Diamondbacks trade Trumbo, Nuno to Mariners for Castillo, Leone and prospects
The Seattle Mariners are bringing in outside help to try and boost a struggling offense.
Hours after suffering their fifth straight loss Wednesday, Seattle acquired outfielder Mark Trumbo and left-hander Vidal Nuno from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for catcher Welington Castillo, right-hander Dominic Leone, and minor-league prospects Gabby Guerrero and Jack Reinheimer.
The Mariners (24-29) are off to an extremely disappointing start to the season and find themselves 9 1/2 games back of the division-leading Houston Astros.
General manager Jack Zduriencik and ownership doubled down this offseason. With the acquisitions of both Nelson Cruz and Seth Smith one year after handing Robinson Cano $240 million, the Mariners entered the season with World Series aspirations.
Seattle's offense has sputtered through 53 games, ranking 16th in slugging, 28th in runs scored, and 29th in batting average. Meanwhile, Cano is off to the worst start of his 11-year career.
Trumbo comes to the Pacific Northwest hitting .259/.299/.506 with nine home runs, 23 RBIs, and 39 strikeouts through 46 games. The 29-year-old right-handed hitter blasted 95 home runs in three seasons with the Los Angeles Angels from 2011-13 and collected 14 home runs in 88 games with the Diamondbacks in 2014.
"He's one of my favorite players," Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart told Steve Gilbert of MLB.com. "It was a tough decision, but Seattle expressed interest in him and they've repeatedly expressed interest in him, and sometimes you get to the point where the timing was just right and today is the day."
Zduriencik told reporters that Trumbo, who'll earn $6.9 million this season, will play a corner outfield spot along with seeing some time at first base and as designated hitter.
Nuno made three appearances out of the bullpen for Arizona this season, posting a 1.88 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings. He owns a 4.13 ERA and 1.22 WHIP across 196 career innings (primarily as a starter) and will join the Mariners' rotation, according to Steve Gilbert of MLB.com.
Diamondbacks starting catcher Tuffy Gosewisch suffered a season-ending ACL injury this week, so Castillo's addition fills a need. The Mariners had acquired the 28-year-old from the Chicago Cubs on May 19. He hit .162/.213/.279 with a pair of home runs split between the two teams.
Leone has just 77 2/3 major-league innings under his belt across two seasons. The 23-year-old went 8-2 with a 2.17 ERA across 57 games in 2014, but is 0-4 with a 6.35 ERA in 10 outings this season.
"Last year, you look at his numbers and he's 8-2 with a 2.17 [ERA], and we believe that that is the pitcher that we're going to get," Stewart said.
Neither Reinheimer nor Guerrero are projected to be top prospects.
Reinheimer was selected in the fifth round in 2013. The 22-year-old infielder is hitting .277/.323/.351 with 10 doubles and 12 stolen bases in 48 games in Double-A.
Guerrero, the nephew of former major-leaguer Vladimir Guerrero, is hitting .215/.262/.305 with two home runs and 10 doubles in 48 games as an outfielder in Double-A.