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Free Agent Notes: Keuchel, Cards, Hudson, Nationals, Jays, Porcello, Rondon, Moose, Treinen

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The Cardinals haven’t checked in on Dallas Keuchel since initially showing interest in the veteran lefty near the start of the offseason, The Athletic’s Mark Saxon reports (subscription required).  While president of baseball operations John Mozeliak said told Saxon and other reporters that his team has been focused mostly on pitching during the Winter Meetings, “the Cardinals have chosen instead to slow-play their hand,” Saxon writes, perhaps to the chagrin of agents trying to get St. Louis involved in the fast-moving pitching market.  “For us, we’re OK being patient,” Mozeliak said of a rotation that currently consists of Jack Flaherty, Miles Mikolas, Dakota Hudson, and the club’s biggest winter addition to date, the re-signed Adam Wainwright.  This decent group and multiple fifth-starter candidates on hand give the Cardinals the comfort in waiting until later in the offseason to add pitchers once asking prices from both free agents and trade partners could begin to drop.

More from the free agent market….

  • Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told reporters (including MASNsports.com’s Mark Zuckerman) that he had begun talks with Daniel Hudson’s agent about a possible return to the World Series champs.  After being acquired in a trade deadline deal from the Blue Jays, Hudson had a huge role in stabilizing Washington’s season-long bullpen problems, posting a 1.44 ERA over 25 regular season innings and then a 3.72 ERA over 9 2/3 frames in the playoffs as the Nats’ closer.  This great showing down the stretch has Hudson asking for a multi-year deal in free agency, Zuckerman hears from a source, though Zuckerman isn’t sure the Nationals will make such a commitment to a pitcher whose overall performance over the last few years is far more inconsistent.  MLBTR did predict a multi-year contract for Hudson (two years, $12MM) while ranking him 28th on our list of the winter’s 50 best free agents.
  • In terms of other pitching needs, Rizzo expressed confidence in internal arms.  The general manager feels relievers Roenis Elias and Hunter Strickland will be better than 2020 due to improved health, and Joe Ross, Austin Voth, Erick Fedde will seemingly provide all the competition necessary for the fifth starter’s job.  “I think we’re more than satisfied with our rotation,” Rizzo said, and with good cause, considering the Nationals’ starting four of Max Scherzer, Patrick Corbin, Anibal Sanchez, and the re-signed Stephen Strasburg.
  • With multiple pitchers flying off the board, the rotation-needy Blue Jays “began to engage more aggressively with” Tanner Roark, Josh Lindblom, and Rick Porcello over the last two days, Sportsnet.ca’s Shi Davidi writes.  The result was one miss as Lindblom signed with the Brewers, one success in the form of a two-year, $24MM deal with Roark, and one result to be determined as Porcello continues to weigh his options.  Toronto is also looking towards relief pitchers, as Davidi reports that Hector Rondon has received some interest.
  • Davidi’s piece also contains some interesting details on two other Blue Jays targets who signed elsewhere.  The Jays met with Blake Treinen’s agent prior to Treinen’s one-year, $10MM pact with the Dodgers.  Perhaps more surprisingly, it seems the Blue Jays put significant effort into a pursuit of Mike Moustakas, as GM Ross Atkins and manager Charlie Montoyo both visited Moustakas at his home.  Toronto wasn’t known to be an ardent suitor for Moustakas, though his left-handed power bat and multi-positional infield ability would have made him a quality upgrade for the Jays’ lineup.  Moustakas wound up surpassing all expectations by landing four years and $64MM in a deal with the Reds.

Twins Looking At Top Free Agent Relievers

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Even as they continue to press for rotation improvements, the Twins are exploring options at the top of the market for relief pitching. It seems the team is casting an exceptionally wide net, per reports from Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (via Twitter) and Kristie Ackert of the New York Daily News (Twitter link).

To this point, the Twins have already been rumored to be pursuing a reunion with sturdy veteran Sergio Romo — albeit perhaps not quite as enthusiastically as some other teams — while also joining a crowded group with interest in bounceback target Blake Treinen. Other candidates of each ilk have now been identified.

The Minnesota organization has looked into free agents Daniel Hudson, Steve Cishek, and Will Harris, according to Wolfson. That trio landed in our ranking of the top 50 free agents, with each prognosticated to secure a two-year pact with a guarantee of $10MM or more. They’re arguably a tier up from Romo on the market, though all of essentially the same subclass — veteran righty relievers with ample late-inning experience coming off of productive seasons.

Treinen is a much higher-variance hurler. When he was non-tendered, he joined a bounceback market led by Dellin Betances, who is hoping to return to form after an injury-ruined 2019 season. The Twins are at least giving internal consideration to pursuing Betances. It’s a bit of a dice roll since we don’t yet know whether he’ll be at peak physical form, but a single-season gamble on the high-octane hurler would seem to suit the Twins rather well.

Dodgers Notes: Treinen, Greinke, Free Agents

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The latest from Chavez Ravine…

  • The Dodgers have interest in Blake Treinen, Jorge Castillo of the Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link).  Treinen was non-tendered by the Athletics earlier this week in the wake of a rough 2019 season and a projected $7.8MM arbitration salary, though Treinen figures to get a lot of attention on the open market since he’s only a year removed from an all-world performance in 2018.  The former A’s closer would be a particularly good fit for a Dodgers team that got somewhat shaky results from Kenley Jansen and Joe Kelly last year.
  • This offseason could be “the perfect storm” for the Andrew Friedman-led front office to finally splurge on a major free agent, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal writes (subscription required).  While L.A. has been in the mix for several big names over the years, the Dodgers’ biggest expenditures under Friedman have come in the form of re-signing its own players to free agent contracts or extensions.  With the likes of Gerrit Cole, Anthony Rendon, Stephen Strasburg, or even Josh Donaldson (who is comparatively much less expensive than the first three) all available in free agency, and such talents as Francisco Lindor or Kris Bryant available in trades, Rosenthal feels “the only debate for the Dodgers should be over which superstar they should acquire.”
  • Rosenthal’s piece an interesting companion to this what-if item from his Athletic colleague Andy McCullough, who looks back at everything that could have been different for the Dodgers if they had re-signed Zack Greinke in the 2015-16 offseason.  It would’ve been another case of Friedman being willing to spend on a known quantity, as he had tabled a six-year offer worth close to $160MM to the free agent righty, only to be shocked when the Diamondbacks blew away expectations by offering Greinke $206.5MM over a six-year pact.  “Had it been closer, I think it would have been a really difficult decision,” Friedman said about the opportunity to counter Arizona’s offer.  “I’m not sure how things would have played out.  But it was a pretty seismic gap.”  The fallout of Greinke re-signing with Los Angeles would’ve been immense, though given how the club was able to re-invest that planned money into some other noteworthy players, it’s not a slam dunk that having Greinke would have meant a World Series title over the last four years.

A’s Notes: Treinen, Middle INF, Barreto, Mateo

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Athletics general manager David Forst discussed the team’s offseason direction with multiple outlets Monday, including A’s Cast (hat tip to Martin Gallegos of MLB.com) and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Let’s take a look at a few of the highlights…

  • Although the A’s non-tendered right-hander Blake Treinen before Monday’s deadline, that doesn’t necessarily mean the two sides are headed for a divorce. The team still has interest in re-signing Treinen, a lights-out reliever a couple years ago who fell on hard times this past season. Treinen pitched to a dismal 4.91 ERA/5.14 FIP with 9.05 K/9, 5.68 BB/9 and a 42.8 percent groundball rate across 58 2/3 innings during the 2019 campaign, in which he lost his role as the A’s closer to Liam Hendriks. As a result, the 31-year-old Treinen probably won’t cost an exorbitant amount to re-sign, but if he does end up out of the A’s price range, they could still sign a “solid veteran” to a short-term contract, Slusser writes. Also, they have already addressed their bullpen in multiple other ways this offseason, having claimed left-hander T.J. McFarland off waivers from the Diamondbacks and re-signed fellow southpaw Jake Diekman. The A’s did cut ties with lefty Ryan Buchter, though it seems they did so because there were concerns on their part about the three-batter minimum rule that appears likely to take effect in 2020.
  • The A’s are on the hunt for a lefty-hitting middle infielder, though it’s “ideally someone who can play a number of positions,” according to Forst. That player would obviously seldom line up at shortstop, as MVP candidate Marcus Semien has that position locked down. But Oakland’s situation is far less certain at second base, where the club traded Jurickson Profar to the Padres this week. Speculatively speaking, in terms of the free-agent market, Cesar Hernandez, Brock Holt, Jason Kipnis, Asdrubal Cabrera, Scooter Gennett, Brad Miller, Joe Panik, Neil Walker and ex-Athletics Ben Zobrist and Eric Sogard are some of the players the A’s could turn to for lefty-swinging middle infield aid.
  • Oakland’s next starting second baseman could come from within, as the team has every intention of giving former standout prospect Franklin Barreto an opportunity in 2020. It’s do-or-die time for Barreto, whom the Athletics acquired from the Blue Jays in the A’s widely panned Josh Donaldson trade in 2014 and who has no minor league options remaining. To this point, the 23-year-old Barreto has hit a horrid .189/.220/.378 with nine homers in 209 major league plate appearances.
  • Meantime, fellow young infielder Jorge Mateo – picked up as part of the return from the Yankees for Sonny Gray in 2017 – hasn’t even appeared in the bigs yet. He’s also out of options, but the A’s want to give him a chance to establish himself next season. Mateo, 24, spent all of 2019 at the Triple-A level and hit .289/.330/.504 with 19 home runs and 24 stolen bases over 566 PA. That production looks palatable on paper, but according to FanGraphs’ wRC+ metric, it checked in 4 percent below the league average.

A’s Non-Tender Treinen, Phegley, Buchter

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The A’s have non-tendered reliever Blake Treinen, reports Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). He’d been projected for a $7.8MM salary, which the low-payroll A’s evidently found too steep. Additionally, the club is parting ways with reliever Ryan Buchter and catcher Josh Phegley, Slusser adds (via Twitter). Phegley had been projected for $2.2MM, while Buchter was in line for around $1.8MM.

Today’s news perhaps isn’t too surprising; MLBTR’s Jeff Todd and Steve Adams identified Treinen as a non-tender candidate last week. Oakland doesn’t figure to have much wiggle room in the budget this offseason, no doubt contributing to their efforts to find a taker for Treinen, Jurickson Profar ($5.8MM projection), and Phegley before tonight’s non-tender deadline. Profar ultimately landed in San Diego, while Treinen and Phegley were let go. Despite some late interest from the Yankees, though, the A’s were unable to match up on a Treinen deal.

Such an outcome would have been unthinkable a year ago. Treinen finished sixth in AL Cy Young voting in 2018, reflecting his otherworldly season. That year, he tossed 80.1 innings with a 0.78 ERA and sparkling peripherals. His 31.8% strikeout rate and 6.7% walk rate were easily the best numbers he’d put up since moving to the bullpen for good in 2015. Toss in Treinen’s typically strong ground ball ability (51.9% ground ball rate) and he was quite arguably baseball’s best reliever just a season ago.

Unfortunately, everything went backwards in 2019. Treinen’s ERA jumped more than four runs per nine to an unsightly 4.91. His strikeout rate regressed to a pedestrian 22.2%, while his walk rate more than doubled to a career-worst 13.9%. On top of all that, Treinen’s ground ball rate- his calling card dating back to his time as a National- fell nearly ten points. All that said, Treinen still boasts a high-90’s fastball and is one year removed from utter dominance, so he’ll surely attract interest. New York could be expected to touch base with his camp now that he’s a free agent, but almost any team in baseball could seek to add his upside to their bullpen.

Phegley, like Treinen, evidently failed to drum up significant trade interest. The 31-year-old slashed .239/.282/.411 (82 wRC+) in 342 plate appearances this season. While that’s actually solid for a catcher, he rated extremely poorly as a pitch framer, per Baseball Prospectus, which placed him 107th out of 113 backstops leaguewide. With the A’s acquiring Austin Allen to back up Sean Murphy in today’s Profar trade, the writing was on the wall for Phegley.

Buchter, meanwhile, pitched to a 2.98 ERA, making today’s news a bit surprising at first glance. However, that was the product of an unsustainable 91.4% strand rate, as Buchter’s 4.96 FIP suggests. His walk rate spiked to an alarming 11.6%, and Buchter’s always been a fly-ball pitcher. The home run finally caught up to him in 2019. Nevertheless, he comes with an additional season of arbitration control beyond 2020 and has sported an above-average strikeout rate in four consecutive seasons, so teams looking for left-handed bullpen help could certainly take an interest in him in free agency.

 

Yankees Interested In Blake Treinen

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The Athletics have been in trade talks about some of their more prominent arbitration-eligible players, including former All-Star reliever Blake Treinen.  As per The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link), the Yankees are one of the clubs who have shown interest in a potential deal for the right-hander’s services.

According to MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz, Treinen is projected to receive a $7.8MM salary in is final year of arb eligibility before free agency.  It isn’t a huge raise from the $6.4MM salary Treinen earned in 2019 after beating the Athletics in an arbitration hearing, though since the A’s are always conscious about payroll limitations, it could be more than the team is willing to spend after Treinen’s performance dropped off last season.

Granted, some level of regression was almost inevitable given the outstanding nature of Treinen’s 2018 work.  The righty posted an 0.78 ERA, 51.9% grounder rate, and 4.76 K/BB rate while striking out 100 batters in 80 1/3 innings of work.  While there was some batted-ball luck involved, ERA predictors (1.82 FIP, 2.42 xFIP, 2.46 SIERA) still indicated an elite level of performance in Treinen’s first full year as Oakland’s closer.

Things turned sour in 2019, however, as Treinen posted a 4.91 ERA, 42.8% grounder rate, and 1.59 K/BB rate over 58 2/3 innings.  As compared to 2018, Treinen had big spikes in his walk rate (2.4 BB/9 to 5.7 BB/9) and homer rate (0.2 HR/9 to 1.4 HR/9), and batters made far more solid contact (.236 xwOBA to .334 xwOBA).  Injuries surely played a role, as Treinen missed a couple of weeks due to a shoulder strain and then was shut down in late September after pitching with stress reaction in his back for the better part of a month.

Still, these recent health issues also surely aren’t helpful for the A’s in evaluating whether or not to spend a big chunk of their payroll space on a reliever who pitched at a sub-replacement level last season.  Roster Resource projects the A’s at a 2020 payroll of just under $111.3MM, which would be well over the team’s franchise high of approximately $101.4MM at the end of the 2016 season.

While it can be assumed that the Athletics would be open to spending more than usual to take the next step on a roster that has reached the AL Wild Card game in each of the last two years, quite a bit of extra space could be freed up if Oakland were to trade or non-tender Treinen, Jurickson Profar ($5.8MM arb projection) and/or Josh Phegley ($2.2MM).  Despite Treinen’s projected salary and his rough 2019, his 2018 performance is fresh enough in teams’ minds that finding a trade partner seems feasible for the A’s before Monday’s non-tender deadline.

It isn’t any surprise that the Yankees are among the teams who have come calling, given their reliance on a loaded bullpen in recent years.  If Treinen can find even a middle ground between his 2018 and 2019 numbers, he’d be yet another fearsome addition within New York’s already-strong collection of Aroldis Chapman, Adam Ottavino, Zack Britton, Chad Green, and Tommy Kahnle, not to mention the plethora of other interesting young arms in the mix.  In theory, Treinen would be replacing free agent Dellin Betances, though the Yankees already went virtually the entire season without any contributions from Betances during an injury-ravaged year for the right-hander.

Though the Yankees have some payroll concerns of their own in terms of the luxury tax, Treinen’s $7.8MM figure isn’t an overly exorbitant sum, plus some money could be sent back Oakland’s way in the form of another player’s salary.  Beyond just a pure salary dump, it would be interesting to see what sort of creative deal could be swung between two clubs that figure to be contending for the American League pennant next season.  Billy Beane and Brian Cashman have swung a few interesting trades during their long tenures running their respective front offices, perhaps most notably the July 2017 swap that sent Sonny Gray to New York for a three-prospect package.

A’s Could Trade Treinen, Profar, Phegley

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The Athletics swung a notable trade this past weekend, sending right-hander Jharel Cotton to the Cubs. But that may not be the last near-term trade the A’s make, as Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription link) reports the team’s “discussing” moves involving reliever Blake Treinen, infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar and catcher Josh Phegley. Barring trades, they could all be non-tender candidates for low-budget Oakland, which is projected to owe Treinen $7.8MM, Profar $5.8MM and Phegley $2.2MM in 2020.

Whether there’s an appealing piece here is up for debate, but Treinen’s just a year removed from enjoying one of the best seasons in the history of relievers. Treinen posted an eye-popping 0.78 ERA across 80 1/3 innings in 2018, but just about everything went backward for him in 2019. While the 31-year-old continued to throw in the 97 to 98 mph range, his strikeout rate fell from 11.2 per nine to 9.05, his walk rate skyrocketed from 2.35 to 5.68, his groundball percentage dropped from 51.9 to 42.8, and his home run-to-fly ball percentage shot from 4.4 to 16.4. All of that helped lead to a 4.91 ERA/5.14 FIP during an injury-shortened, 58 2/3-inning effort for Treinen, who lost his closer role to Liam Hendriks and whose days with the A’s are likely over as he approaches his final season of arbitration control.

The switch-hitting Profar, 26, was supposed to solidify second base in 2019 for Oakland, which acquired him from division-rival Texas in a high-profile trade last winter. Instead, though, Profar batted a mere .218/.301/.410 in 518 plate appearances. Even though Profar did slug 20 home runs, this past season still went down as yet another disappointing campaign for a player who was once an elite prospect.

Phegley, 31, recorded yet another underwhelming offensive season in 2019, as he hit just .239/.282/.411 with 12 homers in 342 trips to the plate. The right-handed Phegley did, however, slash a strong .284/.320/.526 in 103 PA versus lefties, continuing a career-long run of managing respectable production against southpaws. Defensively, Phegley was a mixed bag, as he threw out 32 percent of would-be base-stealers (league average was 27 percent) but finished dead last in the majors in Baseball Prospectus’ Fielding Runs Above Average metric.

In the cases of Treinen and Phegley, the Athletics are well-equipped to move on even if it means non-tendering the two. The team has Hendriks, Yusmeiro Petit, Joakim Soria and Ryan Buchter among its top late-game possibilities in the bullpen. It also boasts highly promising youngster Sean Murphy as its No. 1 choice behind the plate. But there’s less certainty at second, where Chad Pinder, Sheldon Neuse, Franklin Barreto and prospect Jorge Mateo comprise a largely unproven group of options. Of course, should the A’s part with Profar, they could sign one of the many veteran second basemen on the open market to take his place.

A’s Rumors: Treinen, Profar, Pending FAs

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We’ve seen quite a bit of news on the Athletics since their season ended with Wednesday’s wild-card loss to the Rays. Here’s even more on the A’s, courtesy of Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (links here):

  • It’s “likely” the Athletics will non-tender or trade right-handed reliever Blake Treinen, according to Slusser, who also names second baseman Jurickson Profar as someone who’s in danger of winding up on the outs. Just a year ago at this time, Treinen was coming off perhaps one of the greatest seasons a reliever has ever posted. It would have unthinkable then that the A’s would be considering cutting the cord on him 12 months later, but it’s now understandable in light of his rough 2019. Injuries limited Treinen to 58 2/3 innings, and his numbers declined across the board when he was able to take the mound. Treinen recorded a 4.91 ERA/5.14 FIP with 9.05 K/9 and 5.68 BB/9 before his season ended in mid-September because of a stress reaction in his back. Although Treinen lost his job as the A’s closer this year, the saves he has amassed will help him in the arbitration process, where he’d be in line to collect a raise over the $6.4MM he earned in 2019. But the low-budget A’s could simply choose to walk away from the 31-year-old after his nightmarish campaign.
  • Profar, like Treinen, entered the season as a player the A’s were counting on to successfully fill a big role. After acquiring the switch-hitter from the Rangers last winter, Oakland gave Profar ample opportunity to build on a career-best 2018 this season. Instead, Profar stumbled to an uninspiring .218/.301/.410 batting line in 518 plate appearances and earned negative grades at the keystone (minus-10 DRS, minus-1 UZR). The 26-year-old, who made $3.6MM in ’19, has one more season of arbitration eligibility remaining.
  • The Athletics may have too many starters lined up for 2020 to justify re-signing pending free-agent left-hander Brett Anderson. The same likely goes for fellow soon-to-be FA starters Homer Bailey and Tanner Roark, Slusser suggests. The A’s acquired both righties over the summer, and the team ended up receiving surprisingly decent production from Bailey after years of struggles with multiple franchises. The 33-year-old Bailey, who told Slusser he “really enjoyed” his stint as an Athletic, pitched to a 4.30 ERA with 8.3 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 across 73 1/3 innings in their uniform. Roark managed similar numbers in his 55 frames as a member of the club, with which he notched a 4.58 ERA and put up 8.2 K/9 and 2.1 BB/9.
  • Lefty reliever Jake Diekman, yet another in-season trade pickup, could also depart in the next several weeks. However, the A’s at least figure to discuss retaining him, Slusser relays. He has a $5.75MM mutual option (or a $500K buyout) for next season. Diekman struggled mightily with his control as an Athletic this year, though, as he issued 16 walks, allowed 16 hits and yielded 10 earned runs in a 20 1/3-inning sample.
  • This was a stunningly poor season for designated hitter Khris Davis, whom the team signed to a two-year, $33.5MM extension in April. At that point, Davis was coming off three consecutive 40-home run seasons and a remarkable four straight in which he batted .247. Both streaks came to an end this year, in which Davis hit .220/.293/.387 with 23 HRs in 533 trips to the plate as he dealt with injuries. But Davis “wasn’t injured at the end of the year,” said manager Bob Melvin, who expects a bounce-back performance from the slugger in 2020. Executive vice president Billy Beane shares Melvin’s optimism, saying he looks for a return to Davis’ “annual 40 homers, .247” next year.

Blake Treinen, Lou Trivino Done For Season

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The Athletics shut injured reliever Blake Treinen down for the regular season last week, but the hope then was that he’d return from the stress reaction in his back for a potential playoff run. That’s now out of the question, though, as Treinen’s officially done for the year, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. Meanwhile, fellow righty reliever Lou Trivino is “likely” finished for 2019 as a result of a cracked rib, according to Slusser. Trivino suffered the injury when he slipped in his shower earlier this month.

While Treinen and Trivino were two of the Athletcs best relievers just a year ago (the former was historically good), they don’t look like enormous losses for the hard-charging A’s this season. Neither has pitched in a couple weeks, and when the two have taken the mound, they’ve been anything but lights-out.

It’s especially surprising how much the 31-year-old Treinen declined this season. Treinen notched an otherworldly 0.78 ERA (1.82 FIP) across 80 1/3 innings in 2018, when he also posted 11.2 K/9 with 2.35 BB/9 and converted 38 of 43 save chances. But everything trended the wrong way in 2019 for Treinen, whom injuries helped limit to 58 2/3 innings of 4.91 ERA/5.15 FIP ball with 9.05 K/9 and 5.68 BB/9. He also blew five of his 21 save attempts and lost his spot as the A’s closer to Liam Hendriks.

Now, it’s up in the air whether Treinen has thrown his final pitch as an Athletic. As MLBTR’s Steve Adams pointed out last week, Oakland will face an offseason decision on whether to tender Treinen a contract for next year. He earned $6.4MM this season and will collect a raise over that figure if he makes his last trip through arbitration over the winter.

There are no such financial concerns with Trivino, who’s still in the pre-arb phase. The 27-year-old wasn’t the dominant force Treinen was in 2018, but Trivino more than held his own as a rookie setup man. Trivino didn’t offer particularly valuable results this year, however, as he struggled to a 5.25 ERA/4.54 FIP with 8.55 K/9 and 4.65 BB/9 over 60 frames.

Blake Treinen Diagnosed With Stress Reaction In His Back

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The Athletics are shutting down right-hander Blake Treinen for the remainder of the regular season due to a back issue, manager Bob Melvin announced after today’s game (Twitter links via Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle). MLB.com’s Martin Gallegos tweets that Treinen has been diagnosed with a stress reaction in his back.

The issue has been bothering Treinen for the past three weeks, it seems, and it’s reached the point where he requires some downtime. It’s worth noting that the team has not yet formally ruled Treinen out for a postseason run, though that’ll surely depend on how his back responds to this shutdown. In his absence, the A’s are moving Chris Bassitt into a long relief/piggyback role, per Slusser, and seemingly going with a rotation consisting of Sean Manaea, Mike Fiers, Tanner Roark, Brett Anderson and Homer Bailey.

It’s been an ugly season for Treinen, who stepped up as one of baseball’s premier relievers almost immediately upon being traded to Oakland at the 2017 deadline. The now-31-year-old posted 38 innings of 2.13 ERA ball with a 42-to-12 K/BB ratio down the stretch for Oakland in ’17 before turning in a ridiculous 0.78 ERA (1.82 FIP) with 11.2 K/9, 2.4 BB/9 and a 51.9 percent ground-ball rate in 80 1/3 innings last year.

Treinen, however, lost his grip on the closer’s role in 2019 and has generally struggled since a late-April meltdown against in Toronto. His regular season will come to a close with a 4.91 ERA (5.14 FIP, 5.02 xFIP), 9.1 K/9, 5.7 BB/9, 1.38 HR/9 and a 42.8 percent grounder rate. Treinen’s average velocity, swinging-strike rate, opponents’ chase rate and opponents’ hard-hit rate have all trended sharply in the wrong direction, leaving the A’s with somewhat of a decision in the offseason; he’s due a raise on this year’s $6.4MM salary in his final offseason of arbitration eligibility. For a team with the type of payroll constraints the Athletics face each year, that could be viewed as a steep price to pay for a rebound candidate.

The Athletics, now 92-61 on the season, have won eight of their past 10 games and now hold a 2.5-game lead on the top Wild Card spot in the American League. There’s still time for the Rays and/or Indians to overtake them, but the A’s are in a fairly commanding spot with regard to the AL Wild Card race at this point. Their schedule the rest of the way features three home games against the Rangers, two on the road against the Angels and four on the road in Seattle.

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