PHOENIX — The Arizona Diamondbacks moved to alleviate their impending logjam at third base and the corner outfield by trading outfielder Mark Trumbo to the Seattle Mariners in a six-player deal Wednesday.
The D-backs sent Trumbo and left-hander Vidal Nuno to the Mariners in exchange for catcher Welington Castillo, right-hander reliever Dominic Leone and minor leaguers Jack Reinheimer and Gabby Guerrero, who is the nephew of Vladimir Guerrero.
With third baseman Jake Lamb scheduled to come off the disabled list soon, the D-backs will have five players for four spots — Lamb and Yasmany Tomas at third base and A.J. Pollock, Ender Inciarte, David Peralta and Tomas in the outfield. Pollock and Inciarte figure to play every day, with the remaining time divided among the other three. Lamb adds another left-handed bat to a team that was righty-heavy, and he was hitting .414 in 10 games before going down with a stress reaction in his right foot the second week of the season.
“With Yasmany swinging the bat as well as he is, it created a situation where we really needed to open up some space for him,” Arizona general manager Dave Stewart said. “Mark Trumbo, in my short period of time, is a player I had no interest in moving. He is one of my favorite players. It was a tough decision, but Seattle expressed interest in him and they repeatedly expressed interest in him. Sometimes you get to a point where the timing is just right.”
Trumbo, 29, slashed .259/.299/.506 with 10 doubles, nine homers and 23 RBIs in 46 games with the D-backs. He ranked second in homers to Paul Goldschmidt and was tied with Pollock for third in RBIs behind Goldschmidt and Peralta.
“I knew it was a possibility, so it is not something that catches me completely off guard,” Trumbo said. “It’s a bit of a shock. You get comfortable somewhere and you develop a rapport. You have great teammates. If you are removed from that situation, it’s tough.”
The D-backs will save money in the deal, inasmuch as Trumbo was making $6.9 million this season. His contract is considered team-friendly for a power hitter, however, and he also has one more year of arbitration eligibility. Castillo is to make $2.1 million this year and has two years of arbitration remaining.
Tomas, who took over the regular third base job a week or so after Lamb was injured, is hitting .331 with eight doubles, one homer and 20 RBIs.