Slugger Mark Trumbo has been a force at the plate for the Baltimore Orioles this year. But with all the money they committed to Chris Davis last offseason, are the O’s likely to forgo re-signing him?
The Baltimore Orioles took the low-risk, high-reward approach by trading for first baseman Mark Trumbo. Trumbo has gone on to hit 45 home runs and 104 RBI this season. Will the Orioles look to re-sign him or move on like they did with outfielder Nelson Cruz in 2014?
The Orioles have not been big spenders over the past decade. They currently have the 15th highest payroll in baseball. That number is only as high as it is because of the team’s re-signing of first baseman Chris Davis last offseason. The Orioles signed Chris Davis to a seven-year contract worth $161 million as he was looking at the free agent market for the highest bidder. The team will be in the same situation with Mark Trumbo this offseason.
Trumbo received a one-year, $9.5 million deal in arbitration, a very team-friendly contract for the O’s. The signing has paid off for the team but they now have a very difficult decision to make. Trumbo will get paid on the open market by someone. There will be a team out there willing to give him in excess of $100 million, but are the Orioles willing to get into a bidding war? Probably not.
The team had a similar situation in 2014 with outfielder Nelson Cruz. The team signed Cruz to a one-year, $8 million contract and he was voted the Most Valuable Oriole, while hitting 40 home runs and driving in 108 runs. The Orioles ultimately did not re-sign Cruz because of his desire for a fourth year on his next contract. The team decided to let him walk and Cruz decided to sign a four-year, $57 million contract with the Seattle Mariners. Not re-signing Cruz had negative ramifications for the Orioles, as the team ended up only going .500 in 2015.
Trumbo has had a tremendous season with the Orioles this season. He is currently hitting .248/.312/.835 in 588 plate appearances this season. He also leads the Twins’ Brian Dozier for the home run title with 45 long balls. Those numbers have helped put the Orioles in position to take the last Wild Card spot in the American League with six games left in the regular season.
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The Orioles have other needs this offseason as the team looks to improve. They need starting pitching as the team ranks 20th in MLB in ERA at 4.28. While Trumbo can help the Orioles for years to come, the Orioles may look to sign a starting pitcher over Trumbo. The move would make the Orioles a better all-around team. The Mark Trumbo/Baltimore Orioles situation will be something to watch in the offseason, but at this point it is hard to see Trumbo as an Oriole next year.