5:32 p.m: The 2024 option could be worth between $1 million and $7 million based on Treinen’s health and other factors, Ardaya tweets. According to Jack Harris of the Los Angeles Times (Twitter connections), the option price will depend on what types of injuries Treinen may or may not be sidelined with for the next two seasons.
That unsafe health situation played a role in Treinen’s decision to agree to the extension, Harris writes, as Treinen’s return in 2022 is non-lockdown. A source tells Harris there’s a “reasonable” chance Treinen will serve again this season, while another source tells Ardaya that Trienen has a “very likely” chance.
4:58 p.m: Treinen will make $8 million in 2023, as Fabian Ardaya from The Athletic reports that the renewal guarantees the club option. The deal also gives the Dodgers a conditional option to retire in 2024.
4:38 p.m: The Dodgers announced a right-handed contract extension Blake Treinen that will officially keep the helper in the herd for the 2023 season. Treinen was already controlled through a club option for 2023 that would have paid him $8 million (or $1.5 million if bought out) if exercised. Treinen is represented by Apex Baseball.
Treinen was first signed by LA after a stunning 2019 season with the A’s, but the right-hander bounced back with an impressive display for the eventual World Series champion. The Dodgers then re-signed Treinen to a two-year, $17.5 million contract in January 2021, made up of $6 million in salaries in 2021 and 2022, the $1.5 million made available by the possible option purchase and a $4 million 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 from the Los Angeles bullpen. Aside from a below-average walk rate of 8.7%, Treinen otherwise excelled across the board, both in terms of final scores and Statcast numbers. However, Treinen only played in three games that season before shoulder pain put him on the injury list.
Manager David Roberts recently said Treinen was not expected back until the All-Star break, and the club moved Treinen to 60-day IL earlier this week. Perhaps the timing of the extension is a bit odd given this injury status, although it could also be interpreted as a positive sign of the Dodgers’ confidence in the right-hander’s longer-term health.
Treinen is a little over a month from his 34th birthday and is in his ninth season in MLB, with stints in Washington and Oakland before arriving in Los Angeles. In the 2018 season, a stellar season saw Treinen finish sixth in athletics’ AL Cy Young Award voting, but much of his career Treinen has worked in a setup capacity. With Craig Kimbrell Treinen, who handles the ninth inning for the Dodgers, is expected to resume his usual role in setup when he returns to action.