4:29pm: Trumbo will be guaranteed less than $40MM in the deal, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports on Twitter.
4:20pm: The sides are nearing a deal, Heyman adds in another tweet. If completed, it’ll be for three years, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets.
4:07pm: The sides are “making progress” in their talks, Heyman tweets.
3:54pm: The Orioles are “back in touch” with free-agent slugger Mark Trumbo, per Jon Heyman of Fan Rag (via Twitter). It’s not immediately apparent how serious talks are, but Heyman notes that there’s a possibility of a deal coming together.
Trumbo and the O’s were said to be in deep discussions about a deal to bring him back to Baltimore earlier in the winter. But the team pulled its offer — reported to be about either three or four years at around $14MM annually — when an agreement did not come together.
Now, it seems, the sides have picked up where they left off. Whether the O’s will still be willing to put as much cash on the table remains to be seen. Last winter, the organization circled back to Chris Davis and gave him a monster deal, though he was certainly also a unique case given his standing in the organization. But Baltimore may now also feel that Trumbo’s market demand isn’t as great.
Last we heard, teams like the Rockies and Rangers are also involved in Trumbo’s market, though it’s not clear to what extent. The 31-year-old is arguably the best remaining free agent, though demand is also impacted by the presence of a variety of other power hitters, and Trumbo’s top-tier slugging is offset by his limited on-base abilities and mediocre glovework in the outfield.
Gonna get done now
Too close to going over the cap. Signing Trumbo would push them over by about 10 Mln.
This is a reply about Boston signing them.
Any chance he could go to Boston? Didn’t Farrell mention something about adding a veteran bat?
As prognosticated
Anyone else growing tired of the Orioles drama filled, uneventful off season? Lots of posturing and not much in actual improvements…
That’s what they do almost every year. They’re very good at finding bargains (Trumbo 2016, Cruz 2014). It’s when they panic that they make mistakes (Chris Davis 2016).
agreed but the Os have spent a good deal of time and money to regain the status quo. time and money that could have been better spent elsewhere
Where would Boston fit him in? It appears that Moreland will handle 1B with Ramirez as the DH. Benintendi, Bradley and Betts have the OF covered. I can’t see a single manager in the game today who could find more than a couple hundred ABs on that roster for Trumbo without a major injury creating an opening.
The price must have dropped.
There’s no way Boston would sign him. They want to stay under the cap and where would he play? Part time first base? He’s not going to go for that. He’ll want to play full time.
Anything more than a one year deal would be a huge mistake. Trumbo isn’t a good player and won’t age well.
I’d argue with they could get team options or incentive option that vest based on his numbers, would work out if he played well
Sure, team options are always good. I meant one guaranteed year.
3/36, maybe an option year on top, is my guess.
Dan Duquette: “Hmmmmm, did you set it to Trumbo?”
It’s insane how cheap the free agent hitters are this year. At that price, I am surprised a team like the Rangers didn’t just snag him. I would guess that means they are eyeing Napoli. While I don’t expect Trumbo to hit 47 home runs perennially, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see a 4 year/60m deal.
There are options out there that are relatively similar to trumbo, probably wont require a multi year deal, and don’t cost a pick.
Dang, I keep forgetting about the draft pick. Regardless, I thought someone would have jumped at the 47 homers- in the AL nonetheless. While he may not be a good fielder, 1st and OF (and 3rd) eligibility is something whereas EE was largely a DH. He’s also 3 years younger. Napoli is 35 and doesn’t have much better peripherals. Trumbo in Arlington seemed like an obvious fit.
He didn’t really make sense at the money in most places. Colorado, perhaps….but they maybe wisely held off. This should allow Chris Carters market to open up.