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Dodgers pleased with 'really sharp' Blake Treinen, but team continues to stress caution

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Dodgers pleased with 'really sharp' Blake Treinen, but team continues to stress caution

The lively sinking fastball that averaged 97.4 mph in his last full season has already touched 95-96 mph in Cactus League play, and the nasty slider that hitters rarely made contact with in 2021 has retained much of its bite.

Blake Treinen is 2 ½ years and one major shoulder surgery removed from a 2021 season in which he was one of baseball’s most dominant relievers, but there are early signs this spring that the 35-year-old right-hander could reclaim a prominent role in one of baseball’s deepest bullpens.

“Watching live batting practice from behind the screen, when our hitters don’t want to face you, that’s generally a good thing,” Dodgers general manager Brandon Gomes said of Treinen, who has thrown two hitless innings with one strikeout in two exhibition games.

“He’s been really sharp. The movement [on his pitches] is ungodly. His command has been good. He really hasn’t missed a beat as far as putting the entire arsenal together and being able to attack the zone.”

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While Dave Roberts has been impressed with Treinen’s “strike-throwing, the teeth of the sinker, the cut fastball and the slider,” the Dodgers manager is not ready to herald the return of a 2021-model Treinen.

“He’s not there, but nor is anyone at this point of spring training,” Roberts said. “Could he get there? Absolutely. It’s just a constant build-up and facing hitters, but he’s doing a good job of competing.”

Treinen, a nine-year veteran, had his best season for the Oakland Athletics in 2018, going 9-2 with an 0.78 ERA in 68 games, giving up 46 hits, striking out 100 and walking 21 in 80 ⅓ innings. He went 3-3 with a 3.86 ERA in 27 games in pandemic-shortened 2020 to help the Dodgers win the World Series.

Treinen was nearly untouchable as closer Kenley Jansen’s setup man in 2021, when he went 6-5 with a 1.99 ERA in 72 games, allowing 46 hits, striking out 85 and walking 25 in 72 ⅓ innings and holding opposing hitters to a .179 average and a paltry .512 on-base-plus-slugging percentage.

His 93-mph cutter was effective enough to hold hitters to a .176 average (12 for 68) in at-bats ending with the pitch, but Treinen’s most lethal weapon was an 86.4-mph slider that had 37 inches of drop and 13 inches of break and held hitters to an .074 average (seven for 95) and 57 strikeouts in at-bats ending with the pitch.

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“Just dominance,” closer Evan Phillips, who joined the Dodgers in August 2021 after he was claimed off waivers from Tampa Bay, said when asked what he remembered most about Treinen that season. “Dominance and conviction and confidence on the mound. I think when any bullpen pitcher is at their best, they have full conviction in themselves.”

After a grueling, injury-plagued and rehabilitation-filled two years in which Treinen was limited by shoulder problems to five games in 2022 and missed all of 2023 after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum and rotator cuff, Treinen is just happy to be in a position to return to the mound in 2024.

“I don’t want my career to end the way that it presumably could have,” Treinen said. “And I want my kids to see [the importance] of hard work and not giving up when things get hard. My whole life has kind of been a testament to that. I’ve worked my tail off, God has opened a lot of doors, and I’m very grateful to have another opportunity.”

Though Treinen had surgery in November 2022 and was expected to miss most, if not all, of 2023, the Dodgers still signed him to a one-year, $8-million contract for 2023 with a 2024 option that could range from $1 million to $7 million based on innings pitched.

Most teams would have cut ties with a 35-year-old reliever who missed most of the previous two seasons because of shoulder problems. The Dodgers exercised Treinen’s 2024 option last November.

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“We’ve developed a really good relationship with Blake over the years,” Gomes said. “The talent, the compete, is obviously there, and we knew once he had the surgery and was rehabbing that his dedication to his craft is as good as anyone.

“We bet on Blake to go out and do everything he can to get back to his previous form, which was one of the best relievers in baseball. That was an easy bet for us.”

Treinen nearly made it back to the Dodgers last September but had to abort a minor league rehabilitation stint after three appearances because of shoulder soreness.

“I was fighting myself mechanically, trying to get into positions where I didn’t feel anything, but that’s not conducive to long-term success,” Treinen said. “Other things started to bark a little bit, so we agreed to let the body heal completely and have a 15-month recovery instead of 12 months. That was probably the biggest blessing of all.”

Treinen still has plenty of boxes to check before he returns to a high-leverage role for the Dodgers, but he appears to be trending in that direction.

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“He looks good, and I think the velocity will start creeping up a little bit the more game action he gets into,” pitching coach Mark Prior said. “With guys in his situation, it’s really about the workload. The stuff’s been great when there’s plenty of rest. Can he maintain that?

“He’s been throwing the ball really well. Now it’s about building up that tolerance to be able to pitch every third day, two out of three, and obviously in back-to-back games. I don’t think that will be forced anytime soon.”

The Dodgers don’t necessarily need Treinen to regain his 2021 form, but if he can come anywhere close to that, it would add another power arm from the right side in a bullpen that already features high-octane right-handers Phillips, Ryan Brasier, Brusdar Graterol and Joe Kelly.

“His stuff is in a great place right now, and there are a lot of outcomes where he’s an elite pitcher, whether it’s the 2021 form or not,” Gomes said. “He’s been so good in many different ways over his career.

“So our messaging and our conversation with Blake is, ‘OK, whatever comes out of this, which right now is exceptional stuff and command, don’t be pushing for more. If more comes, cool; if not, you’re still one of the best relievers in the game.’”

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Can Paris as Olympic host renew enthusiasm for the Games?

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Can Paris as Olympic host renew enthusiasm for the Games?

Follow our Olympics coverage from the Paris Games.


The Olympic Games have had a rough decade.

For so many people over the past 10 years, those five multicolored rings that were long synonymous with the pinnacle of sport came to symbolize billions in wasteful spending, similar excesses of political and moral dissonance and a dismantling of the idea of the Games as pure competitions played for spirit and country.

Every cycle, the Games stumbled through another series of problems: Russia’s annexing of Crimea and its use of a systemic doping program during the Sochi Games in 2014; the threat of the Zika virus and unparalleled disorganization in Rio de Janeiro in 2016; the threat of nuclear war in South Korea in 2018; the depressing images of empty stadiums because of the coronavirus pandemic in Tokyo in 2021 and Beijing in 2022.


Empty stands due to the COVID-19 pandemic took the shine off the Tokyo Games, which were also delayed one year. (Tim Clayton / Corbis via Getty Images)

At those same Beijing Games, organizers and the International Olympic Committee were frequently asked about free speech and the treatment of ethnic minority groups like the Uyghurs, a situation the United Nations later described as crimes against humanity, easily flying in the face of the stated values of the Olympics.

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With each dent, television audiences in the United States have turned away in significant numbers, threatening one of the largest single sources of Olympic revenue.

Now comes Paris. One of the world’s leading tourist destinations, a city that conjures levels of fascination and romanticism that few if any can top, will take on the task of restoring to the Olympic Games that mythical quality that for so long allowed it to exist as something so much more than sport.

That quality might have always been more myth than truth. Crass commercialism helped transform the Olympics into a multibillion-dollar behemoth from the quaint sports festival seen when Paris last hosted 100 years ago. Still, Paris has promised to bring back the luster.

“I have been an athlete, and I love the pressure,” Tony Estanguet, a three-time gold medalist in canoe and the president of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee, said during a visit to New York last fall. “How can we move the line and be more creative and more innovative? The success of the Games relies on this ability to evolve and to make the brand, this event, more attractive. It’s a permanent fight.”

The IOC, the roughly 100-member organization based in Switzerland that owns the trademark to the famous rings and awards the Games to cities that compete to hoist them, has been losing that fight lately for several reasons. One has been a lack of geographic diversity, with the previous three Olympics in East Asia.

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How NBC is broadcasting the most unique opening ceremony in Olympic history

To change that, the IOC in recent years altered its bidding rules to take a more active role in targeting cities rather than simply selecting from whichever candidates offer themselves up. After Paris, the Olympics will head to northern Italy; Los Angeles; the French Alps; Brisbane, Australia; and Salt Lake City. Organizers hope that will help revive lagging interest in Western Europe and the Americas.

“No question in my mind, moving the Games to such an iconic European city like Paris, plus having fans and partners back in person, will be such a needed and welcomed lift,” said Michael Lynch, a leading international sports consultant and the former director of sports marketing for Visa, one of the main sponsors of the Olympics.

For their part, the French have taken up the fight in the most French way: by showing off their beautiful capital. Estanguet and his team decided years ago when they first bid for these Games to marry sports and culture as never before by placing the Games at some of the most famous and recognizable locations in and around the French capital.

The move is a stark turn away from the plan most cities have followed when they have hosted recent Olympics. That playbook generally involved finding a massive, undeveloped or long-since abandoned tract and building a huge park filled with sports facilities, usually somewhere outside the center of the city, and putting a big fence around it.

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Paris did a bit of that with its Olympic Village, where athletes will live, in St. Denis, north of the city center and not far from the Stade de France, where track and field will take place. The aquatics center — host to diving, water polo and artistic swimming — is near there, too.

Just about everything else is stuffed into or just beyond the peripheral road that encircles the main area of Paris, which can be traversed on foot with a comfortable pair of shoes in an afternoon.

As the sun sets beyond the city Friday evening, the opening ceremony will unfold along the Seine, with some 10,000 athletes floating down the river on boats rather than marching into an enclosed, remote stadium. Beach volleyball will take place at the Eiffel Tower. Fencing will take place at the Grand Palais. Breaking, skateboarding and 3×3 basketball will happen near Place de la Concorde. The equestrian competition will happen at Versailles.

Beach volleyball at the Olympics

Beach volleyball in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower figures to be one of the visual spectacles of the Paris Olympics. (Tim Clayton / Corbis via Getty Images)

In addition to creating a two-week commercial for Paris, organizers want to reimagine what the Olympics can be by bringing them closer to population centers rather than siphoning them away in a remote area. It’s especially poignant after Tokyo and Beijing, two consecutive versions of the Olympics that were siloed as never before, with COVID-19 prompting organizers to prohibit paid spectators.

The fallout was ugly, especially in the United States, where the size of the television audience dwindled for NBC, whose media rights fee accounts for about 50 percent of Olympic television revenue. Coverage from Beijing in 2022 dropped 40 percent from South Korea in 2018, which was down from Sochi in 2014. Coverage from Tokyo in 2021 was down 42 percent from Rio in 2016.

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Michael Payne, the former director of marketing for the IOC, said audiences have grown elsewhere, especially for the host countries in Asia, but after a few “challenging Games,” in his words, Paris brings the chance for a “reboot.”

“Would be good to get back to normal,” Payne said with Olympian understatement.

There is no guarantee for that. However wondrous and new Friday’s opening ceremony might appear, clouds are hanging over the Games, as there always are in this era.

Russia, long one of the most important countries in the Olympic movement, remains a pariah nation because of its history of state-sponsored doping and its invasion of Ukraine. Athletes from Russia and Belarus will compete as part of a neutral group of athletes with no national affiliation.

Israel’s war in Gaza, a significant response to deadly attacks by Hamas last October, has sparked calls for athletes from Israel to be banned and generated demonstrations at Israel’s first men’s soccer game Wednesday.

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The threat of a terrorist attack looms, especially when so many events will take place in the center of Paris.

The worldwide anti-doping system, which relies on independent national organizations to test their athletes, has broken down. COVID-19 rates are rising. With people from all over the world converging on Paris, the city might become the ultimate petri dish, especially the Olympic Village, where the athletes will live and eat and socialize for the next 17 days.

David Wallechinsky, a leading Olympic historian, said he walked 10 miles through Paris this week searching for a pre-Games buzz. He couldn’t find it. Still, he knows everything changes once the competitions begin, the stadiums fill and the host country wins its first gold medal.

Wallechinsky also knows one thing for certain.

“It’ll look good,” he said of the Paris Games.

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Estanguet wants more than that. He knows the world will be watching.

“The pressure is positive to me,” he said. “We have to succeed.”

Equestrian at Versailles

Equestrian events will take place in front of the Palace of Versailles, one of the many marriages of sport and iconic venue at the Games. (Pierre-Philippe Marcou / AFP via Getty Images)

(Illustration: Dan Goldfarb / The Athletic; photo of the Eiffel Tower: Maja Hitij / Getty Images)

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Tonga Olympic flag bearer Pita Taufatofua abandons shirtless look for Paris opening ceremony

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Tonga Olympic flag bearer Pita Taufatofua abandons shirtless look for Paris opening ceremony

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Olympics fans hoping to see Tonga national heartthrob Pita Taufatofua in his signature opening ceremony uniform – or lack thereof – were disappointed on Friday when the country’s viral flag bearer was sporting a more dressed up look.

Taufatofua, who has competed in both the Summer and Winter Olympics, became a fan favorite for his shirtless, oiled-up look in past Games. 

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Malia Paseka and Pita Taufatofua, of Tonga, carry their country’s flag during the opening ceremony in the Olympic Stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Friday, July 23, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Hannah McKay/Pool Photo via AP)

But rainy weather seemed to cause Taufatofua to button up for this Olympics’ opening ceremony.

“I didn’t recognize him, he had his shirt on,” Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning joked during NBC’s broadcast of the Parade of Nations. “Paris baby oil was stocked full this week.” 

Taufatofua competed in Taekwondo in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2016 Rio Games. He also competed in cross country skiing in the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang.  

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Despite qualifying for three Games, Taufatofua announced in April that he had failed to do so for Paris. 

Peta Taufatofua carries a flag of Tonga during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, February 9, 2018.

Peta Taufatofua carries a flag of Tonga during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, Friday, February 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

OPENING CEREMONY NODS TO HEADLESS MARIE ANTOINETTE, MÉNAGE À TROIS RECEIVE MIXED REACTIONS

“This time my team and I fell short of competing at the Paris Olympics. I gave my absolute everything in both the Kayak and Taekwondo qualifiers but missed out on a qualification,” he said in a post on Instagram. 

“I’m not kneeling in disappointment. In fact I couldn’t be happier. I’m kneeling to give thanks to God for delivering our team safely through another competition. Its easy to ask for things when you need something, but much harder to give thanks for things when they don’t go your way.

But earlier this week, Taufatofua announced that he would be headed to Paris after all as a flag bearer.

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Delegation of Tonga

The delegation of Tonga arrives ahead of the floating parade at the start of the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 26, 2024, in Paris, France.  (Clodagh Kilcoyne – Pool/Getty Images)

“Life is interesting. After missing out on the Olympic qualifiers, my goal was to focus on other areas of life. I had been defeated in battle with more scars added to the trophy cabinet, but I couldn’t have been happier.

“While not competing, the spirit of the Games called me, opportunities arose and I couldn’t say no. This time the medal I fight for is to be of service, to be there for my fellow athletes, an ear of support or a voice of encouragement. To share what I have learnt and, more importantly, to hear the stories of the other Olympians, these amazing human beings getting ready to represent their nations.”

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How trade deadline dynamics have complicated the Dodgers' pursuit of Garrett Crochet

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How trade deadline dynamics have complicated the Dodgers' pursuit of Garrett Crochet

Garrett Crochet believes he can pitch through October.

“With the way my body’s been feeling and responding to the five-day routine,” the Chicago White Sox ace, and top trade deadline target, said at this month’s All-Star Game. “I think that anything’s possible.”

But whether he gets the chance, with the Dodgers or any other contending club, seemingly grows less likely by the day.

In theory, someone like Crochet should fit what is perhaps the Dodgers’ biggest deadline need.

The club wants an “impact” pitcher, as general manager Brandon Gomes described it this week. Crochet will probably be the best option available, a hard-throwing left-hander with a 3.07 ERA in 21 starts this year, more strikeouts (157) than any other pitcher in the American League and two seasons of team control left after this year.

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Crochet does, however, have a looming workload problem; one that could diminish — if not eliminate — his chances of being dealt to a contender before Tuesday’s deadline.

In his first full season back from 2022 Tommy John surgery, Crochet has already doubled his career-high for innings, logging 111 this year after never previously surpassing 54. Because of that, Crochet’s workload might need to be limited the rest of the year, with the 25-year-old perhaps requiring a break before the playoffs or a late-season shift into the bullpen.

On Thursday, Crochet then threw a wrench into the process.

According to multiple reports, the left-hander would not only like to remain on a normal starter’s schedule for the rest of the year, but would also want a contract extension from any club that acquires him — reportedly a requirement before he agrees to pitch in October, or even considers some sort of late-season relief role.

The news added another complicated layer to what was already the Dodgers’ biggest trade deadline conundrum.

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Even under the simplest of circumstances, lining up on a trade package for the pitcher was proving to be a challenge in itself.

And now, less than a week away from the deadline, the situation is underscoring the Dodgers’ difficulties in this year’s market — where there are no easy deals to address their biggest needs.

Even before Crochet’s desire for a contract extension, several factors were working against the Dodgers in their negotiations with the White Sox.

From Chicago’s point of view, Crochet is as valuable as any commodity on this year’s trade market — barring the Detroit Tigers making the surprise decision to deal Cy Young front-runner Tarik Skubal.

When the White Sox dealt another controllable ace, Dylan Cease, to the San Diego Padres earlier this year, they got four players back, including three of the Padres’ top 10 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline rankings, and one top-100 prospect in the sport overall.

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Acquiring Crochet, who has an extra year of team control compared to Cease, figures to cost at least that much.

Crochet’s workload concerns, however, changed the calculation for a team like the Dodgers. If he were unable to serve as a postseason ace this year, it would diminish his short-term value to any contending club. But if he keeps pitching regularly and increases his workload too much, it could create concerns about long-term impacts in the future.

It’s why, while the White Sox would likely target the top of the Dodgers’ farm system — catcher Dalton Rushing and outfielder Josue De Paula would be the biggest potential prizes — the Dodgers would almost certainly be reluctant to part with so much.

De Paula is a 19-year-old high-A slugger ranked as one of MLB Pipeline’s top 100 overall prospects. With a 6-foot-3 frame and powerful left-handed swing, he has received comparisons to Houston Astros star Yordan Alvarez. And as one scout recently described it, his young age and sky-high potential make him, at this juncture, a virtually “untouchable” prospect.

Rushing, the team’s 2022 first-round pick, is a fellow top-100 prospect who is even closer to reaching the majors, as a 23-year-old slugger currently at the double-A level.

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Some industry evaluators have wondered whether this deadline could be an optimal time for the Dodgers to move Rushing. After all, his pathway to the majors is blocked, with Will Smith signed to a 10-year extension behind the plate (and Shohei Ohtani locked in for the foreseeable future at DH). Rushing’s value around the sport is at a high point as well, thanks in part to his 25 home runs since the start of last year.

“Obviously, if he gets to the big leagues and crushes it, his stock will go up,” one rival scout said. “But he’s been so good with the bat as a pro that it’s hard to imagine it gets better.”

That means, for the Dodgers, this deadline has really become a question of “opportunity cost” — forcing them to weigh if there are any potential deals even worth considering for such highly touted prospects.

And while, on paper, Crochet might have been a fit, the realities of this year’s market have made most blockbuster moves appear like a long shot.

That’s not to say the Dodgers couldn’t look elsewhere for an impactful deadline splash.

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The team has interest in another White Sox star, outfielder Luis Robert Jr. The best rental starter on the market, Jack Flaherty of the Detroit Tigers, is a pitcher they have pursued in the past.

There will be plenty of other names that could fit the Dodgers roster, too, from rental outfielders like Jesse Winker and Tommy Pham (who has expressed interest in joining the Dodgers before), to high-leverage relievers like Tanner Scott and Carlos Estévez (who could shore up the bullpen in lieu of starting pitching reinforcements), and even utility infielders with multiple years of control like Luis Rengifo and Nico Hoerner (who were linked to the team by AM 570 this week).

But, in all likelihood, the Dodgers will struggle to address their biggest need on the mound, with the difficulties surrounding their pursuit of Crochet underscoring the imperfect nature of this year’s deadline market.

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