Oakland A’s injuries: Lou Trivino out for season

Oakland A’s reliever Lou Trivino is out for the remainder of the season due to a cracked rib, reports insider Martin Gallegos.

The injury occurred when Trivino slipped in the shower at home, reports John Shea of the S.F. Chronicle. The right-hander last pitched on Sept. 14, and the incident occurred a couple days later.

Thus ends a tough season for Trivino. After a phenomenal rookie year in 2018, in which he posted a 2.92 ERA and regularly came to the team’s rescue in the toughest situations, the right-hander struggled to a 5.25 mark this year and was gradually phased out of his high-leverage late-inning role.

Trivino, 2019: 5.25 ERA, 60 ip, 57 Ks, 31 BB, 7 HR, 4.54 FIP

He blew five saves in 22 save/hold chances, and he also picked up another four more losses in games in which he entered with a tie and let the other team score. Trivino had the same number of blown leads last year (5) but in 32 chances. Put another way, in 2018 he had 26 shutdowns and 10 meltdowns (what are those stats?), and this year he had 18 of each; his 18 meltdowns lead the majors.

This is the second time in a week that the A’s have lost one of their relievers. Former closer Blake Treinen, who like Trivino was a star in 2018 but struggled this summer, was ruled out last Wednesday for the rest of the regular season. Treinen has also been ruled out for the postseason, notes Susan Slusser of the S.F. Chronicle, with Trivino “likely” in the same boat.

Analysis: What a weird year for the A’s bullpen. They had two studs last season and both of them just disappeared this summer. Relievers are always volatile, but this was another level. Now both of them are out for the end of the year with injuries.

Like with Treinen, the A’s were no longer relying heavily on the Trivino, so at this point his loss doesn’t actually affect the current bullpen too much. Yusmeiro Petit stepped into his shoes long ago as the top setup man, and has more or less matched his dominance from yesteryear, so on the team level they’re getting the same greatness from the late-inning fireman role, just from a different person. Ditto with Treinen and new closer Liam Hendriks.

While all injury news is unfortunate, there might be some convenient timing for this one in terms of the roster. The A’s have three needs: To loophole two rookies (catcher Sean Murphy and pitcher Jesus Luzardo) into playoff eligibility who weren’t on the 40-man roster by the necessary deadline, and to clear a 40-man spot on Wednesday to reinstate starter Frankie Montas from his PED suspension. Having yet another player land on the shelf could give the A’s the option of putting one of their recently injured players (Treinen, Trivino, outfielder Stephen Piscotty) on the 60-day IL to make room for Montas, while still having enough others remain on the 10-day IL long enough to allow the rookies to play in October. (More details on this in another post later today.)

Best of luck to Trivino and Treinen in their recoveries!