Diamondbacks GM Dave Stewart: Trumbo trade a direct result of Gosewisch injury
Jun 3, 2015, 5:26 PM | Updated: 6:41 pm
When Arizona Diamondbacks catcher Tuffy Gosewisch went down holding his knee last week, it set off a series of events that couldn’t have been predicted at the start of the season.
He was thought to have jammed his knee, but the catcher actually tore his ACL and will have surgery.
Then, there was a trade.
Mark Trumbo, who had played just 134 games with the D-backs after arriving in Phoenix from Anaheim in 2014, was traded to the Seattle Mariners (alongside pitcher Vidal Nuno) Wednesday.
In exchange, Arizona received catcher Welington Castillo along with three other players (two of whom are prospects).
“If Tuffy Gosewisch doesn’t go down, then we’re probably not having this discussion right now,” Diamondbacks general manager Dave Stewart told Arizona Sports 98.7’s Burns and Gambo immediately after the trade was announced.
Murmurs of a Trumbo trade had surfaced earlier this season once it became clear the D-backs had a crowded outfield and promising young bats — and Trumbo seemed to be the odd man out. Jake Lamb’s recovery, for example, would give him the nod at third, thus pushing Yasmany Tomas into the outfield. Too many cooks.
Stewart said that wasn’t the reason for the trade, as manager Chip Hale “is creative” with the outfield options.
“Our team is relatively young, and a lot of guys in our outfield situations have options. So we could’ve sat down internally and figured out what we wanted to do, and if we needed to use those options, you know, use an option on one of the two guys or two of the guys.
“I think this was more driven by the fact that Tuffy went down and we needed to address our catching.”
Gosewisch was hitting .211 with 13 RBI and a home run before his injury.
Stewart said a veteran presence who could deal with Arizona’s rotation was the highest need.
Castillo spent five season with the Cubs before getting traded to Seattle this year. The 28-year-old has hit .250 over his career with 29 home runs and 112 RBI.
Stewart said he handles a pitching staff well, and that’s the main priority for Arizona now.
“We did feel it was necessary to get another guy behind the plate, where that is his primary position and he’s capable of handling our staff.”
