Playing Fact or Fiction with All of MLB's Hottest Week 9 Buzz, Rumors

It was only a few weeks ago that we talked about the false narrative permeating baseball, the one that insisted it was far too early in the season for teams to make trades of any substance.

While it's likely not going to open a floodgate of trade activity, Wednesday night's six-player swap between Arizona and Seattle should be all the evidence we need to put that theory to rest for good. Teams make trades that they believe make sense for both sides, regardless of the date on the calendar.

But as baseball begins its official march into summer, you can be sure the rumor mill will begin to heat up with more juicy rumors and speculation about the moves teams should—and should not—be looking to make. In fact, it's already begun to some extent.

Will one of the season's biggest surprises look to capitalize on its early success? Has an injury to a former All-Star cleared a path for one of baseball's most exciting young talents to stick around? Are a pair of preseason contenders fooling themselves when it comes to injured stars?

We'll hit on all of that and more in this week's edition of "Fact or Fiction."

Mark Trumbo Is Going to Fix What Ails Seattle

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

Seattle acquired slugger Mark Trumbo in a six-player trade from Arizona on Wednesday night in an attempt to spark an offense that has performed well below expectations thus far.

Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik spoke with Ryan Divish and Jayson Jenks of the Seattle Times:

"

Our thoughts were simple: You look at where we’re at offensively, and we’re not doing exactly what I thought we would do or what most people thought we would do. And Trumbo is a guy who I think brings an awful lot to the table. A big power hitter who will bat somewhere in the middle of our lineup. I thought it would be really good insurance for our ballclub.

"

Over 46 games for the Diamondbacks, Trumbo hit .259 with 22 extra-base hits (nine home runs), 23 RBI and a .805 OPS.

Verdict: Fiction

Will he help to improve the club's MLB-low .226 batting average and third-lowest OPS (.671) with runners on base? Absolutely.

But Seattle's biggest problem is that it simply doesn't get on base nearly enough. The team's .298 on-base percentage ranks 28th in baseball, which is equal to Trumbo's career OBP and only one-thousandth of a point lower than his .299 OBP on the season.

If the Mariners aren't losing a ton of one-run games, that'd be one thing. But their 13-10 record in such contests is the ninth-best in baseball, so a bunch of solo shots from Trumbo—considering the high likelihood that he steps to the plate with nobody on—isn't going to change much of anything.

Joey Gallo Is Here to Stay

Jim Cowsert/Associated Press

Two to three weeks—however long it takes Adrian Beltre's injured left thumb to heal—is how long Texas plans on having slugger extraordinaire Joey Gallo in the big leagues. Of course, a player can quickly change a team's plans by way of his play, as GM Jon Daniels alluded to before Gallo's arrival.

“I hope we’re in that spot, that (the) team is playing well and Joey puts us in position to have to make that call,” Daniels told the Dallas Morning News' Evan Grant of the possibility of Gallo pushing to remain on the roster long-term. “We expect Joey to go back down, and we’ve told Joey that as well.”

Gallo has certainly given the Rangers something to think about, going 3-for-4 with a double, home run and four RBI in his major league debut.

Verdict: Fact

The verdict was 100 percent fiction until news broke that Josh Hamilton will miss at least a month with a strained hamstring, opening the door for Gallo to stick. While his outfield experience is limited, the Rangers can now stick Gallo in left field once Beltre returns, keeping his potent bat in the lineup.

The Mets Won't Add a Third Baseman

Gregory Bull/Associated Press

While both David Wright and the Mets believe that the seven-time All-Star will return to action at some point this season after being diagnosed with spinal stenosis last month, New York general manager Sandy Alderson knows that it may be short-lived.

"I'm not sure we can have any assurance at this point that when he comes back it will be incident-free for the rest of the season," Alderson told Newsday's Marc Carig, acknowledging that Wright's return to action isn't coming anytime soon. "We're not on the edge of our seat waiting for David to come back at this point."

Even with all that uncertainty, Alderson insists that the team isn't looking for Wright's replacement, telling ESPN.com's Adam Rubin that second baseman Daniel Murphy could slide over to the hot corner when Dilson Herrera is able to come off the disabled list later this month.

Verdict: Fiction

The Mets have a realistic chance to end their eight-year absence from the playoffs, and not adding some sort of insurance at the hot corner would be a surefire way to extend that streak.

Whether it's Milwaukee's Aramis Ramirez, Oakland's Ben Zobrist or someone else—ESPN's Buster Olney wonders if Toronto might be willing to flip slugger Jose Bautista to New York for some pitching help (something we deemed to be fiction two weeks ago)—New York has to protect itself against the chance that Wright isn't able to return or is ineffective once he does.

Boston Has Serious Concerns About Hanley Ramirez's Shoulder

Charles Krupa/Associated Press

If you've been watching Boston's Hanley Ramirez over the past month and wondered whether he was playing with an injury, you're not alone.

"I've heard this from a couple of rival evaluators: Hanley Ramirez has simply not looked right since slamming into the wall in Fenway on May 4," ESPN's Buster Olney recently wrote. "His slugging percentage has dropped more than 100 points since then, and he's batting .228."

So when news broke that the Red Sox had acquired veteran outfielder Alejandro De Aza from Baltimore, it was fair to wonder whether it had anything to do with Ramirez's recent struggles. But that's a theory the Red Sox were quick to shoot down, pointing to the additional depth the move gives the club.

“He’s been a little bit of a platoon player," manager John Farrell told the Boston Herald's Adam Kurkjian. "I’m not saying De Aza is going to come in here and platoon in left with Hanley (Ramirez). But at the same time, we’ve got a veteran, a guy who can run, a guy that can play all three outfield positions. ... We were able to acquire a veteran guy who has some success and track record.”

Verdict: Fact

With both Daniel Nava and Shane Victorino on the disabled list, Farrell provides a plausible explanation—until you realize that De Aza is an older, more expensive and less productive (both at the plate and in the field) version of the team's current reserve outfielder, 28-year-old Carlos Peguero.

That explanation becomes even less believable when you realize the Red Sox surrendered a top-30 prospect in right-handed starter Joe Gunkel for a player you'd think would be headed off the roster once Nava and/or Victorino is healthy enough to return.

Realistically, the only explanation that makes sense is that the Red Sox are preparing to be without Ramirez for an extended period of time and are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with De Aza the same way Baltimore did last year, when the veteran hit .293 with a .877 OPS in 20 regular-season games after being acquired from the Chicago White Sox.

Houston Will Trade for Another Starter

Carlos Osorio/Associated Press

With Scott Feldman potentially out until the All-Star break after undergoing right knee surgery, speculation has picked up that the Houston Astros—sorry, the first-place Houston Astros—are on the hunt for another starting pitcher.

Both Cincinnati's Johnny Cueto and Philadelphia's Aaron Harang are on the team's radar, according to CBS Sports' Jon Heyman, who believes the Astros need to lengthen their rotation. He's not wrong, of course, as both Lance McCullers Jr. and Brett Oberholtzer figure to be setting new career highs in workload this season, with no guarantees that their arms will hold up down the stretch.

Verdict: Fact

A trade for a front-line starter like Cueto seems unlikely, as a pitcher of his caliber would require the club to part with some of its top young talent, including McCullers Jr. and top prospect Carlos Correa, who is about as untouchable as someone could possibly be.

Harang (or someone like him) would seem to be a far more realistic target, one who won't cost a boatload of top talent to acquire.

Unless otherwise linked or noted, all statistics courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com and FanGraphs and are current through games of June 3. All contract information courtesy of Cot's Contracts.

Hit me up on Twitter to talk all things baseball: @RickWeinerBR.