name for our 3rd catcher Still will have a bunch of po fans if Davis is not in the line up
what a joke! a legitimate power bat, for a 29 year old backup catcher. I know in this new age OBP is seen like gold, but are we really just giving away HR hitters now?
well, it would only figure…he shipped him out of ANA & he’s gonna do the same in SEA to him;
“nothing personal, mark” – jerry dipoto
better for him, better hitters park & manager.
Orioles are coming out on top on this trade. Sold high on Clevenger and got a solid replacement for Davis as they hope to develop Christian Walker a bit more. With Wieters returning to platoon with Joseph and whoever is going to be the DH, moving Clevenger is a solid trade. I just don’t see Davis returning at this point.
M’s should have just Non tendered Trumbo. They could have kept the pitcher CJ that way.
I got to think with DiPoto’s penchant for wanting high OBP guys with good defense that he’s positioning himself to have Nelson Cruz DH and Robinson Cano play 1st base.
Which would also give him room to acquire more players as such like Marcel Ozuna or whoever.
Mariners got a good clutch hitter in Steve. He was a bright light towards the end of the season. Hope he finds regular playing time. I hope you do well Steve. O’s fans thank you for your time and effort here in Baltimore.