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Blake Treinen’s season (and likely Dodgers career) just ended with one more sudden injury

Just a brutal development...
ByEvan Roberts
Los Angeles Dodgers v Cincinnati Reds
Los Angeles Dodgers v Cincinnati Reds | Justin Casterline/GettyImages

The Los Angeles Dodgers are absolutely rolling lately. August was the worst month of the Dodgers season (13-14 record), but the Dodgers are having their best month of the season in September (17-7 record). However, LA took a punch during their penultimate game that might take some wind out of their sails. LAD has one glaring weakness on the team, and it just took a major blow. Per Fabian Ardaya of The Athletic: "Blake Treinen’s shoulder flared up while warming up. His season’s over, per Dave Roberts. Will get imaging soon."

The Dodgers are beginning to click, especially their rotation -- Blake Snell has a 1.08 ERA this month, Tarik Skubal has a 2.25 ERA and Yoshinobu Yamamoto has a 2.33 ERA. The lineup saw the returns of Shohei Ohtani, Andy Pages and Will Smith, plus some resurgence from Mookie Betts (1.136 OPS this month), Teoscar Hernandez (.998 OPS this month) and Kyle Tucker (.919 OPS this month). But the 'pen? That may be another matter entirely.

Blake Treinen’s season-ending injury leaves Dodgers even thinner in bullpen

The 38-year-old Treinen has not been able to replicate his magnificent 2024 season the past couple of years. Including the playoffs, Treinen threw 59.0 innings in 2024 while posting a 1.98 ERA, 74 strikeouts and a 9-3 record. The last two seasons combined (including the playoffs), Treinen has thrown 61.2 innings while posting a 4.67 ERA, 72 strikeouts and a 6-8 record (yes, Treinen had more strikeouts in 2024 than 2025 and 2026 combined). Treinen also had 4 blown saves and allowed 5 home runs in 2024 vs. 5 blown saves and 7 home runs in 2025 and 2026 combined.

Despite the shaky results, the Dodgers were going to lean on the veteran reliever this postseason before his injury. The Dodgers are currently without relievers Edgardo Henriquez, Will Klein and Eric Lauer (amongst others) as they enter the end of the regular season. Tanner Scott had saves in back-to-back games against whatever is left of that Giants team, but faltered last season as the Dodgers' closer before returning as a setup man this year to solid success. Edwin Diaz is a complete afterthought right now, despite fine results after being activated off the IL. It feels like the only reliable relievers the team has right now are Alex Vesia, maybe Scott and... Evan Phillips? Roki Sasaki? Kris Bubic?

Treinen is set to become a free agent after the season, and the signs are pointing to the Dodgers moving on from one of their longest-tenured players. The Dodgers' additions of Edwin Diaz and Tanner Scott prove that they are more than willing to spend record amounts of money on building their bullpen. Even if Treinen is willing to make a minimum contract, his availability and results just have not been there since the beginning of the 2025 season. A soon-to-be 39-year-old with rampant shoulder and elbow concerns might not be the type of player a team with championship aspirations goes after, despite that player being on the team since 2020.

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