Cubs reportedly interested in former Yankees reliever |
It's amazing how one move, or in this case, one miss, can jumpstart a team's urgency. After missing on not only Tanner Scott but also Kirby Yates, who both went to the Dodgers, the Chicago Cubs have finally started to show more urgency when it comes to adding to the bullpen.
As many have expected them to do, Kyle Finnegan and Carlos Estevez remain the top overall names linked to the Cubs, but there are far more names for this team to keep tabs on. Kenley Jansen, Tommy Kahnle, and David Robertson are strong options, along with the previous names mentioned above. While those may be the most prominent names remaining on the free agent market, ultimately the ones that will make or break the late innings, several other middle relief options remain available and would instantly help this team. One of those names is New York Yankees reliever Lou Trivino, as the Cubs are one of several teams starting to check in with the right-hander. Like many of their offseason acquisitions seen as reclamation projects, Trivino could be seen as the same type of signing as he has been dealing with some injury issues the past few seasons. Regardless, the Cubs have no problems bringing in those pitchers as they do plenty of homework on the pitchers they bring to the table. Trivino hasn't had the best luck lately, as he hasn't pitched in a game since the 2022 season. Before missing time, Trivino spent five seasons bouncing between Oakland and the Yankees and appeared in 285 career games, all but one coming in relief. In those games, he posted a 21-25 record with a 3.86 ERA while locking down 37 career saves. That includes a career-best 22 saves in 2021 when he posted a 7-8 record in 71 games with a 3.18 ERA. Following that season, things took a turn for the worse, but it did appear that Trivino was starting to rediscover himself after being traded to the Yankees. After posting a 6.47 ERA in 39 games with the Athletics, Oakland dealt him to the Yankees, where he started to pitch as well as he had ever pitched. Across 25 games with the Bronx Bombers, Trivino latched 22 innings of work and posted a 1-2 record with a 1.66 ERA. That alone was enough of a sample size for the Yankees to look into him for another season, only to have the injury bug come up in a massive way as injuries kept him out of the past two seasons. Despite being unable to throw over the past two seasons, his strong run from 2020 and the second half of 2022 is a big enough sample size for some teams to look at him, with the Cubs being one of those teams.
According to Pat Ragazzo, Trivino threw a bullpen session at Cressey Sports Performance in Palm Beach in front of scouts earlier this week.
Those scouts came from the Yankees, Dodgers, Guardians, Cubs, Giants, Reds, and Royals, and those in attendance and teams were impressed with what they saw. That alone is worth noting, considering he has gone more than two years since throwing a pitch on the mound.
At 33 years old, Trivino may not be in his prime anymore, but you have to wonder if the past two seasons have lengthened his career, depending on how he recovers from his injuries. Primarily a guy living in the 95-97 MPH range, Trivino saw his sinker touching 94 MPH during his workout while maxing out at 95.
Not seen as an elite reliever, Trivino falls into the category of an above-average reliever, and his career numbers can back that up. His postseason success has made him teeter on the verge of someone being a touch better than above average as he showed up in the most prominent spots with the games on the line.
Adding Trivino would seem to be a solid pickup, but as with many pitchers, there are significant hang-ups. The biggest one when it comes to Trivino is knowing that he hasn't pitched in the bigs since 2022, as his elbow popped right before the start of the 2023 season, thus ending things before they even started.
He wound up getting Tommy John surgery later than he anticipated, which effectively saw him missing a significant portion of the 2024 season and only making a handful of minor league rehab appearances that season.
Despite having some good overall stuff, Trivino isn't known as a strikeout guy, but more so someone capable of inducing plenty of groundouts. This is another classic low-risk, high-reward play that Hoyer likes to do, and it will be interesting to see where things go from here.
