AL West

Blake Treinen and the Dodgers, the Perfect Marriage

It’s hard to completely ignore the stark contrast between 2018 and 2019, but with the Dodgers having financial flexibility, and many concerns in the bullpen heading into the 2020 campaign, this is a gamble the Dodgers not just need to take, they HAVE to take.

Anthony Rendon, Gerrit Cole, Stephen Strasburg. These are the names that, justifiably, every fan wants their team to sign.

All three players will most likely command between a $175-$280 million contract, and will probably be worth it too. (If you think you know exactly how much these guys will get, it’s not too late to fill out the Off the Bench Free Agent Predictor.)

All three of these players would instantly make the Los Angeles Dodgers the 2020 World Series favorites, but as we know, the team’s ownership group is hesitant to offer long-term deals to free agents.

While although according to many sources, this year seems to be different as the team under Andrew Friedman “has never been higher on a free agent” than they are on Rendon and Cole — I will believe it when I see it.

The Dodgers reportedly met with both Strasburg and Rendon as recently as last week, and it’s no secret Cole wants to be in Southern California, so theres no doubt the Dodgers will explore what it will take to land the 2019 AL Cy Young runner up as well.

The mutual interest is there, the talent is there, but the real question is: will the Dodgers finally offer a long-term deal to any of them, and if not, will a shorter-term deal with an astronomical AAV be enough.

That being said, there is one player recently became available who not a lot of people are talking about.

Blake Treinen was just non-tendered by the Oakland Athletics after a very subpar year, and I’m going on record that if the Los Angeles Dodgers bring him aboard, they will win the 2020 World Series.

The 31-year-old right hander was not offered a contract from the historically stingy Athletics after a disappointing 2019 campaign where he posted a staggering 4.91 ERA in 58.2 IP, with a 5.14 FIP and a 5.7 BB/9.

A strained shoulder landed him on the injured list and forced him to miss some time, and one has to wonder if a 2018 season where he pitched a career high in innings contributed to his downfall in 2019.

Just a year ago in 2018, Treinen was the most unhittable reliever in all of baseball.

In 68 games and 80.1 innings, Treinen was inhumane to opposing batters:

9-2 0.78 ERA 0.83 WHIP 100 K 21 BB 2 HR 531 ERA+ 11.2 K/9 3.2 WAR

His All-Star 2018 led him to finish 6th in the AL Cy Young, and even 15th in the MVP voting, again, as a reliever.

It’s hard to completely ignore the stark contrast between 2018 and 2019, but with the Dodgers having financial flexibility, and many concerns in the bullpen heading into the 2020 campaign, this is a gamble the Dodgers not just need to take, they HAVE to take.

Treinen features potentially the most devastating sinker in all of baseball, mixing in a once-dominant slider to go along with a 97 mph four-seam fastball and a cutter.

As you can see in the table I’ve made above, Treinen shifted away from his slider in 2019, and relied more heavily on his fastball and cutter. It’s tough to tell why he made this shift, and if it truly contributed to his nightmare 2019, but if a team can get him back to his 2018 form, they will have landed a free agent nearly as impactful as one of the top three headliners.

Relievers are relievers. They are historically inconsistent game to game and year to year, unless your name is Mariano Rivera. But Treinen’s 2018 form was remarkable, and with more questions than answers in the Dodgers bullpen, he’s a guy who could be their knight in shining armor.

With Will Smith, the top reliever on the market, fetching a 3-year $39 million deal, the Dodgers will be able to get Treinen for about half this price in my mind, and it’s a gamble Andrew Friedman not only needs to take, but has to.

Kenley Jansen is a question mark, Joe Kelly is a question mark, Yimi Garcia has been non-tendered, Julio Urias is moving to the starting rotation with Dustin May and/or Tony Gonsolin potentially joining him, Kenta Maeda has no interest in pitching in relief, and there’s no guarantee Pedro Baez will be able to replicate his last two seasons.

This signing makes too much sense for this Dodgers team, who need options in the bullpen.

You can’t see me right now, but I am pounding my fists on the table for Andrew Friedman to sign Blake Treinen.

The Dodgers are going to make some changes on offense, that’s a certainty, whether it will be adding an Anthony Rendon or Josh Donaldson, putting together a trade package for a Mookie Betts, Francisco Lindor or Kris Bryant, or simply signing complementary pieces to the team they have now, is to be determined.

However, after missing out on Will Smith after he signed with the Braves, the Dodgers cannot afford to miss out on this opportunity to sign Blake Treinen, who very well could return to form as one of the best, if not the best, relievers in all of baseball.

The hot stove is burning, we’ll see when Andrew Friedman wants to put the kettle on it.

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