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Philadelphia Phillies reliever Lou Trivino is heading back to familiar surroundings, agreeing to a minor-league deal with an invitation to major-league Spring Training, as first reported by Ken Rosenthal on X. The 34-year-old hurler will look to rediscover his form after a challenging comeback season.
A Second Chance in Philadelphia
Trivino returns to the Phillies organization after a brief stint with the team at the end of the 2025 season.
- Trivino posted a 2.00 ERA in 10 appearances with the Phillies in 2025, but his underlying metrics were less notable.
- He missed the entire 2023 and 2024 seasons due to Tommy John surgery and a subsequent shoulder injury.
- Prior to his injuries,Trivino was a reliable reliever for the Athletics and Yankees from 2018-2022.
- The Phillies are hoping Trivino can regain his ability to limit hard contact, a skill he demonstrated even during his injury-affected 2025 campaign.
Trivino was signed to a minor-league contract by Philadelphia in early August 2025 and was added to the active roster later that month. In nine innings across ten appearances, he showcased a 2.00 ERA, a figure somewhat misleading given a 4.06 xERA and a 25.0% groundball rate. His overall 2025 season, split between the Giants, Dodgers, and Phillies, mirrored this trend: a 3.97 ERA contrasted with an expected ERA of 5.10 and a below-average 33.8% groundball rate.
Simply being on the mound in 2025 was a victory for Trivino, who underwent Tommy John surgery in 2023 and faced a setback with a shoulder injury during his 2024 rehabilitation. Before these setbacks, he established himself as a dependable reliever, logging 284 2/3 innings with the Athletics and Yankees from 2018-2022. During that stretch, he maintained a 3.86 ERA, a 24.5% strikeout rate, and a 10.6% walk rate. Early in his career, he relied heavily on his fastball, complemented by a cutter that generated a run value of 14 in his debut season.
However, Trivino’s velocity dipped in his return from injury.His four-seam fastball averaged 94.8 MPH in 2025, down from 95.6 MPH in 2022. His cutter velocity also saw a decline, reaching 91.8 MPH-his lowest since 2020. Consequently, his strikeout rate fell to a career-low 17.9%, and his groundball rate dropped to 33.8%, a meaningful decrease from his 47.4% rate between 2018-2022 (including a 52.6% rate in 2022).
