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Dodgers Place Three Pitchers On 60-Day IL, Finalize Three Free Agent Signings

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The Dodgers announced Thursday that they’ve placed right-handers Walker Buehler, Blake Treinen and J.P. Feyereisen on the 60-day injured list. The trio of transactions clears space on the 40-man roster for the previously reported free-agent signings of David Peralta, Alex Reyes and Jimmy Nelson, whose one-year deals have now become official.

None of three IL placements come as a surprise. Buehler underwent Tommy John surgery late in the 2022 season and is expected to miss most, if not all of the upcoming 2023 campaign. Treinen, meanwhile, could miss the entire 2023 season after undergoing surgery to repair the labrum and rotator cuff in his right shoulder back in November. At the time the surgery was announced, the team provided an estimated recovery period of about 10 months, which would run into early September.

As for Feyereisen, he’s never thrown a pitch for the Dodgers but was acquired in a December trade that sent minor league lefty Jeff Belge to the Rays. The 30-year-old Feyereisen rattled off 24 1/3 shutout innings for Tampa Bay in 2022 and has a 1.48 ERA in 61 innings of relief work with the Rays dating back to 2021. However, he underwent a similar procedure to Treinen (rotator cuff and labrum repair) in early December and is reportedly looking at August as a best-case scenario for his own return.

The Rays entered the offseason with three players on their 40-man roster whom they expected to miss most or all of the 2023 season — righties Shane Baz and Andrew Kittredge are recovering from Tommy John surgery — creating enough inflexibility that they opted to designate Feyereisen for assignment and find a trade partner. It’s a long-term play for the Dodgers, as Feyereisen is controllable via arbitration for another three seasons after the 2023 campaign.

The trio of 60-day IL placements are effectively formalities, but this slate of Dodgers moves is also a good reminder that teams can now create roster space for new additions — be they Major League signings, waiver claims or trade acquisitions — without necessarily having to designate a current player for assignment. MLBTR’s Darragh McDonald recently ran through all 30 teams and looked at each club’s 60-day IL candidates to begin the season.

Players That Could Move To The 60-Day IL Once Spring Training Begins

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Just about every baseball team has a full 40-man roster now, with the Astros the only team with an open spot at the moment. That means that just about every transaction, be it a free agent signing or a waiver claim, requires a corresponding move.

However, that could soon change as the injured list is coming back soon. There’s no IL from the end of a season until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training for the next campaign, which they will do next week. That means some clubs could potentially gain a bit of extra roster flexibility at that time, since players on the 60-day IL don’t count against a team’s roster total. However, it’s worth pointing out that the “60 days” don’t start until Opening Day, which is March 30 this year. That means, though a team can transfer a player to the 60-day IL next week, they will likely only do so if they aren’t expecting the player back until end of May or later.

With some notable free agents still unsigned like Jurickson Profar, Andrew Chafin, Michael Wacha, Elvis Andrus and many others, it’s possible that teams interested in their services might try to hold off on getting a deal done until next week. Or perhaps clubs that have players they would like to sneak through waivers will try to do so now, before rival clubs gain that extra roster flexibility with the IL opening up. Then again, some clubs will need to keep in mind non-roster players they are planning to promote by Opening Day and might hold off on making a move until that time.

Here are some players who are expected to miss some significant time and could find themselves transferred soon, sorted by division.

AL East

Hyun Jin Ryu/Chad Green

The Blue Jays have a pair of pitchers on their 40-man roster who are returning from Tommy John surgery. They should be on a similar timeline, as they each underwent the procedure in June of last year, though Green will most likely return first since relievers generally require less time to build up arm strength compared to starters. Regardless, the recovery time period for TJS is about 12-18 months, meaning neither pitcher is likely to return until midseason at the earliest. Ryu recently said he was targeting a July return.

Trevor Story

The Red Sox shortstop recently underwent an internal brace procedure on his throwing elbow, a similar operation to Tommy John. Though he’s confident he’ll return at some point, he’s slated to miss most of the upcoming season and is certainly headed for the injured list.

John Means

The Orioles lefty underwent Tommy John surgery in late of April of 2022. With the 12-18 month recovery window for TJS, he could theoretically return in the first couple of months of the season, so the O’s may not want to transfer him to the injured list until they have some clarity about his timeline.

Scott Effross/Luis Gil/Frankie Montas

Effross is a lock for the Yankees’ injured list as he underwent Tommy John in October and will likely miss the entire 2023 campaign. Gil had the same surgery but in May, which means he’ll likely be out until midseason. The situation with Montas is a bit less clear, as he’s dealing with shoulder inflammation that is expected to keep him out for the first month of the season. Unless he suffers some sort of setback, he probably won’t be placed on the 60-day IL right away.

Shane Baz/Andrew Kittredge

The Rays have a couple of hurlers bound for the IL as Baz underwent Tommy John in September while Kittredge had the same surgery in June. They’re both going to miss the first half of the year, with Baz potentially missing the entire season.

AL Central

Casey Mize/Tarik Skubal

Mize underwent Tommy John surgery in June and should be placed on the Tigers’ IL at some point. Skubal’s case is a bit less certain after he underwent flexor tendon surgery in August. The club hasn’t provided a timeline for his recovery but some recent comparables can give us some idea. Danny Duffy underwent the procedure in October of 2021 and was hoping to return by June of 2022, though a setback prevented him from pitching at all on the year. Matthew Boyd went under the knife for flexor tendon surgery in September of 2021 and didn’t return to a big league mound until September of 2022.

Garrett Crochet/Liam Hendriks

Crochet of the White Sox underwent Tommy John surgery in April of last year but was already stretched out to throwing from 120 feet in November. Whether he’s able to return in the early parts of 2023 or not will depend on his continued progression in that recovery process. In a less conventional situation, Liam Hendriks announced last month that he’s beginning treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It’s unknown how long his treatment will take but general manager Rick Hahn said they don’t expect updates “prior to Opening Day at the very earliest.”

Chris Paddack/Royce Lewis

Paddack was recently extended by the Twins though he underwent Tommy John in May of last year and likely won’t be ready to return until the middle of the upcoming campaign. Lewis tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in June of last year, the second year in a row that he suffered that unfortunate injury. At the time, his recovery timeline was estimated at 12 months, which likely puts him on the shelf until midseason as well.

AL West

Brett Martin

It was reported last month that the Rangers lefty will require shoulder surgery. It was said that the timeline will become more clear in the aftermath of the procedure but he’s likely to miss the entirety of the upcoming season.

NL East

Bryce Harper

The Phillies superstar underwent Tommy John surgery in November and the club has announced they expect him to be out of action until around the All-Star break in July.

Huascar Ynoa/Tyler Matzek

Both these Braves pitchers underwent Tommy John last year, with Ynoa going under the knife in September and Matzek in October. That makes them both long shots for appearing at all this year, but especially not in the first half.

Max Meyer/Anthony Bender/Sixto Sanchez

The Marlins have a couple of arms that will certainly miss time this year and one more that’s a wild card. Meyer and Bender both underwent Tommy John in August and will miss most of the upcoming campaign. Sanchez underwent arthroscopic shoulder surgery in October with the club announcing at that time they expected him back by spring. It was reported last month that Sanchez is already throwing bullpens, which perhaps points against an IL stint. However, after the shoulder issues completely wiped out his 2021 and 2022 seasons, it’s hard to know how much to rely on his health going forward.

Danny Mendick

The Mets signed Mendick after he was non-tendered by the White Sox. The infielder/outfielder tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee in June of last year and missed the second half of the season. There haven’t been any updates on his status recently, but further clarity will likely come when camp gets rolling.

Tanner Rainey/Stephen Strasburg

The Nationals have one fairly straightforward case in Tanner Rainey, who underwent Tommy John in August and will likely miss most of the upcoming season. What’s less clear is the situation surrounding Strasburg, who’s hardly pitched at all over the past three years due to thoracic outlet syndrome and various issues seemingly related to that. He made one appearance in the big leagues last year, pitching 4 2/3 in one start in June but went on the IL right after and never returned. He spoke about the issue in September, saying he hadn’t thrown in months and that he is “not really sure what the future holds.”

NL Central

Ethan Roberts/Codi Heuer/Kyle Hendricks

Roberts underwent Tommy John in June and likely won’t be available for the Cubs until midseason. Heuer had TJS in March but the latest reporting suggests he won’t return until June or July. The status of Hendricks is less clear, with the righty trying to recover from a capsular tear in his shoulder. The club is hoping to have him back by Opening Day but also said they won’t rush him. He recently said that he’s expecting to be on a mound by March 1.

Vladimir Gutierrez/Tejay Antone

Gutierrez, a Reds righty, underwent Tommy John in July and should miss the first few months of the upcoming season at least. Antone was rehabbing from a Tommy John of his own when he suffered a flexor strain in his forearm. He announced today he’s received a platelet-rich plasma injection to treat the issue and suggested he might miss the first half of the season.

Max Kranick

The Pirates right-hander required Tommy John in June and will miss the first half of the upcoming campaign.

NL West

Antonio Senzatela/Tyler Kinley

The Rockies have a couple of murky situations on their hands with these hurlers. Senzatela tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last year and required surgery in August. The timeline at that point was given at 6-8 months, which would place his return somewhere in the February-April window. Whether he’ll require a lengthy IL stint will depend on if his recovery is still on that track. Kinley was diagnosed with an elbow strain and a flexor tear in his forearm in June of last year. He underwent surgery in July with the club announcing they expected him to miss one calendar year, which should prevent him from pitching early in the campaign.

Walker Buehler/Blake Treinen/J.P. Feyereisen

The Dodgers have a trio of pitchers that are likely to miss most or perhaps all of the upcoming season. Buehler required Tommy John in August and could potentially return very late in the year. Treinen underwent shoulder surgery in November with an estimated recovery time of 10 months. Feyereisen underwent shoulder surgery in December and won’t be able to begin throwing until four months after that procedure, or around April. His eventual return to game shape will depend on how long it takes him to progress from simply throwing to getting up to full game speed.

Luke Jackson

The Giants signed the right-hander in free agency, despite Jackson undergoing Tommy John in April. President of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi told reporters last month that there was a chance Jackson begins the year on the 60-day IL, though that doesn’t seem to indicate any kind of setback. “He’s doing great in his rehab, so we’re going to wait and see how he’s doing in spring training,” Zaidi said.

Blake Treinen Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

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The Dodgers announced to reporters, including Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic, that right-hander Blake Treinen has undergone “right shoulder labrum and rotator cuff repair surgery.” The recovery process is about 10 months, meaning it’s possible Treinen will miss the entire 2023 season.

After a dismal 2019 campaign, Treinen was non-tendered by the A’s and signed a one-year, $10MM deal with the Dodgers for 2020. It was a nice bounceback season for him, as he posted a 3.86 ERA while getting grounders on an incredible 64% of balls in play. The Dodgers were impressed enough to re-sign him for two years and $17.5MM with a 2023 club option worth $8MM.

In 2021, he took his game up a notch. Though his strikeout rate had been just above 20% in 2019 and 2020, he shot it up to 29.7% last year. He still got ground balls at a really strong 52.6% clip, helping his ERA drop down to 1.99. He also got pushed into more high leverage situations, earning seven saves and 32 holds.

2022 hasn’t been as pleasant, unfortunately. He appeared in three games in April before landing on the IL due to shoulder discomfort. He was transferred to the 60-day IL in May but the Dodgers nonetheless agreed to an extension with Treinen shortly thereafter. The extension was for $8MM in 2023, effectively guaranteeing the club option that was already in place. In addition, it came with a new club option for 2024, with a value somewhere between $1MM and $7MM. Where it falls in that range will depend upon Treinen’s health and other factors over the course of the deal.

Treinen did return to the hill this year, making a couple of appearances in September before returning to the IL. He was activated for the NLDS and made one postseason appearance, though he must have been using the last bits of strength his shoulder had. It was reported a couple of days ago that surgery seemed to be likely, and it has now indeed come to pass.

This is surely a disappointing development for Treinen personally but also for the Dodger club that took a gamble on him six months ago. They will now be on the hook for $8MM next year and that is quite likely to be a sunk cost. The 10-month recovery window makes it possible Treinen returns very late next year but he will have to rebuild strength and effectiveness after a long layoff. That makes it tough to count on him for anything. The exact calculus that goes into determining the final value of the 2024 option isn’t known, though Treinen’s upcoming extended absence will likely result in it finishing in the low end of that $1-7MM range. The club will surely make their decision based on how his health responds between now and one year from now. Treinen is currently 34 and will be turning 36 in June of 2024.

Shoulder Surgery Under Consideration For Blake Treinen

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Dodgers reliever Blake Treinen battled shoulder discomfort in 2022 and missed the bulk of his year. Unfortunately, that remains a problem heading into the offseason, and it seems as if the injury will carry into next season.

L.A. general manager Brandon Gomes told reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times) this evening the team and Treinen are still working through treatment possibilities. While Gomes characterized surgery as one of multiple options under consideration, Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register ominously reports that a procedure is “likely.” If Treinen did have to go under the knife, Plunkett adds, he’d require a 10-month recovery period and thus miss most or all of the 2023 campaign.

Treinen was limited to just five regular season appearances this year. He was on the injured list from April to September. Reinstated at the start of September, he made just two appearances before going back on the IL. The Dodgers activated Treinen for the postseason, calling upon him just once.

The injuries that caused that stop-and-start remain a concern, and Plunkett writes that both Treinen’s rotator cuff and labrum would be fixed if he goes under the knife. That’s certainly not what the Dodgers envisioned when signing the right-hander to an $8MM contract for 2023 in May. That deal also contains a club option for the 2024 campaign that’d be valued anywhere between $1MM and $7MM depending upon Treinen’s health for next season. Obviously, surgery wiping out much or all of his season — if necessary — would make it unlikely the Dodgers would trigger the option.

During his last healthy season, the veteran sinkerballer was one of the sport’s top late-game arms. The former All-Star worked to a 1.99 ERA across 72 1/3 innings in 2021, racking up grounders at a 52.6% clip.

Dodgers Notes: Gonsolin, Treinen, May, Almonte, Bickford

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The Dodgers plan to welcome back All-Star Tony Gonsolin soon, as noted by Jack Harris of the LA Times. Manager Dave Roberts relayed information to reporters earlier today, stating that Gonsolin’s most recent rehab start “went really well,” and that the Dodgers aim to have Gonsolin start Monday’s game against the Rockies, pitching around 3 innings, and hope to have him stretched out to 4 innings in time for the NLDS.

Before being placed on the injured list in late August, Gonsolin was pitching a fantastic season and likely would have been a serious Cy Young contender. In his first full season starting, Gonsolin has pitched to a 2.49 ERA, 23.7 K%, 7.2 BB% in 128 1/3 innings (23 starts) en route to his first All-Star appearance.

Elsewhere on the Dodgers:

  • Reliever Blake Treinen, who has missed most of the 2022 season, is still progressing in his return from shoulder tightness since being placed on the injured list, retroactive to September 7th. Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic reported that Treinen played catch yesterday, and, while it went fine, Treinen’s ability to come back this year will depend on how his shoulder responds in the next few days. Limited to just 5 innings this season, Treinen was dominant last season, working to a 1.99 ERA in 72 1/3 innings with a 29.7% strikeout rate. With Craig Kimbrel having lost the closing job in Los Angeles, the late-season addition of Treinen, if he’s able to make it back, may help the Dodgers plan their postseason roster
  • As Dustin May works to return from lower back tightness that forced his placement on the 15-day IL on September 24th, the flamethrowing righty said that he’s “completely confident” that he will be healthy for the NLDS, per Harris. May said he is progressing in his rehab, but is unsure as to the role he might have when he returns. Roberts informed reporters the Dodgers would prefer to use a four-man rotation in the NLDS (Harris link), and Clayton Kershaw, Julio Urías, and Tyler Anderson seem destined to fill out three of those spots. The last starting role appears to be up for grabs amongst Andrew Heaney, Gonsolin, and May.
  • The Dodgers activated Yency Almonte from the 15-day IL earlier today, with the right-handed relief pitcher returning to the active roster after dealing with elbow tightness in his pitching arm. In his first season with the Dodgers, the 28-year-old has pitched to a 1.15 ERA in 31 1/3 innings (29 appearances) with an above-average 24.6% strikeout rate. In a corresponding move, RHP Phil Bickford has been placed on the 15-day injured list with right shoulder fatigue. Bickford has seen heavy usage out of the pen, pitching 61 innings (60 appearances) with a 4.72 ERA while striking out opposing batters at a strong 27.1% clip. Bickford’s move to the IL ends his regular season.

Injury Notes: Treinen, Nelson, Severino, Britton

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The Dodgers have been without reliever Blake Treinen for much of the season, as shoulder issues have kept him on the injured list. The right-hander was out of action between mid-April and early September, and his return to the active roster this month lasted just two appearances. Treinen went back on the IL with shoulder tightness on a placement retroactive to September 7. While he’ll be eligible to return from that stint tomorrow, manager Dave Roberts informed reporters Treinen’s shoulder hasn’t responded to a Monday bullpen session as hoped (via David Vassegh of AM 570 LA Sports and J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group).

Roberts indicated there’s some concern Treinen may not be available in time for the postseason, which kicks off just over two weeks from now. Los Angeles is assuredly going to get a bye past the first-round Wild Card series, which will afford Treinen a bit more time to try to work his way back. If they could get the 34-year-old back in the fold, it’d go a long way towards improving their playoff bullpen. While he’s been limited to just five appearances this year, Treinen was one of the sport’s best late-game weapons a season ago. He worked to a 1.99 ERA with a 29.7% strikeout rate while inducing grounders on over half the batted balls he allowed through 72 1/3 frames in 2021.

Some other injury notes from around the game:

  • The Diamondbacks placed rookie starter Ryne Nelson on the 15-day injured list this afternoon, recalling southpaw Tyler Holton from Triple-A Reno in his place. The right-hander is dealing with scapula inflammation that’ll end his season a few weeks early. Manager Torey Lovullo didn’t sound especially concerned about the issue long-term, telling reporters (including Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic) the club was proceeding with an excess of caution with the season winding down. Lovullo indicated Nelson should be in the mix for a spot in next year’s season-opening rotation, hardly a surprise given his prospect pedigree. Baseball America’s #96 overall farmhand entering the 2022 campaign, Nelson struggled with the longball in a hitter-friendly Triple-A environment but impressed in his first three big league starts. He allowed only four runs (three earned) with 16 strikeouts and six walks in 18 1/3 innings to kick off his MLB career.
  • The Yankees reinstated Luis Severino from the 60-day injured list this afternoon, as expected. New York already had a vacancy on the 40-man roster, and they optioned Miguel Andújar to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to open a spot on the active roster. Severino, who missed two months after suffering a lat strain in mid-June, returned with five innings of one-run ball in a win over the Pirates. The righty tossed 64 pitches and figures to progressively build his pitch count with each start in preparation for a potential role in the playoff rotation. New York is also likely to soon welcome back reliever Zack Britton, who hasn’t thrown an MLB pitch since undergoing a UCL repair last September. Joel Sherman of the New York Post was among those to relay that Britton has reported to the major league club after making eight appearances on a rehab stint. While he’s not yet been formally reinstated from the 60-day injured list, that seems likely to occur in the coming days.

Dodgers Place Blake Treinen On 15-Day Injured List

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The Dodgers have placed right-hander Blake Treinen on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to September 7.  Right-hander Andre Jackson has been called up from Triple-A to take Treinen’s spot on the roster.

Treinen is dealing with tightness in his throwing shoulder, which is an ominous diagnosis considering that Treinen has missed most of the season due to shoulder problems.  As Treinen told MLB.com’s Juan Toribio and other reporters last week, he was initially advised to get surgery to repair a partial tear in the front capsule of his shoulder, but instead chose a non-surgical recovery option.  This allowed the right-hander to make it back for two more appearances after being activated from the 60-day IL, but Treinen has now been sidelined again.

It’s probably safe to assume that Treinen will again try to make it back without going under the knife, especially with the postseason nearing.  Whether he’ll be able to return after a minimum 15 days is another question, and it is possible Treinen has already thrown his final pitch of the 2022 season.  It might be that surgery is inevitable to fully correct his shoulder issues, and such a procedure might now potentially threaten his readiness for at least the start of the 2023 season.

In the midst of his IL stint, Treinen and the Dodgers agreed to a contract extension back in May that guaranteed his 2023 salary at $8MM, which was the total of a club option Los Angeles already held on his services.  Another club option for 2024 was also added, worth between $1MM-$7MM depending on Treinen’s health and other benchmarks.  With Treinen still plagued with shoulder problems, this extension might already look like a misfire on the Dodgers’ part, especially if he ends up having to miss a portion of the 2023 season.  While $8MM isn’t a huge amount to a big-payroll team like L.A., that number could certainly impact the luxury tax number for a club that figures to be in tax territory once again next year.

Dodgers Designate Jake Reed For Assignment

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The Dodgers announced they’ve designated reliever Jake Reed for assignment. The move clears an active and 40-man roster spot for Blake Treinen, who has been reinstated for the 60-day injured list and will be in the bullpen for tonight’s game against the Padres.

Reed is no stranger to DFA limbo, as he’s frequently been a victim of churn at the back of the 40-man roster over the past couple years. The low-slot righty has attracted plenty of interest on the waiver wire, though, bouncing from the Dodgers to the Rays to the Mets and back to Los Angeles dating back to last July. He never appeared in the big leagues with Tampa Bay, but Reed has been called upon out of the bullpen a combined 20 times as a Dodger and Met over the past two seasons.

Through 21 innings, he owns a 5.57 ERA with pedestrian strikeout and ground-ball marks (19.4% and 39.1%, respectively). Reed’s latest run has been solid, as he’d worked four scoreless appearances prior to his DFA, including locking down his first career save against his former team in Queens on Tuesday. The former fifth-round pick also has a solid track record in the minors, notching a 3.84 ERA with an above-average 25.6% strikeout rate over parts of six Triple-A campaigns.

The Dodgers will have no choice but to place Reed on waivers over the next few days. He’s drawn interest on waivers on multiple occasions, and he still has a minor league option remaining beyond this season. It’s not out of the question another team could take a shot on him to add some bullpen depth with a decent track record in the upper minors.

Treinen, meanwhile, has been out of action for more than four months. The right-hander has battled shoulder discomfort for much of the season, but that didn’t stop the Dodgers from signing him to a contract extension in May. Treinen is coming off a brilliant 2021 campaign in which he worked to a 1.99 ERA through 72 1/3 innings. If he can recapture that form now that his shoulder is back healthy, he’ll be a key late-game weapon for skipper Dave Roberts heading into the playoffs.

Dodgers Expected To Activate Blake Treinen This Week

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The Dodgers have been without right-hander Blake Treinen since late April due to a right shoulder injury, but Treinen is set to make one final minor league rehab appearance today and could rejoin the active roster as soon as Friday, tweets Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic. The Dodgers will need to open a spot on the 40-man roster, as Treinen is on the 60-day injured list. Treinen is on track to be the second major return for Los Angeles this week, as Clayton Kershaw is also apparently set for reinstatement from the injured list.

Treinen’s return will be a boon to a pitching staff that is currently dealing with key injuries both in the rotation (Kershaw, Walker Buehler, Tony Gonsolin) and in the bullpen (Treinen, Daniel Hudson, Tommy Kahnle, Victor Gonzalez, Yency Almonte). He may not be immediately dropped back into high-leverage spots, but given his track record, Treinen could find his way into such situations before long.

The 34-year-old Treinen was an All-Star with the 2018 A’s when he posted a majestic 0.78 ERA and saved 38 games — good for a sixth-place finish in American League Cy Young voting. However, his results tanked in 2019 (4.91 ERA, career-worst 13.9% walk rate), which prompted the A’s to non-tender him rather than pay a projected $7.8MM salary in hopes of a rebound. The Dodgers had no such qualms, actually paying Treinen a $10MM salary that exceeded arbitration projections by a wide margin. The results were more good than great, but Treinen was brought back on a two-year deal in the 2020-21 offseason and, last season, regained his status as one of the game’s top bullpen arms.

In 2021, Treinen racked up 72 1/3 innings of relief work while pitching to a pristine 1.99 ERA. He fanned 29.7% of his opponents against an 8.7% walk rate and a very strong 52.6% ground-ball rate. He saved seven games and posted an MLB-best 32 holds, regularly working in some of the team’s highest-leverage spots. Treinen went on to hold opponents to just two runs on five hits and two walks with eight strikeouts through 8 2/3 postseason innings.

Treinen’s 2022 season got out to a brief but brilliant start, as he tossed three innings and yielded just one solo homer with no other hits, no walks and five strikeouts. He hasn’t taken the big league mound since that time, but he’s pitched five innings on a Triple-A rehab stint, allowing a pair of earned runs on six hits and a walk with six strikeouts and a 53.3% grounder rate.

Even without Treinen in the mix, the Dodgers still have MLB’s third-lowest bullpen ERA, sitting at just 3.08. Dodgers relievers also have the game’s sixth-best strikeout rate (26.3%), second-lowest walk rate (7.4%) and fifth-lowest HR/9 mark (0.85). Treinen’s return could eventually give Dave Roberts an alternative to inconsistent closer Craig Kimbrel. If Kimbrel holds the ninth inning, Treinen will join lefty Alex Vesia, flamethrowing righty Brusdar Graterol, breakout righty Evan Phillips and deadline pickup Chris Martin in a deep and talented mix of setup arms.

A return to health for Treinen is particularly encouraging for the Dodgers, given that they rolled the dice on an extension for the right-hander back in May, when his status was murkier. Los Angeles preemptively exercised an $8MM option on Treinen for the 2023 season and tacked on another club option for the 2024 campaign.

Bullpen Rumors: Robertson, Cubs, Rays, Tigers, Dodgers

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Cubs closer David Robertson is among the most popular names on the trade market for relievers, and both New York clubs have interest in bringing him aboard. The Yankees, who’ve enjoyed two separate stints from Robertson in the past, are interested in another reunion with the 37-year-old righty, per Ken Davidoff of the New York Post. Davidoff’s colleague Mike Puma, meanwhile, writes that the Mets are intrigued by Robertson in part because of how effective he’s been against left-handers this season. The Mets don’t have a reliable southpaw option at the moment and there that many quality lefty relievers available, so Robertson’s lack of a platoon split is an understandably appealing trait. FanSided’s Robert Murray writes that the Mets “love” Robertson. The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal wrote yesterday that the Rays were among the teams evaluating the Cubs’ relievers.

Through 39 1/3 innings this season, Robertson has pitched to a 1.83 ERA with 14 saves and a big 31.4% strikeout rate — albeit with a bloated 11.9% walk rate. He’s earning just a $3.5MM base salary, though performance bonuses figure to take that number as high as $5.1MM. The majority of contending clubs figure to check in not only on Robertson but on Cubs righties Mychal Givens and Chris Martin, both of whom are free agents at season’s end. Murray notes that Givens has also been drawing strong interest around the league.

A few more notes on the market for relievers…

  • The Tigers are receiving trade interest on lefty Andrew Chafin and righties Michael Fulmer, Joe Jimenez and Alex Lange, writes Chris McCosky of the Detroit News. McCosky spoke with both Fulmer and Jimenez about the complex emotions of potentially being traded away from the organization they’ve both called home for nearly their entire careers (or, in Jimenez’s case, for his entire pro career). It’s been apparent for some time now that Detroit’s slate of solid bullpen arms would hold major appeal to contending clubs at the deadline, and Fulmer and Chafin seem especially likely to go, given that they’ll both be eligible for free agency at season’s end. (Chafin has a $6.5MM player option.) Jimenez, controlled through 2023, stands a decent chance of being moved as well, but it’d be hard to part with Lange, whom the Tigers can control all the way through 2027. That said, Detroit is reportedly willing to listen on just about anyone, including lefty Tarik Skubal.
  • Dodgers righty Blake Treinen is taking longer to return than originally anticipated, though manager Dave Roberts told reporters that Treinen has not experienced a setback (Twitter link via Juan Toribio of MLB.com). Treinen pitched a bullpen session yesterday but won’t face live hitters for a couple weeks still, which makes a late-August or early-September return likely. Robert said back in May that the organization hoped Treinen, who hasn’t pitched since April due to a shoulder injury, was targeting a return not long after the All-Star break. Treinen is joined on the injured list by Daniel Hudson, Tommy Kahnle, Brusdar Graterol and Victor Gonzalez, so it wouldn’t be surprising at all to see Los Angeles pursue some bullpen upgrades before Tuesday’s trade deadline.
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