Winning a World Series trophy requires the contributions of everyone on the roster, from the first name penciled into the starting lineup to the 26th man filling the back end of the roster.
For the Los Angeles Dodgers, it was the power of their collective excellence that led to their triumph in 2024, with Blake Treinen playing a huge role off their bullpen as they defeated the New York Yankees in five games in the Fall Classic.
But as is the case with a few of the Dodgers’ 2024 World Series contributors, Treinen is heading to free agency — with his stock soaring after another excellent season in which he tallied a 1.93 ERA in the regular season and a pristine 2.19 ERA in the playoffs.
Aspiring contenders can never have enough quality bullpen arms, thus, it is expected that the 36-year-old will command a ton of interest in the open market.
Nonetheless, Treinen appears to be well-content with the Dodgers, and for good reason. In fact, the veteran reliever expressed a willingness to do whatever it takes just so he could return to the team for their title defense.
“I will never speak poorly about the Dodgers. I obviously would welcome, with open arms, any type of deal to bring me back there,” Treinen said in an appearance on Foul Territory TV, via Matthew Moreno of Dodgers Blue.
Treinen has been a valued member of the Dodgers organization since they acquired him as a free agent back in late 2019. The 36-year-old has won two World Series trophies with the team, performing much better in 2024 than he did in their playoff run back in the pandemic-shortened season.
The Dodgers were very patient with him even when he missed the entirety of the 2023 season due to a shoulder injury, and now, Treinen appears to have found a home for life.
Dodgers press forward in what should be a busy free agency period
The Dodgers may not need to do too much in free agency to be in the World Series conversation once again, but they still have a few pressing matters to deal with. One of those pressing matters is handling the free agencies of Walker Buehler, Jack Flaherty, and Clayton Kershaw, among others.
Blake Treinen is also a valued bullpen arm, and he should be brought back barring a major turn of events.
It’s not quite clear too just how serious the Dodgers’ pursuit of Juan Soto is, although at this point, signing the 26-year-old star right fielder might be overkill.
