Baltimore Orioles: Mark Trumbo Set To Return Today Vs Tampa Bay

As announced yesterday by manager Brandon Hyde, Mark Trumbo is set to rejoin the Baltimore Orioles today vs the Tampa Bay Rays.

Welcome back, Mark Trumbo. First reported yesterday by the Baltimore Sun’s Jon Meoli, the 33-year-old slugger will return to the Baltimore Orioles active roster on Monday ahead of the series opener vs Tampa Bay. Trumbo has not played at the major league level this season after undergoing knee surgery last year.

Trumbo has tried to return to action twice already this season, but is now finally healthy enough to return to the active roster. Having 15 extra roster spots open up on Sunday also helps. Trumbo joins RHP Shawn Armstrong, RHP Branden Kline, LHP Tanner Scott, and OF Dwight Smith Jr. in the initial wave of roster moves. More are expected to take place over the next few days now that the minor leaguer season is completed (ends today).

Trumbo won’t return to the roster next year (he is the only player on the Orioles roster set to become a free agent at the end of the season) and likely won’t see much playing time down the stretch, but his return is a remarkable story.

From a piece back in March by MLB.com’s Joe Trezza,

“Trumbo’s operation was more than a routine cleanup. Chondral defects are chronic, degenerative conditions that grind down the cartilage between the femur and tibia; surgeons transplanted that cartilage and removed floating pieces within Trumbo’s knee. He said doctors recommended a year recovery time. Wednesday will mark almost 8 1/2 months.”

That initial return date refers to his spring training action, but the comeback is still big news for Trumbo. The Orioles ultimately decided to hold off on Trumbo’s return after his knee didn’t feel 100% during spring, instead attempting to return in late-May. Trumbo saw time with Double-A Bowie and Triple-A Norfolk for about two weeks before he was shut down for another month.

He tried again on July 23rd and 24th, collecting two hits in seven at-bats, including a home run for Norfolk, but was ultimately shut down again for another month.

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This all leads us to August 27th when Trumbo returned to Norfolk to give it one more go, just weeks after the discussion surrounding the outfielder/designated hitter seemed to revolve around the question of whether or not Trumbo had played his last professional baseball game.

He hasn’t. In his last five games, Trumbo went 4-20 with two home runs and two doubles. He even played two games in right field for Norfolk, but with DJ Stewart, Dwight Smith Jr. Anthony Santander, Trey Mancini, and others all vying for playing time in the outfield (plus the possibility of Austin Hays, Cedric Mullins, and maybe a surprise call-up), any action Trumbo sees will come as the Orioles designated hitter.

The market for a DH coming off major knee surgery is extremely limited, but hopefully, Trumbo can get a few hacks and show another team enough to give him a shot at continuing his playing career.

In his three seasons with the Orioles, Trumbo has compiled a .249 average, 87 home runs (led the league with 47 back in 2016), and 217 RBI. He is a career .250 hitter with 179 doubles, 218 home runs, 626 RBI, and two All-Star appearances across nine seasons in the big leagues with the O’s, Angels, Diamondbacks, and Mariners.