Zduriencik: Mariners 'more than happy' to acquire Trumbo to boost offense
The Seattle Mariners pulled the trigger on a big trade Wednesday afternoon, acquiring slugger Mark Trumbo and pitcher Vidal Nuno from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for catcher Welington Castillo, relief pitcher Dominic Leone and prospects Gabby Guerrero and Jack Reinheimer.
In doing so, general manager Jack Zduriencik not only took measures to try and improve the M's lagging offense but he made good on the pointed words he had for his club just a few weeks back.
Zduriencik phoned in to 710 ESPN Seattle's 'Danny, Dave and Moore' show on Wednesday to discuss the trade and its ramifications for the Mariners' roster.
Said Jack Z. when asked about the club's impressions of Trumbo, who joins the M's with a slash line of .259/.299/.506 with nine home runs and 23 RBIs:
We've liked Mark for a long time. We coveted him as one of the legitimate power hitters in Major League Baseball. We had talks with him several years ago with Anaheim; it just didn't work out. I think you look at our ballclub right now, anytime you can add somebody that has the opportunity to be the kind of offensive force that he can become and that he can bring to the table, I think is important. So when the deal looked like it could happen, we were more than happy to try to make this thing get to a "yes" and we did.
As for Trumbo's defense, which isn't exactly Gold Glove material, Zduriencik essentially indicated that Trumbo will appear all over the diamond:
He's played a lot of right field there in Arizona. He's played first base in Anaheim, he's played left field. Obviously we have the DH here so he can do that as well. But I think you'll see him playing all over the place. I would say more than likely he'll get a lot of ABs at the DH spot, give a chance to get (Nelson) Cruz's legs a rest when Trumbo can play the outfield, he'll also have first base as an option to give (Logan Morrison a rest) and then he can go to left field.
Zduriencik spent the rest of the conversation touching on other aspects of the deal, such as his thoughts about giving up prospect Gabby Guerrero, the son of former MLB great Vladimir Guerrero. Listen to the full chat below:
As for Leone, whom the Mariners had hoped would be a power arm out of the bullpen this season and in the future, he sent out a Tweet thanking the organization for his time there:
Thanks to the @Mariners for giving me the opportunity to follow my dream of playing professional baseball. Incredibly grateful and honored.
— Dom Leone (@DLeone52) June 4, 2015
It's only the first week of June, but Zduriencik has already proven that he has no issues altering the status quo of his club in the interest of getting them on track. Whether a player of Trumbo's skill set will provide the boost they seek is another issue entirely.