Seattle Mariners GM Jerry Dipoto started the offseason moving towards what he thought the roster should look like. In the process, he completely changed the club as he moved to an emphasis on OBP. One of the players lost in the shuffle who is now turning heads with the Baltimore Orioles is Mark Trumbo.

Trumbo’s performance with the Orioles has some Mariners fans wondering whether it was a bad idea to get rid of such a power threat. In his 12 games and 47 at-bats with the Orioles, Trumbo has hit for a .383 average, five home runs and 11 RBIs. Considering he would lead in average, homers and RBIs for the Mariners with those stats, at first glance it seems the Mariners made a big mistake.

The struggles of new first baseman Adam Lind only add to the problem. Lind’s average of .182, zero home runs and one RBI in 33 at-bats so far in 2016 make Trumbo’s numbers from 2015 somehow look like an improvement. Backup first baseman Dae-ho Lee has become a fan favorite, but it looks as if the Mariners are not willing to increase his at-bats just yet.

Mariners fans should not worry, though. There are multiple reasons why Trumbo was traded to the Orioles and those reasons are still relevant. First, the Mariners needed to get Trumbo’s salary off the books. He was headed for arbitration and just didn’t fit in with the model the Mariners were aiming for. With only one year of control, he was given $9.15 million for his last year of arbitration. Within the next two weeks of Trumbo being traded, the Mariners signed Nori Aoki and Steve Cishek for a combined $9.5 million for 2016.

The second reason is the trade itself. The Orioles had to part with Steve Clevenger, the Mariners’ backup catcher, in the deal for Trumbo. Clevenger has struggled lately, going 1-for-10 in 2016 with a couple bad throws on Sunday, but the need for a backup to Chris Iannetta was a priority after his signing. Mike Zunino really needs some time in the minors, even with the way he has hit so far in 2016 (.452, 6 HRs, 18 RBIs in 10 Triple-A games). This is a time for Zunino to build his confidence so when he does come back up to MLB (later this season or next year), he will succeed the way he has in Triple-A.

Let’s not forget that Trumbo is known for his power and his streaks. Going from spacious Safeco Field to pretty much any other ballpark, let alone Camden Yards, was going to inflate Trumbo’s home run numbers anyway. Trumbo has struck out nine times, so it’s not as if he is a completely different hitter.

Fans just need to remember that the season is early. This is such a small sample size of what is to come in a 162 games. Baseball is a game of streaks, so judging by a few games is just too hard to do. It gives you an idea, but that’s about it. When it comes to Trumbo, it is just too early to think the Mariners shouldn’t have traded him. Just wait for him to go on a 0-for-16 streak with the Orioles like he did to start with the Mariners. You won’t miss him a bit then.