Colorado Rockies Rumors: Mark Trumbo at First Base in 2017?

The Colorado Rockies need a first baseman and Mark Trumbo is available. Could it be a perfect match? According to an article on MLB.com, it’s certainly possible.

Trumbo paced Major League Baseball last season with 47 homers and was an offensive threat every time he stepped to the plate for the Baltimore Orioles. It’s one of the biggest reasons why we put him as one of the four options for the Colorado Rockies next season at first base. Now the biggest question is can he keep up that power in 2017 and beyond?

That is truly the multi-million dollar question for the Rockies and every other team interested in Trumbo, who just picked up his first Silver Slugger award. The 30-year-old had never hit more than 40 homers in a season before 2016 and had just 22 splitting time between Arizona and Seattle in 2015. As you might remember, the Rockies were interested in Trumbo during his time in Seattle but talks fell through.

In his seven-year career, Trumbo has seen action at first base in 371 of his 741 games. Last season with the Orioles, that number was just six as he played primarily in the outfield and served as the team’s designated hitter.

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Another thing to note on Trumbo is his second half of last season. While his overall 47 homers are certainly impressive, only 19 came after the All-Star break as he struggled with a .214 average. In August, he hit just .184 but mashed 10 homers. It was very much a “feast or famine” month (and second half) for Trumbo.

Like we’ve discussed with Matt Holliday potentially coming over to the Rockies now that he is a free agent (and seemingly interested in a Rockies reunion), Trumbo would need an offseason to reacquaint himself with first base on a majority-of-games basis. It’s certainly not inconceivable, but it is something to think about.

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Also something to think about is another chip that would need to be thrown into the mix to sign Trumbo. The Rockies have the 11^th overall pick in the 2017 MLB Draft. In order to sign a qualifying offer free agent like Trumbo, that pick would have to be given up. It definitely brings in the thought of “winning now” for the Rockies.