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Lou Trivino 2022 Player Outlook: The Top Option in Oakland
3 years agoTrivino stepped into the closer's role for Oakland following an injury to Trevor Rosenthal and performed admirably, locking down 22 saves in 26 chances while posting a 3.18 ERA. The underlying metrics weren't as pretty for Trivino, however, as the right-handed posted an abysmal 1.97 K/BB ratio, 11% walk rate, and 4.36 SIERA. Trivino has long struggled with control as evidenced by a 10.9% walk rate for his career, something that will be quite a hurdle to overcome should Trivino retain closing duties. He seems to have skated by on a .265 BABIP and 7.6% HR/FB ratio, the latter being 6% below league average. Even with his warts, Trivino is a closer without much competition on Oakland's roster. The Athletics could consider converting an ex-top prospect such as A.J. Puk or Brent Honeywell Jr. to a closer, but Trivino would likely need to lose the job through performance for that to happen. That's a distinct possibility given Trivino's skillset, but for the time being he's Oakland's closer and is worthy of a late round pick because of it.
