Mariners acquire catcher Steve Clevenger from Baltimore

Seattle Mariners Executive Vice President & General Manager of Baseball Operations Jerry Dipoto announced today that the club has acquired catcher Steve Clevenger from the Baltimore Orioles in exchange for first baseman/outfielder Mark Trumbo and left-handed pitcher C.J. Riefenhauser.

"Adding Steve to our roster further addresses our desire to build depth and balance behind the plate," Dipoto said. "He's coming off of a season in which his bat clicked at the Major League level the way it always has in the minors."

Clevenger, 29, hit .287 (29x101) with 11 runs scored, 4 doubles, 2 triples, 2 home runs and 15 RBI in 30 games over two stints with the Orioles in 2015 (May 26-June 4 & Aug. 14-end of season). The left-handed hitting catcher spent a majority of the season with Triple-A Norfolk and was named to the International League All-Star team, batting .305 (80x262) with 28 runs scored, 11 doubles, 4 home runs and 32 RBI in 75 games.

Clevenger was originally selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 7th round of the 2006 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of Chipola College (Marianna, FL). He began his career as a middle infielder before converting to a catcher in 2007. He made his Major League debut with the Cubs on September 26, 2011 at San Diego (0x3) and spent parts of three seasons with the Cubs before being traded to Baltimore along with RHP Scott Feldman in exchange for RHP Jake Arrieta, RHP Pedro Strop and international signing bonus slots 3 and 4 on July 2, 2013. Over parts of five seasons in the Majors with Chicago-NL (2011-13) and Baltimore (2013-15), he is batting .228 (95x416) with 30 runs scored, 26 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs and 41 RBI over 148 career games. Clevenger has a career .310 (769x2477) average with 321 runs scored, 155 doubles, 11 triples, 34 home runs and 348 RBI in 733 games over 10 seasons in the minor leagues.

Trumbo, 29, hit .262 (133x508) with 62 runs scored, 23 doubles, 3 triples, 22 home runs and 64 RBI in 142 combined games between Seattle and Arizona in 2015. With Seattle he hit .263 (88x334) with 39 runs scored, 13 doubles, 13 home runs and 41 RBI in 96 games, including .302 (77x255) with 35 runs, 12 doubles, 12 home runs, 36 RBI and an .849 OPS in 74 games after July 4. He was acquired by Seattle on June 3 along with LHP Vidal Nuño as part of 6-player trade with Arizona in exchange for RHP Dominic Leone, C Welington Castillo, OF Gabby Guerrero & INF Jack Reinheimer. In seven Major League seasons, he has hit .250 (639x2554) with 317 runs scored, 118 doubles, 10 triples, 131 home runs and 409 RBI in 690 career games.

Riefenhauser, 25, was acquired by the Mariners as part of a six-player trade along with RHP Nathan Karns and OF Boog Powell from the Tampa Bay Rays in exchange for 1B Logan Morrison, INF/OF Brad Miller and RHP Danny Farquhar on November 5. He made 17 appearances over four separate stints with the Rays in 2015, combining for a 1-0, 5.52 mark, all in relief. In his final 11 appearances (Sept. 1-end of season) he posted a 2.16 ERA (2 ER, 8.1 IP), closing the season with a career-high 7 consecutive scoreless appearances. Overall, he was with Tampa Bay April 17-May 28 (including a stint on the 15-day DL April 23-May 28 with left shoulder inflammation), June 12-17, July 1-4 and September 1 - end of season. He appeared in 29 games (all in relief) with AAA Durham, posting a 4-2, 2.86 mark with 1 save (11 ER, 34.2 IP).