Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic reports that the Oakland Athletics are looking to trade Blake Treinen, as well as Jurickson Profar and Josh Phegley, to save money in 2020.
According to Tim Dierkes of MLB Trade Rumors, Treinen is expected to get $7.8 million in his final year of arbitration before becoming a free agent after the 2020 season.
Treinen, 32, is coming off a brutal season in which he had a 4.91 ERA, 5.14 FIP, and 1.619 WHIP. He also had a career-high walk rate of 5.7 BB/9 as compared to 9.1 K/9, which was the second-best mark of his career.
His 2018 season, though, was a completely different story as he had a 0.78 ERA, 1.82 FIP, and 0.834 WHIP to go along with 11.2 K/9 as compared to 2.4 BB/9. He finished sixth in the AL Cy Young voting that season while notching 38 saves.
As MMO’s own Christopher Soto notes, the biggest downfall for Treinen in 2019 was that he lost control of his lethal sinker.
While it’s certainly possible the A’s could end up non-tendering him to save money, it’s more likely that they find a trade partner given that the free agent market for relievers is pretty weak this offseason. Drew Pomeranz coming off the board on Wednesday certainly helps give the Athletics some leverage talks with other clubs.
Given that the Mets are searching for bullpen help this offseason, Blake Treinen is certainly a name to keep in mind.
