masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgIf Mark Trumbo leaves the Orioles as a free agent, he’ll join a new team as the reigning Sporting News 2016 American League Comeback Player of the Year.
Trumbo, 30, beat out the Rangers’ Ian Desmond by one vote for the award, which has existed since 1965. Orioles starter Chris Tillman finished in seventh plave.
Trumbo was selected by a panel of 174 American League players.
They obviously put a lot of stock in leading the majors in home runs, which Trumbo did with 47. He also drove in 108 runs…

If Mark Trumbo leaves the Orioles as a free agent, he’ll join a new team as the reigning Sporting News 2016 American League Comeback Player of the Year.

Trumbo, 30, beat out the Rangers’ Ian Desmond by one vote for the award, which has existed since 1965. Orioles starter Chris Tillman finished in seventh plave.

Trumbo was selected by a panel of 174 American League players.

They obviously put a lot of stock in leading the majors in home runs, which Trumbo did with 47. He also drove in 108 runs while helping the Orioles secure the second wild card spot.

Trumbo hit a two-run homer in the wild card game to give the Orioles a temporary lead in a 5-2 11-inning loss to the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre that ended their season.

mark-trumbo-in-white.jpgTrumbo registered a .256/.316/.533 slash line with 27 doubles in 159 games and made his second All-Star team after the Orioles acquired him from the Mariners in December, along with left-hander C.J. Riefenhauser, for backup catcher Steve Clevenger.

The previous season, Trumbo batted a combined .262/.310/.449 with 22 home runs and 64 RBIs in 142 games with the Diamondbacks and Mariners.

Trumbo is the third Oriole to win the award, joining Boog Powell in 1966 and Rick Sutcliffe in 1992.

Trumbo received 40 votes, followed by Desmond with 39, the Red Sox’s Rick Porcello with 28, the Mariners’ Robinson Cano and the Rangers’ Yu Darvish with 13, the Red Sox’s Hanley Ramirez with nine, Tillman with four, the Tigers’ Victor Martinez with three and the Tigers’ Justin Verlander with two.

Twenty-three votes are listed as “other.”

Sporting News will reveal its AL and NL All-Star Teams on Wednesday and its Player of the Year on Thursday.