Free-agent righty Lou Trivino threw a bullpen session for interested clubs down in Florida yesterday, reports SI’s Pat Ragazzo. The incumbent Yankees were on hand to take a look, as were the Dodgers, Giants, Cubs, Reds, Royals and Guardians, per the report. That’s not an exhaustive list of the teams in attendance, but it speaks to a decent level of intrigue surrounding the 33-year-old Trivino, who’s on the mend from a series of arm injuries that have kept him off a big league mound since 2022.
Trivino was traded from the A’s to the Yankees alongside Frankie Montas back in 2022 and posted a pristine 1.66 ERA in 21 2/3 frames following his cross-country move to the Bronx. His 2023 season was torpedoed by an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery, however, and lingering elbow inflammation as well as a shoulder issue prevented Trivino from returning to the majors in 2024. He pitched 11 minor league frames as part of a rehab assignment before that shoulder issue popped up and shut him down.
At his best, Trivino throws hard, misses bats and picks up grounders at a well above-average rate. He averaged just shy of 96 mph on his four-seamer and sinker alike in the three seasons prior to his elbow troubles, and Trivino has whiffed nearly one-quarter of his MLB opponents while keeping 47.4% of batted balls against him on the ground. His command has never been great, evidenced by a 10.6% walk rate in the majors, but he was a key late-inning arm both in Oakland and more briefly in New York. He sports a career 3.86 ERA with 37 saves and 52 holds.
Ragazzo notes that Trivino was hitting 94 mph on his sinker in the workout for clubs. Obviously, that’s a ways shy of peak velocity, but spring training hasn’t even begun yet. It stands to reason that with a ramp-up period, Trivino could gain a bit more of that velocity back. A return to his 97 mph averages from early in his career — or even the 95.8 mph he averaged in ’22 — isn’t a certainty, but it’s at least relatively encouraging that he’s already within reach of his pre-injury velocity before even getting to work with a team.
Any of the clubs mentioned could make sense as a fit for Trivino, though if he’s looking for a clear path back to the big leagues, the Dodgers’ veteran-laden bullpen probably doesn’t offer that. (That said, L.A. has a knack for maximizing pitcher performance, which surely does hold appeal to a rehabbing veteran like Trivino.) The Yankees traded for Trivino once and re-signed him to a major league deal after non-tendering him post-2023. They clearly like him, though they only have three optionable relievers at the moment: Jake Cousins, Ian Hamilton and Fernando Cruz. The former two had strong seasons in the Bronx in 2024, while the latter was just acquired in the trade of Jose Trevino.
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