Report: Trumbo turned down 3-year deal from Orioles
Mark Trumbo remains a free agent with pitchers and catchers set to report to spring training in about a month, and his current unemployment may be because of a drastic overestimation of the market.
With the hopes of landing a contract in the $70 million-$75 million range, Trumbo reportedly turned down a four-year, $52-million offer earlier in the offseason from the Baltimore Orioles, according to sources of ESPN's Jim Bowden.
Bowden later corrected himself and reported that Trumbo actually turned down a three-year, $41-million offer, which was close to a report from Peter Gammons, who said the offer was actually for three years and $40 million.
The offer Bowden initially reported the Orioles made was the exact same deal outfielder Josh Reddick agreed to with the Houston Astros in mid-November, but after hitting 47 home runs - which led the majors - it appeared Trumbo thought he could do better.
| PLAYER | PA | HR | RBI | OPS | WAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Trumbo | 667 | 47 | 108 | .850 | 2.2 |
| Josh Reddick | 439 | 10 | 37 | .749 | 1.2 |
After Baltimore pulled its deal off the table, negotiations between the two sides picked up again recently. As of Thursday, Trumbo reportedly said he would accept a discounted deal in the $40 million-$50 million range over three years from the Orioles after he initially asked them for a three-year, $50-million deal.
Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette recently suggested the team may be more interested in the draft-pick compensation it would acquire if Trumbo signed with another club, so the 30-year-old may have to check in with the Texas Rangers or Colorado Rockies, who've both reportedly shown interest in his services.
One rival executive told FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal on Thursday he sensed the relationship between Trumbo and the Orioles was damaged, and that the slugger would prefer to sign somewhere else.
He still has competition on the open market from a number of other unemployed power hitters such as Mike Napoli, Jose Bautista, Chris Carter, Brandon Moss, Michael Saunders, and Pedro Alvarez.
Trumbo hit .256/.316/.533 with 108 RBIs for the Orioles last season, while leading the majors in home runs with 47.