Dodgers reunion with star reliever got lost in Juan Soto free agency drama Sunday night

Juan Soto signed with the Mets on Sunday night for a record-breaking $765 million over 15 years. The news easily eclipsed the Dodgers' signing of Michael Conforto, which came less than an hour earlier, and basically any other news that will follow for the rest of the offseason.

The Dodgers were long shots for Soto, given that they were the only team left in the race who had not offered over $700 million. Instead, they turned to Conforto and will be able to pivot fully toward their efforts to re-sign Teoscar Hernández before he's tempted away by an east coast team.

However, LA also made another move right after Soto's signing was announced. It re-signed reliever Blake Treinen to a two-year, $22 million contract to basically keep the 2024 bullpen intact. That makes Joe Kelly the only key reliever not to return as of now.

Treinen's new deal is the largest for a reliever going into his age-37 season since Mariano Rivera re-signed with the Yankees in 2010. He had been loosely connected to other clubs but had expressed interest in returning to the Dodgers before the deal was done.

Blake Treinen re-signs with Dodgers for two years, $22 million

Treinen's reunion with the Dodgers was a bit of a no-brainer after his 1.93 ERA season in relief. Despite a few injury-related hiccups throughout the year that kept him to 46 2/3 innings, it was a nice bounce back season after he sat out for all of 2023 with a labrum and rotator cuff surgery. He pitched 12 1/3 innings during the postseason, acting as LA's closer twice in the NLDS, once in the LCS, and once in the World Series.

Aside from Treinen and Kelly, who both hit free agency the Dodgers retained their entire 2024 bullpen when the season concluded. Kelly is unlikely to return, given his injuries throughout the season and 4.78 ERA when he actually managed to pitch, and re-signing Treinen makes it seem like LA's work on the pitching market is just about done.

Treinen's re-signing isn't official, given that adding him would overfill the roster to 41 men, so a corresponding roster move is inevitable when the team verifies the signing. More room will still need to be made for Clayton Kershaw, who still hasn't re-signed, and Hernández, unless the Red Sox or Yankees poach him.

Even though they missed out on Soto, the Dodgers had a more eventful start to Winter Meetings than they have in years as they continue to round out their roster.