Fansided

Arizona Diamondbacks deal Mark Trumbo to Seattle Mariners

By Jake Misener

May 25, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Mark Trumbo (15) runs the bases after hitting a game tying two run home run off of St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Kevin Siegrist (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won 3-2 in 10 innings. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports
May 25, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Mark Trumbo (15) runs the bases after hitting a game tying two run home run off of St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Kevin Siegrist (not pictured) during the eighth inning at Busch Stadium. The Cardinals won 3-2 in 10 innings. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

The Arizona Diamondbacks traded slugger Mark Trumbo to the Seattle Mariners as part of a six-player deal.

According to multiple reports, including a release from the Arizona Diamondbacks organization, veteran slugger Mark Trumbo and pitcher Vidal Nuno have been traded to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for four players.

In return, Arizona will receive former Chicago Cubs catcher Welington Castillo, who himself was traded to the Mariners last month, along with right-hander Dominic Leone, infielder Jack Reinheimer and outfielder Gabby Guerrero.

This isn’t one of those trades you can pick an immediate winner in.

Trumbo, still only 29 years old, is batting .259/.299/.506 in 46 games this year for Arizona, slugging nine home runs and driving in 23 runs in the process. The trade is a bit of surprise, given that apart from Trumbo, the Diamondbacks lack a true power bat outside of perennial All-Star Paul Goldschmidt.

A report from MLB.com’s Greg Johns has the Seattle front office saying that Trumbo will see time in the corner outfield spots, in addition to both first base and designated hitter. The

On the other side of the coin, in terms of catching depth, Arizona entered the season in a less-than-enviable position, with a pair of unproven names looking to claim the starting job out of camp. However, the team now adds Castillo, who will bring some pop to the position with his bat, despite his sub-par work (at-times) behind the dish.

Castillo has struggled at the plate so far this season, but hit a career-high 13 home runs and drove in 46 runs for Chicago last season – and given he has several years of team control left, he’s a valuable chip for Arizona moving forward.

The rest of the names involved in the deal will be a major factor in whether or not baseball fans look back on the deal and say the Dbacks got a fair haul for an offensive weapon such as Trumbo. Guerrero (yes, the nephew to former big league outfielder Vladimir Guerrero) is known for his power, but also tends to strike out – a lot.

This season, he’s whiffed 48 times in 48 games, so things could definitely be worse. Over the past two seasons, he’s averaged one strikeout per game, but his overall line was for the better in 2014, as he hit 18 home runs and drove in 96 runs in 131 games with High-A High Desert.

Odds are, he’ll be the deciding factor in how we all look back on this trade, but Dominic Leone, a 23-year-old righty, could be a factor for the Arizona bullpen after putting up impressive numbers with the Mariners in 2014.

That season was a memorable first year in the big leagues for Leone, as he averaged over nine strikeouts per nine en route to a 2.17 ERA in 57 outings. His 3.07 FIP indicates he was slightly less effective than one may think, but his numbers are impressive nonetheless.

As I noted above, this is one of those trades that you won’t be able to weigh which side won until two-to-three years from now, but, at least in the interim, both teams addressed weaknesses.

The only question for the Arizona Diamondbacks moving forward is whether or not the offense can produce runs following the loss of one of their biggest weapons in Trumbo.

More from Arizona Diamondbacks

Home/Arizona Diamondbacks