Mariners Try to Jump-Start 2015 Season, Lackluster Lineup with Mark Trumbo Trade

Mired under .500 and in fourth place in the American League West, the Seattle Mariners needed a jolt. They got one on Wednesday, and his name is Mark Trumbo.

Seattle will send catcher Welington Castillo, right-hander Dominic Leone and a pair of prospects to the Arizona Diamondbacks for Trumbo and left-hander Vidal Nuno, according to Fox Sports' Ken Rosenthal:

The prospects are infielder Jack Reinheimer and outfielder Gabby Guerrero, reported MLB.com's Greg Johns:

Reinheimer, a 22-year-old hitting .277 at Double-A, was a fifth-round pick by Seattle in 2013, while Guerrero, the nephew of ex-MLB slugger Vladimir Guerrero, is the Mariners' No. 7 prospect, according to Baseball America.

But the centerpiece of the deal, obviously, is Trumbo. He's a power hitter who can play first base or in the corner outfield spots, and the Mariners are surely hoping his bat will be a game-changer.

In 46 contests with the D-Backs this year, Trumbo clubbed nine dingers and drove in 23 runs. He was an All-Star in 2012 with the Los Angeles Angels and had his best showing in 2013 with the Halos, when he hit 34 homers and collected 100 RBI.

Prior to the 2014 season, Trumbo was shipped to Arizona in a three-team deal, meaning he knows this drill all too well, a reality FanGraphs' Jeff Sullivan wryly noted:

Trumbo's never been an on-base machine, as his career .298 OBP attests. But his undeniable power could be a welcome addition to a Seattle lineup that has looked frequently listless.

"Trumbo gives us another proven, middle-of-the-line-up bat," Mariners general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a statement after the deal was consummated. "He brings power and experience to the club. We think his presence will stretch and deepen our lineup with a legitimate major league hitter."

Nelson Cruz has been the Seattle offense for much of the season, leading the charge with a .324 batting average and AL-pacing 18 home runs. 

All-Star third baseman Kyle Seager is also having a reliably solid year, hitting .279 with nine home runs and 29 RBI.

After that, though, no Seattle hitter has more than six big flies. Robinson Cano, Seattle's other top bat, has just two to go along with an anemic .244 average.

It's early, yes, but with the surprising Houston Astros showing no signs of slowing down, the Mariners can't afford to wait around.

Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images

Losers of five straight, the M's sit at 24-29. They aren't out of anything, not with so much baseball left to play. But this isn't how things were supposed to go for a club that just missed the playoffs a year ago and spent the winter adding pieces, including Cruz, to get over the hump.

"Guys that are supposed to perform, they've got to perform," manager Lloyd McClendon said Monday, per Nick Eaton of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "And that fact is if Robbie Cano, Cruz and Seager don't hit, we’re not going to win.

"And if they continue not to hit, you'll be talking to somebody else. I'll be driving a garbage truck. That's just the way it goes."

Instead of putting McClendon on trash detail, Seattle elected to bring in some cavalry. These moves don't always work, of course. Trumbo could slump, and the Mariners' woes could continue—or get worse.

But this team—with Cruz bashing baseballs into the stratosphere and Felix Hernandez heading up a starting rotation that owns the AL's fourth-best ERA—is simply too talented to blow up.

Maybe if things are still bleak at the trade deadline, the Mariners should consider cleaning house. For now, they need a jolt.

And as Trumbo packs his bags for the Pacific Northwest, they're hoping that's exactly what they got.

All statistics current as of June 3 and courtesy of MLB.com unless otherwise noted.