Increasingly Unlikely Orioles Will Re-Sign Mark Trumbo

With “no movement” in talks between the Orioles and slugger Mark Trumbo, writes Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com, it is “becoming less likely” that the sides will line up on a new deal. There’s still some ongoing interest, he notes, but the sides haven’t made progress since their original talks halted.

Earlier in the offseason, there was reason to believe that Trumbo was destined to reprise his role as a corner outfielder and DH in Baltimore. But the O’s have reportedly pulled the four-year offer, reportedly worth over $50MM, that was dangled early in December.

It seems there’s little momentum at this point toward a reunion. Executive VP of baseball operations Dan Duquette suggested recently that the club has its eye on less costly alternatives. And the addition of lefty-hitting corner outfielder Seth Smith perhaps reduces the urgency of adding a bat — though, certainly, it doesn’t preclude a move on Trumbo or another righty.

Trumbo remains the top-rated player from MLBTR’s top 50 free agent list who has yet to sign. His leverage surely isn’t helped by the ongoing presence on the open market of fellow right-handed sluggers Mike Napoli and Chris Carter, each of whom also profiles best in a first base/DH role, along with a variety of powerful lefties such as Brandon Moss, Adam Lind, and Pedro Alvarez.