The Oakland Athletics are engaging in their usual payroll management as the MLB offseason gets underway, and one big AL East team may be preparing to take advantage.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Athletics are looking into trading reliever Blake Treinen as a way of managing payroll. The New York Yankees are said to be one of the teams interested in the reliever.
#Yankees one of teams interested in #Athletics’ Blake Treinen, sources tell The Athletic. Wrote Tuesday about OAK’s willingness to move Treinen and other non-tender candidates. https://t.co/f5wHdir05C
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) November 29, 2019
Treinen is a non-tender candidate who would have been expected to earn just shy of $8 million in arbitration. That’s a price the Athletics aren’t willing to pay after a down year that saw him post a 4.91 ERA and lose his closer’s job.
The upside, however, is clear. The 31-year-old right-hander posted an 0.78 ERA in 2018, striking out 100 batters in just over 80 innings. Plenty of teams would be willing to take a chance on Treinen just in case he even comes close to rediscovering that form.
Between this and a recent contract extension, it may be an indication that the Yankees are prepared to persist with their bullpen-reliant strategy from recent seasons. While it largely worked, Adam Ottavino’s postseason struggles definitely hurt the Yankees, and may inspire them to go hunting for more arms.
