The life of a relief pitcher on the fringes of a 40-man roster can be rough sometimes.
As the Los Angeles Dodgers attempt to get back to their winning ways, they're shuffling the deck on the pitching staff. That means pitchers who don't have options left are constantly living in worry about getting designated for assignment.
That very thing happened on Monday evening to a six-year major league veteran who arrived with the Dodgers earlier this season because he'd already been DFA'd by a division rival.
The Dodgers announced Monday that they had recalled right-handed pitcher Edgardo Henriquez from Triple-A Oklahoma City, and to make room on the active roster, veteran Lou Trivino was designated for assignment.
Trivino, 33, made 26 appearances for the Dodgers, totaling a 3.76 ERA, 18 strikeouts, 29 hits, and eight walks. He wasn't close to becoming one of the high-leverage options, but he gave them some decent innings while several of his teammates were injured.
Henriquez, who is a full decade younger, only has three innings of major league experience. The Dodgers are opting to roll with the upside of a pitcher who had a 5.89 ERA at Triple-A, but a significantly higher strikeout rate.
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Trivino will almost certainly clear waivers and reject an outright assignment to the minors. He'll be a free agent again, just as he was when the Dodgers signed him two days after he left the San Francisco Giants.
There was a time when Trivino was a closer for the Athletics, and a reliever who was desired at the 2022 trade deadline by the New York Yankees. After missing two years with elbow and shoulder injuries, he's just looking to keep his big-league career alive with yet another new organization.
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