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Blake Treinen

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.

Dodgers Notes: Betts, Ferguson, Treinen, Kahnle, Gonzalez, Duffy

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It has been a week since the Dodgers placed Mookie Betts on the 10-day injured list due to a right rib fracture, and it doesn’t appear as though the five-time All-Star is much closer to a return.  Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register and Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times) that Betts is doing about “the same” after a week of rest, and Betts hasn’t been cleared to start baseball activities.

Given the varied nature of rib injuries, there was no official timeline placed on Betts’ recovery, though Roberts did say there was some initial hope Betts would miss roughly two weeks of action.  Unfortunately, it now looks like Betts certainly won’t make that projection, and Roberts didn’t give any updated idea on when the outfielder could be ready.

Looking at the calendar, if Betts has to miss much time beyond just another week, it is possible the team might opt to shut him down through the All-Star break, rather than bring him back for what might be just a few games before the break.  Because the All-Star Game is at Dodger Stadium this year, the Dodgers get an early jump on the break, as they don’t play on July 17.

With Betts sidelined, Eddy Alvarez and the newly-acquired Trayce Thompson have formed a platoon to cover one corner outfield slot, while Chris Taylor has seen most of the work in the other corner position.  Of course, any method of replacing Betts is going to seem imperfect, considering his status as one of baseball’s best all-around players.  Betts was hitting .273/.349/.535 with 17 home runs in 275 plate appearances, and was leading all NL outfielders in All-Star votes, as per the league’s last update.

Roberts also provided updates on several injured Dodgers pitchers both today and in yesterday’s sessions with the media.  Caleb Ferguson may be closest to a return, as he tossed a live bullpen session today and is slated to throw another on Wednesday in preparation for a possible activation from the injured list.  Ferguson didn’t make his 2022 debut until May, due to a lengthy recovery from Tommy John surgery, and he then went on the IL after six appearances due to forearm tendinitis.  Fortunately, it looks like Ferguson could be back within three weeks, as the Dodgers are aiming to activate him for their upcoming June 30-July 3 series against the Padres.

Moving to pitchers on the 60-day IL, Roberts said that Victor Gonzalez (left elbow inflammation), Tommy Kahnle (bone bruise in right elbow), and Danny Duffy (flexor tendon surgery) are all scheduled to return in August.  Kahnle has pitched four innings for Los Angeles this season while Gonzalez and Duffy have yet to see any work in 2022 — in Duffy’s case, he hasn’t pitched since July 16, 2021, when he was still a member of the Royals.

The outlook is still unclear about Blake Treinen’s availability, as Treinen threw only three innings before right shoulder inflammation sent him to the IL back in April.  The veteran reliever started to play catch earlier in June, but Roberts said today that Treinen is still “weeks away” from being able to throw off a mound.  Given the ramp-up time necessary once Treinen does get back on the bump, it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to return before 2022 is over.

Dodgers Extend Blake Treinen

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5:32PM: The 2024 option could be worth between $1MM and $7MM based on Treinen’s health and other factors, Ardaya tweets.  According to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter links), the option price will depend on what specific kinds of injuries Treinen may or may not miss time with over the course of the next two seasons.

This uncertain health situation factored into Treinen’s decision to agree to the extension, Harris writes, as Treinen’s return in 2022 isn’t a lock.  A source tells Harris that there is a “decent” chance Treinen pitches again this season, while another source tells Ardaya that Trienen has a “very possible” chance.

4:58PM: Treinen will earn $8MM in 2023, as The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya reports that the extension will guarantee the club option.  The deal also gives the Dodgers a conditional option over Treinen for 2024.

4:38PM: The Dodgers announced a contract extension with right-hander Blake Treinen that will officially keep the reliever in the fold for the 2023 season.  Treinen was already controlled for 2023 via a club option, which would’ve paid him $8MM if exercised (or $1.5MM if bought out).  Treinen is represented by Apex Baseball.

Treinen was first signed by L.A. following an underwhelming 2019 season with the A’s, but the righty bounced back with an impressive performance for the eventual World Series champions.  The Dodgers then re-signed Treinen to a two-year, $17.5MM pact in January 2021, which broke down as $6MM salaries in both 2021 and 2022, the $1.5MM guaranteed by the possible option buyout, and a $4MM signing bonus.

In 2021, Treinen more than lived up to his end of the deal, posting a 1.99 ERA over 72 1/3 innings out of the Los Angeles bullpen.  Other than a below-average 8.7% walk rate, Treinen was otherwise stellar across the board in both bottom-line results and Statcast numbers.  This season, however, Treinen only pitched in three games before shoulder soreness sent him to the injured list.

Manager Dave Roberts recently said that Treinen wasn’t expected back until around the All-Star break, and the club moved Treinen to the 60-day IL earlier this week.  With this injured status in mind, the timing of the extension is perhaps a little curious, though it could also be interpreted as a positive sign about the Dodgers’ confidence in the right-hander’s longer-term health.

Treinen is a little over a month away from his 34th birthday, and he is in his ninth season of MLB action, with stops in Washington and Oakland before his arrival in Los Angeles.  The 2018 season saw Treinen finish sixth in AL Cy Young Award voting due to a superb season as the Athletics’ closer, but for much of his career, Treinen has worked in a set-up capacity.  With Craig Kimbrel handling the ninth inning for the Dodgers, Treinen is expected to resume his usual set-up role when he does return to action.

Dodgers Announce Series Of Roster Moves

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The Dodgers announced a flurry of roster moves prior to today’s doubleheader against the D-backs. Right-hander Mitch White has been reinstated from the Covid-related injured list, with righty Blake Treinen moving to the 60-day injured list in order to open a roster spot. Los Angeles also optioned lefty Caleb Ferguson in favor of lefty Justin Bruihl, who’s been recalled from Triple-A Oklahoma City. The Dodgers also placed right-hander Tommy Kahnle on the 15-day injured list due to inflammation in his right forearm and brought righty Ryan Pepiot up as the 27th man for today’s twin bill.

Additional moves seem likely to take place between the day’s games, as manager Dave Roberts announced to reporters that lefty David Price will be activated from the Covid IL for the second game against Arizona (Twitter link via Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic). That’ll require an additional 40-man move.

Treinen’s move to the 60-day injured list further solidifies what Roberts explained earlier in the month when he told reporters that while the right-hander was forgoing an additional visit to a third-party doctor and would instead focus on rehabbing his shoulder with an eye toward returning after the All-Star break. Treinen enjoyed a dominant 2021 season for the Dodgers but pitched just three innings in 2022 before landing on the injured list with the shoulder injury that’ll now officially cost him at least half the season.

Turning to Kahnle, any forearm injury to a pitcher is generally cause for some concern, as they’re often portents to more treacherous diagnoses. In the case of Kahnle, he’s only just returned from Tommy John surgery and has seen his average fastball (95.5 mph) check in a fair bit shy of its pre-surgery levels in 2019 (96.6 mph). The Dodgers signed him to a two-year, $4.75MM deal prior to the 2021 season, knowing he’d miss the first season of the contract while rehabbing that surgery. He’s appeared in just four games for L.A. this season. The team did not provide a timetable for his potential return.

Dodgers’ Victor Gonzalez To Undergo Arthroscopic Surgery

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Dodgers left-hander Victor Gonzalez will undergo arthroscopic debridement surgery on his pitching elbow, manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register).  There is hope that Gonzalez will be able to pitch this season, though it will ultimately depend on what doctors find during the procedure.

Gonzalez has yet to pitch in 2022 after developing elbow inflammation during Spring Training.  The southpaw was roughly expected to be back on the mound by now, though further examination revealed that surgery was required.  As a result, Gonzalez now faces an extended absence, even if he is able to make it back before the season is over.

The 26-year-old made his MLB debut in 2020, posting a 1.33 ERA over 20 1/3 innings in the regular season and then a 2.70 ERA in 6 2/3 frames during the Dodgers’ run to a World Series title.  After that dream rookie year, Gonzalez was still pretty effective in 2021, delivering a 3.57 ERA over 35 1/3 innings, as his workload was limited by foot and knee injuries.

David Price and Mitch White are expected to return from the injured list in the next week or two, bringing some help to a Dodgers pitching staff that has once again been thinned out by injuries.  Some are relatively minor health problems, while others (like Gonzalez or Blake Treinen) are longer-term in nature.  For Treinen, Roberts said that the veteran righty will look to rehab his ailing shoulder without another visit to a doctor, and Treinen won’t be back until after the All-Star break.  Treinen has pitched only three innings this year due to shoulder soreness, and had been slated to undergo an MRI.

Dodgers Select Robbie Erlin

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The Dodgers are planning to select left-hander Robbie Erlin onto the big league roster, the team informed reporters (including Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times). They won’t need to make a corresponding move. Erlin will serve as the 27th man for today’s doubleheader against the Cubs, and they already have a pair of vacancies on the 40-man roster.

Erlin is back in the big leagues for the first time since 2020. A former division rival, the 2009 third-round pick spent the 2013-19 seasons as a swing option for the Padres. A quality strike-thrower, he didn’t miss many bats but he rarely handed out free passes or served up home runs. Erlin posted a cumulative 4.57 ERA in that time, but he missed most of 2016 and all of the 2017 season because of Tommy John surgery.

Upon returning, Erlin assumed more of a multi-inning relief role. He started 12 of 39 outings in 2018 and worked 55 1/3 frames over 37 appearances the following season. He split the shortened 2020 campaign between the Pirates and Braves, struggling to an 8.10 ERA in 26 2/3 innings over nine games.

Last year, Erlin joined the Nippon-Ham Fighters in Japan. He tossed 38 innings of 3.32 ERA ball before returning stateside on a minor league deal with the Dodgers. The 31-year-old has started three of his five outings with Triple-A Oklahoma City, allowing 15 runs in 21 2/3 frames with 20 strikeouts and nine walks.

Presumably, Erlin will take on a long relief role in L.A., given the strength of the Dodgers’ starting staff. The bullpen has also been excellent in the early going, posting a 2.65 ERA that ranks third-lowest in MLB. However, Los Angeles lost star reliever Blake Treinen to the injured list a couple weeks ago, and his recovery from shoulder soreness isn’t going as hoped. Manager Dave Roberts told reporters (including Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register) the righty is headed for an MRI early next week as he continues to deal with discomfort.

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