Trumbo on free agency and his return to the Orioles

Mark Trumbo never wanted to leave Baltimore and he made that point crystal clear again this afternoon at his press conference inside the auxiliary clubhouse at Camden Yards.

Trumbo put on his No. 45 jersey and cap, smiled with executive vice president Dan Duquette, and explained how the free agent process left him frustrated and ultimately thrilled because it brought him back to the Orioles.

The sides reached agreement last week on a three-year, $37.5 million contract that included a limited no-trade clause to seven teams. Trumbo said he would have accepted an offer slightly below any others to remain with the Orioles.

First baseman Chris Davis, in town for FanFest, sat in the last row of seats. Other teammates have been in contact with Trumbo. No one wanted him to leave, but it appeared to be a dire situation after the Orioles pulled their offer and communication broke down.

"Yeah, quite a few of them reached out, which you'd probably expect," Trumbo said while gathering with the local media. "Really excited to have me back. I told them the same thing. I communicated that along the way with quite a few of them. This is what I was hoping for.

"A lot of them were telling me to get a move on and get a deal done already, and I said, 'Hey, I'm trying, man. It's not quite as easy as that.' In the end, this is perfect.

"If you didn't hear anything, you might wonder, but I wasn't the least bit surprised by the reaction. The quality of guys that we all know."

There were lots of factors that made Trumbo want to stay, including how close the Orioles came to advancing in the playoffs. They lost to the Blue Jays in 11 innings in the wild card game at Rogers Centre. There's unfinished business in Baltimore.

"I think so," he said. "I think anytime you get close to something with a good group, you want to see it through a little bit more, at least. I think the team and the season we put together last year was really incredible. We ultimately didn't get as far as we wanted, but when you look at the bulk of what we did, it was quite impressive."

Staying on the market for so long brought a different feeling. Trumbo led the majors with 47 home runs and hit another in the wild card game, but teams weren't lining up for his services. He reached the point where he wondered if the Orioles would turn to someone else.

"We signed Jan. 20 and some of the other guys on the market who were also available, there were probably a few articles written that there are other guys who could have been a good fit, too, at a cheaper price for less years," Trumbo said. "When you're sitting there looking at that, that can worry you a little bit. But in the end, I'm the one standing here."

Talks heated up in a flash and it didn't take long to reach agreement. Agent Joel Wolfe contacted Duquette and negotiations were reborn.

"There were some figures thrown out that made a lot of sense," Trumbo said. "Immediately, we were able to go back and forth a half a day or whatever it was. Once I saw something that looked appealing, I jumped at it."

Industry speculation in the fall had Trumbo getting at least four years and maybe five, but power hitters aren't the big free agent winners. Trumbo is under contract, but guys like Mike Napoli, Chris Carter and Pedro Alvarez still haven't found a home. Jose Bautista re-signed with the Blue Jays for one guaranteed year.

"I wouldn't say I'm thrilled about where things are going, I guess, for free agents," Trumbo said. "I don't want to say Type B free agents, but some of the guys who aren't quite as elite. There are still some guys fighting for jobs who are very high level major league players that bring a heck of a lot to the table and they're forced to look at one-year incentive-laden contracts for a fairly low dollar amount considering the type of seasons they put up.

"I think for baseball, as a whole, it would be nice to, you get to free agency after surviving for six years or if it's your second go 'round, whatever it may be, I feel like it should be a process that rewards you with some security for a number of years if you earn the right to be there. If you haven't, you have to take what you can get. But I think this year in particular, in my case, there were just a ton of guys who do similar jobs and there weren't that many of them available."

A novice to free agency, Trumbo reached out to a few friends who had gone through the process, but not everyone traveled the same road. His twists and turns didn't replicate all of the others.

"Everyone kind of had different thoughts," he said. "Nobody can really give you advice because they're not in your shoes and seeing the offers that you're personally getting and things like that.

"I think the process was interesting. That's probably how I'd categorize it. A lot of highs and lows. The negotiating can take quite a while and everyone's trying to get to a number they want to. Sometimes, those deals don't happen as quickly as you the player might like."

In case you missed the presser, here are some quotes from Trumbo as he sat at the head table:

Opening statement: "Thrilled to be back with the club that was my first choice by far. Tried to make that clear throughout the process that this was the place I felt was right for me from a personal standpoint. But also this is a place I know I can do well in, a place with great people that are very supportive of what we do on the field. Not only internally, but our fans, as well. Just thrilled that I found the right home for me. It took a little while, but it all came together."

On whether he was confident that a deal would get done: "I was always hopeful. The process is pretty unique, if you've talked to people who've been through it before. There can be a lot of highs and lows. A lot of information that gets reported is not always terribly accurate, which can be a little bit challenging from everyone's perspective because there's only a select few people that actually know what's going on and are working hard to get a deal done. In this case, we had a great relationship with Dan, an open line of communication. Ultimately, we came to an agreement that works well for both sides."

On the process: "I wouldn't say it was exactly what I had thought, but it's a process that I could probably give people advice 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. But I feel like the teams that were interested were always very professional, but the whole time I really wanted to be back here. That was always the mindset I had personally. And I think that it was a pleasurable experience in a lot of ways. Some of it wasn't as much, but in the end, I'm thrilled to be back where I am."

On whether it was difficult, being a private person, to have everything play out publicly: "Yeah, a little bit. I think one of the hardest things is you go through the arbitration process, we were talking about this earlier, and the outline of that process is really to define your value and your weaknesses are going to come to the surface quite quickly. Free agency, you think that maybe that's a little bit behind you, but it turns into an almost more amplified process of that 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."

On whether he was close to signing with another team: "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."

On the deciding factor: "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."

On why Baltimore is a good fit for him despite being a West Coast guy: "I just found it overall a very easy place to come to work, an enjoyable place to come to work. Playing in your hometown has some really unique challenges. And that was a great time, too. But from purely a professional side of things, the distractions were very limited here in a good way.

"The fans were exceptional and the ballpark, just in of itself, is just really inspiring to come to work every day. 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 going to 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."

On how he expects to be used: "I don't quite know what the role is going to be. Dan could probably expand upon that. I assume it'll probably be a mixture of what I did last year. On the defensive side of things, it's always hard for me to kind of ... I have an opinion.

"I think I do an adequate job out there. 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.

"If Buck (Showalter) 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 DHing most of the time, that would be great, too."

On the security that comes with a three-year deal: "I'm quite happy with it. Going year to year for six years at the major league level, with no guarantee beyond a one-year deal, that can be a bit nerve-wracking. You kind of feel like at any given time, you lose a step and your job can go to somebody else. I think if you're able to survive for six years and are able to play at a fairly high level, getting rewarded with a multi-year deal is quite nice. It does feel pretty satisfying."

On how to live up to expectations: "That's the goal. I was able to make some changes at the end of 2015 that helped me into 2016. Some of the philosophies that I've tried to incorporate, some of the mechanical things, as well. Last year was obviously a culmination of a lot of things I've tried to work on and get better at.

"I think that this year, I have a much better understanding of the pitching in our own division, and the one area that I've always tried to get better on and I'd still like to continue is the plate discipline. It's been the hardest thing for me by far, but watching some of my teammates who are quite good at it and picking their brains, I still look to get better at it."

Check Steve Melewski's blog on MASNsports.com for Duquette's comments.

Duquette repeated that he's seeking more depth for the lineup and pitching staff.