Seattle Mariners

Mariners' Trumbo trying to simplify in order to break out of slump

Published Jul. 8, 2015 1:10 p.m. ET

foxsports

Seattle Mariners slugger Mark Trumbo is slumping at the plate. It's hardly a new experience for Trumbo, whose all-or-nothing offensive approach has predicated struggles as a member of the Los Angeles Angels, Arizona Diamondbacks and now the M's.

As he told Bob Dutton of the News Tribune, he isn't especially enjoying himself at the moment, but he has an idea of how he can shake off the doldrums: “I’ve tried a number of things. Nothing has felt terribly good. So for me, it’s just getting back to basics and setting realistic smaller goals. Maybe not being so results-oriented. Just kind of enjoy what's going on because there's been enough of the other stuff to clog things down. You need to try tog get back to remembering why I do play."

Entering play Tuesday, Trumbo was hitting just .157 with the M's since coming over in a trade.

He told Dutton he's going to try to focus on getting quality at-bats, rather than trying as hard to be an impact bat in the middle of the M's inconsistent lineup: “Let’s say putting together a quality at-bat. Whether you get out — whether you strike out — whatever. It could be a 3-2 count that you extended to eight or nine pitches. Say you do strike out but, still, there's a takeaway there. It could be lining out. Or it could be a base-hit. It could be a home run. Any of those things. A small starting goal would be to have a quality at-bat."

They say baseball is a mental game, and right now Trumbo is trying his hardest to get the upper hand.

(h/t News Tribune)