MLB Roundup 12/2: Yankees interested in Blake Treinen

Yankees interested in Blake Treinen

It was just a year ago when we were looking at Blake Treinen as perhaps the best reliever in baseball. Now, I will argue that we are too quick to anoint The Next Great Reliever after just one year. Yes, relievers are more unpredictable than any other position, but you still need more than one year to really prove it. That being said, the stuff is undeniable with Treinen, and even in a down year like 2019 his stuff didn’t really take a step back. Rather, it was his command. There’s no guarantee of the latter coming back, but I’d rather bet on that guy than someone who lost his stuff but not command. The Yankees seem to agree, and with the Athletics looking for potential ways to save on salary. This would be a classic Yankees move where they replace add a potentially great arm despite already having a handful in their bullpen.

Sox Spin: This is absolutely a player the Red Sox should be targeting as well. Boston’s bullpen was better than expected and better than it’s gotten credit for in 2019, but they could still really use another arm to pitch in the late innings. There’s always more room for one of those, and the Yankees are proof of that. Treinen is coming off a rough enough season that he could be affordable for them (prospect-wise) in a deal. That they’d be potentially blocking a trade to New York only sweetens the deal.

Josh Hader could be available

Speaking of elite relievers from 2018, the Brewers could potentially be open to trading Josh Hader this weekend. The lefty, who emerged in 2018 as an elite late-inning weapon, was somewhat surprising as a Super Two player this year, meaning he started his arbitration a year early. For now, he is more than worth it. Hader wasn’t quite as dominant in 2019 as he was the year before, with the juiced ball seemingly playing a big role there. Still, with the volatility of relievers it seems, according to Ken Rosenthal’s report above, there is some fear he may not be worth his hefty pay raises coming in the next few years. This seems, more than anything, to be a symptom of what is wrong with baseball right now. It’s too early to actually get mad about this — it’s just a rumor about something a team might actually do — but if it actually gets close to happening it would suck. A contending team should not trade one of its best players because they think maybe there’s a chance said player could potentially not be totally financially efficient at some point in the future.

Sox Spin: If Hader is actually available, it goes without saying the Red Sox should be interested. Unfortunately, I would be surprised if they’d be able to compete with other interested teams in terms of prospect packages. In the past I’d say this would be a chance for the Red Sox to try and take on some other salary to make this happen, but A) the Brewers don’t have a ton of bad contracts to take on and B) the Red Sox are not adding that kind of salary this winter.