Angels Make Trumbo and Bourjos Available. Should The M’s Pursue?

Jun 16, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Peter Bourjos (25) makes a catch off a ball hit by New York Yankees center fielder Brett Gardner (not pictured) during the game at Angel Stadium. Yankees won 6-5. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The case for Bourjos

Bourjos is a defense-first outfielder, but is not a liability at the plate by any means. He is a career .254/.306/.398 hitter, but has still managed to average over 4 WAR over 600 plate appearances, because he steals bases and doesn’t let many balls fall in center field.

He has suffered from some injuries over his career, on top of being relegated to a backup role, so his potential value hasn’t been met to this point in his career.

But his extrapolated advanced stats look great, so I think he would be a very good pick up at the top of the order, and the middle of the outfield.

In terms of cost, for Bourjos alone, Lookout Landing proposed a trade of:

SP Erasmo Ramirez, RP Yoervis Medina, and SP Edwin Diaz to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in exchange for CF Peter Bourjos.

(As a side note, you should check out their entire offseason plan if you haven’t already. It is fantastic.)

That seems like a pretty fair price for a player with the upside of Bourjos, and doesn’t hurt the current roster all that much. Erasmo Ramirez is probably battling for a back end spot right now, Medina is a decent reliever and Diaz is very young, raw and questionable.

And for what its worth, the Angels SB Nation blog said the trade seemed fair to them as well.

Sep 8, 2013; Anaheim, CA, USA; Los Angeles Angels first baseman Mark Trumbo hits a single against the Texas Rangers in the 4th inning during the game at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Trading for Mark Trumbo

As for Trumbo, it isn’t clear whether the Angels would be looking to trade both he and Bourjos, but I sure hope they are. At first, I wasn’t a big fan of Trumbo. I saw him as an overrated, power only guy. And while he does have serious pop while struggling in other parts of the game, he manages to create value nonetheless.

Trumbo owns a .250/.299/.472 line with 95 homers so far in his career, and has yet to post a WAR under 2 for a full season. While that isn’t mind-blowing, it is more than can be said for many of the current Mariners.

Last year was also an indication of him adding value in other ways than just hitting the poop out of the ball. Despite having his worst year at the plate (.747 OPS), he was able to post a career high 2.5 WAR according to Fangraphs, as he played very well at first base, and close to average in the outfield.

Now, Trumbo will no doubt need to pick his offensive production back up in the future, as defensive numbers can be sketchy at times. But I don’t doubt his ability to get his on base numbers up over the .300 mark, while also jacking 30+ big ones a season.

Plus, the Mariners desperately need a right handed bopper in the middle of the order and Trumbo fits that bill.

Add on to that the fact that he can play multiple positions at at least a passable level, and I think he is a no-brainer for the Mariners.

I have struggled to come up with a suitable package for Trumbo alone. I think James Paxton is a little too much, but what was proposed above for Bourjos was probably a little light. Maybe Edwin Diaz is replaced with Tyler Pike and it becomes fair.

Feb 23, 2013; Tempe, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Angels center fielder Peter Bourjos (right) is congratulated by left fielder Mark Trumbo (left) after scoring during the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Tempe Diablo Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

Why not get them both?

But I ultimately think acquiring both players make the most sense for Seattle. They get a legit leadoff hitter and great defender in center field, along with a right-handed power bat that can play 3/4 of the corner positions as needed.

I don’t believe either can be the big gets, however. With how cheap they would be (both  are arbitration eligible and will probably combine for under $10 million), the Mariners should go hard after another outfielder such as Jacoby Ellsbury or Shin-Soo Choo, as well as Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka or free agent starters Matt Garza or Scott Feldman.

I think a suitable package for the pair would be SP James Paxton, SP Tyler Pike, and OF Michael Saunders. That might seem a little light, but Paxton was dominant in limited time last year, and Pike has looked great in his first couple of professional seasons.