Blake Treinen re-signs with Dodgers on 2-year, $17.5 million deal

The Dodgers are bringing back Blake Treinen for an extended stay, re-signing the reliever to a two-year contract with a club option for the 2023 season, the team announced on Tuesday.

The deal is worth a guarantees $17.5 million, per multiple reports:

That $4 million signing bonus will be paid in two installments per the Associated Press — $1 million on January 31 this year, then $3 million on December 15, 2022.

Treinen had a 3.86 ERA and 3.15 FIP in his lone season in Los Angeles in 2020, striking out 22 and walking eight in 25⅔ innings. The sinkerballer had the lowest strikeout rate (20.8 percent) of his six major league seasons in relief, but also had career bests in average exit velocity (84.8 percent) and barrel percentage allowed (1.3 percent), both in the top five percent in MLB.

In 11 postseason games, Treinen had a 4.76 ERA with 10 strikeouts and a walk in 11⅓ innings, and earned the save in Game 5 of the World Series.

Treinen was one of three Dodgers relievers who became free agents after the season, along with Pedro Baez and Jake McGee. Manager Dave Roberts in December said relief pitching was on the Dodgers’ shopping list this offseason.

“We lost some leverage guys to free agency, so to backfill I think would be great,” Roberts said.

So far this offseason the Dodgers have added former Brewers closer Corey Knebel and Treinen to the back end of their bullpen, along with left-hander Garrett Cleavinger for depth and Tommy Kahnle, recovering from Tommy John surgery, as eventual depth (though perhaps not until 2022).

With this signing, the Dodgers’ 40-man roster is currently full.