There are quite a few DH-type players hitting free agency this season. One of them is Mark Trumbo, the home run king in major league Baseball last season. The Baltimore Orioles will obviously look into bringing him back, but there will be plenty of interest in him coming from the Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox and Texas Rangers.
Trumbo hit an MLB-best 47 home runs last season, with his previous best being 34 in 2013 while playing for the Angels. He doesn’t offer much other than power, but his defense isn’t a mess. He can play first base and right field besides designated hitter, which even opens up a small market for him when it comes to National League teams. Versatility could give him an edge over anyone who isn’t Edwin Encarnacion, but teams will mostly be looking at him as an everyday first base option.
Besides power, there isn’t much. Trumbo batted .256 and had an .316 OBP. His OPS of .850 was the most impressive number of his slash line, as Trumbo made the All-Star game for the second time in his career. Again, defense at right field is an issue, unless it’s something that teams don’t use too often. His glove at first base has been more than solid, but he has played more outfield than infield last season, so there might be some doubt about his ability to take over the role on an everyday basis.
Trumbo is probably next in line after Encarnacion and Cespedes to get an offer, although Cespedes offers a slightly different skill set. Something that might hurt Trumbo is the lack of consistency when it comes to power. It was his first season with better than .500 slugging, so teams might think this was a one-time thing. He is 31 pretty soon so there doesn’t seem to be any scare he will have some massive drop off, but 47 home runs could be a bad indicator of his real, long term ability.
The Orioles will try to sign him, but can they pay him the $15 million-ish a season Trumbo is looking for? He’ll probably be sniffing out for a 3 or 4 year deal that pays him $20 million a season. I do believe he’ll see four-year offers, but nothing more than $17-18 million a season. Don’t forget: It’ll take a draft pick to sign him due to the qualifying offer, which means a team like the Rockies, who could use his skill set, won’t be giving up such a high pick (11th).