This underrated pitcher could be the Phillies bullpen’s missing piece

The Philadelphia Phillies made very few moves before Major League Baseball’s lockout began on December 2, but their main focus was the bullpen.

It’s understandable, as the 2021 bullpen tied the MLB record by blowing 34 saves in the regular season, a benchmark previously set by the 2004 Colorado Rockies.

When the offseason began, the Phillies slowly added Kent Emanuel (claimed off waivers) and Corey Knebel (signed in free-agency) to the roster. After the lockout prevented teams from signing major-leaguers, the Phillies added more pitching by signing players to minor-league contracts, including Cam Bedrosian, the son of their former Cy Young pitcher.

However, despite these additions – and it’s unclear how many of them will pitch at the big-league level – the Phillies bullpen remains far from formidable. Knebel hasn’t been a full-time pitcher since before his 2019 Tommy John surgery, and Emanuel’s debut season in 2021 was cut short by elbow surgery. Factor in that the Phillies have lost Hector Neris to the Houston Astros and several others to free agency, and the Phillies bullpen needs a lot more.

The Philadelphia Phillies should trade for Oakland A’s reliever Lou Trivino

A’s reliever Lou Trivino checks a lot of boxes for the Phillies. He has relief and closer experience, has been healthy through all four of his big-league seasons, and is affordable. He’s also a Pennsylvania native; he was born in Green Lane and played college baseball at Slippery Rock University.

In 2021, his age-29 season, “Sweet Lou” was excellent. He posted a 3.18 ERA and set career bests in appearances (71), games finished (44), and saves (22). He was particularly excellent in April, June, and July, posting a combined 1.16 ERA over 36 appearances, only allowing five earned runs. For his efforts, he won AL Reliever of the Month in July.

Thanks to Oakland’s closer-by-committee setup, Trivino has more closer experience in recent seasons than Knebel, who spent 2021 setting up for Kenley Jansen in Los Angeles. Despite the shortened 2020 campaign, Trivino has thrown more than twice as many innings as Knebel over the last two seasons, with a lower ERA, more games finished, and more saves.

Only in his first year of arbitration, Trivino won’t reach free agency until 2025. He’s projected to command $2.99M for the 2022 season, an amount the Phillies can easily afford, despite their bloated payroll. He’s exactly the kind of under-the-radar, club-controllable addition the Phillies should be targeting.