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Jeff Passan, ESPN
Right-hander Blake Treinen and the Los Angeles Dodgers are in agreement on a two-year, $22 million contract, sources told ESPN, reuniting the stalwart reliever with the Dodgers team he helped clinch the World Series.
The 36-year-old Treinen, whose sinker-slider combination is among the nastiest in baseball, returned this year from a shoulder injury and pitched in nine postseason games — all Dodgers wins. None was more memorable than his 42-pitch outing in the Dodgers’ come-from-behind 7-6 win in Game 5 to secure the championship.
Already a well-liked presence in the clubhouse, Treinen gained a newfound level of respect from teammates for pushing to stay on the mound when Dodgers manager Dave Roberts intended to take him out of the game. Treinen was pressed into his longest outing since 2018, going through the entire Yankees lineup and holding it scoreless over 2⅓ innings pitched.
That outing continued a magical comeback season from Treinen, who missed all of 2023 and all but five innings of 2022. In 50 appearances this year, Treinen threw 46⅔ innings and struck out 56, more than five times as many walks as he issued.
The Dodgers’ busy winter continues with Treinen’s deal. They signed two-time Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell to a five-year, $182 million free agent contract and extended super-utility man Tommy Edman for $74 million over five seasons. After carrying a top-five payroll in Major League Baseball each of the past dozen years, the Dodgers are again expected to be among the highest-spending teams in 2025, with an Opening Day payroll in excess of $265 million.
The $22 million payday is the largest of Treinen’s 10-year career, which began with the Washington Nationals, who traded him in 2017 to the Oakland A’s. He racked up 67 saves over three seasons with the A’s before signing with the Dodgers as a free agent before the 2020 season. In his four seasons with the Dodgers, Treinen has struck out 169 and walked 47 while limiting opponents to a .190 batting average.