Trumbo on returning to the Orioles: ‘I found the right home for me’

A week after signing his three-year, $37.5 million deal to return to the Orioles, slugger Mark Trumbo met with the local media for a news conference at Camden Yards. He was joined by executive vice president Dan Duquette.

Here are some quotes from Friday afternoon:

Duquette on re-signing Trumbo: “We’re extremely happy he’ll be back with the ballclub. We traded for him a little over a year ago, and he put together a terrific season, 48 home runs (with the playoffs). He’s one of the top home run hitters in the history of the club. He led the league in home runs, he came through with a lot of clutch hits, including in the playoffs against Toronto. And, beyond that, he’s got some great personal qualities. He’s very dependable. He shows up for work every day. He’s got an excellent work ethic and he’s a very, very good veteran player who is an example for the younger players in the organization.”

Trumbo on the decision to sign here: “I’m thrilled to be back with the ballclub. That was my first choice, by far. I tried to make that kind of clear throughout the process. I felt like it was the right place for me from a personal standpoint. But, also, this is a place that I know that I can do well in. A place with great people, very supportive of what we do on the field. Not only internally, but our fans as well. I’m just thrilled that I found the right home for me. It took a little while, but it all came together.”

Trumbo on being a free agent for the first time: “I wouldn’t say it was exactly what I had thought, but it’s a process that I could probably give people advice (about) in the future. But you kind of go into it thinking that you might have a ton of suitors. You lead the league in home runs, who’s not interested in that? And then you realize that there aren’t that many vacancies, at times, for what you do, especially this year. There were a lot of people that have similar skill sets to me. You see a lot of those guys that are still out there fighting for two or three jobs, that’s just the way that this year went. Had it been another year, it could have been different.”

Trumbo on whether it was tough to hear speculation on why he didn’t get a larger deal (his defense, the qualifying offer attached to him, etc.): “Yeah, a little bit I think one of the hardest things is you go through the arbitration process … to define your value and your weaknesses are going to come to the surface quite quickly. Free agency, you think that (negativity) maybe that’s a little bit behind you. But it, in turn, turns into almost a more amplified process of (arbitration) in a lot of ways, trying to determine just how low your value really might be. But that’s where the business side of it comes in. Nobody’s looking to overpay anybody, and you’ve got to be semi-realistic when you’re trying to find a contract that works for you.”

Trumbo on what position he may play in 2017: “I don’t quite know what the role is going to be. … I assume it’ll probably a mixture of what I did last year. … I think I do an adequate job out there (in right field). I know I get hammered in a lot of places for some of the things I do, and that’s the opinion of many, but at the end of the day, I strive to make the routine plays out there. I throw the ball well. I’m accurate. I may not make some of the Web Gem catches, but I definitely don’t think I’m a liability out there. So. if Buck chooses to put me out there, I’m going to go and play a good right field, left field, wherever needed on the defensive side. But if I ended up DH’ing most of the time, that would be great, too.”

Trumbo on whether he was ever close to signing elsewhere: “I guess there were a few offers that might have made some sense — that was very early on. But there were a few others that came along that were easy to kind of pass on just because I always held out a lot of hope that there would be an opportunity here down the road, which is, fortunately, what ended up happening.”

Trumbo on why returning to Baltimore pulled at him: “Just the experience I had here. If there were competitive offers on the table, even if this one had been a little bit lower, I mean, this was my first choice. … I just found it overall a very easy place to come to work, an enjoyable place to come to work. … The distractions were very limited here, in a good way. The fans were exceptional and the ballpark, just in and of itself, is just really inspiring to come to work every day, I think. Great group of teammates. I beat that to death, but it really is true. I think the way I was welcomed coming into spring training last year, as a new player, which I was trying to tell Seth Smith recently, is, ‘You’re gonna love it here. They just know how to make you feel comfortable right away.’ That, in turn, allows you to go out and play your best baseball.”