Reds interested in former Yankees reliever looking to salvage injury-riddled career

The Cincinnati Reds are in the market for relief help this offseason, and being that ownership is oftentimes unwilling to invest heavily in free agency, president of baseball operations Nick Krall and his team are frequently looking for the best bargain.

A player who's been plagued by injuries in the past certainly fits that bill, doesn't it? Longtime Athletics, and former New York Yankees pitcher Lou Trivino is attempting to return to baseball after a two-year absence.

According to Pat Ragazzo of Sports Illustrated, the Reds were among a handful of teams on hand to scout Trivino on Tuesday morning in Palm Beach, Florida. Other teams in attendance included the Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Guardians, Chicago Cubs, and the San Francisco Giants.

Reds interested in ex-Yankees reliever Lou Trivino

Trivino began his big league career out in Oakland back in 2018. The right-hander enjoyed moderate success during his rookie season with the A's, but the 2019 season was rather unkind to Trivino. Two above-average campaigns in 2020 and 2021 thrust him into a high-leverage role in the A's bullpen, but in 2022 Trivino was part of the trade that sent Frankie Montas to the Yankees.

Montas and Trivino were sent to the Bronx in exchange for Ken Waldichuk, Luis Medina, JP Sears, and current Reds' infielder Cooper Bowman. While Montas' time with the Yankees was very short-lived, Trivino's wasn't much better. Though Trivino posted a sparkling 1.66 ERA in 25 appearances for the Yankees in 2022, and elbow injury sidelined the righty prior to Opening Day in 2023.

The Yankees eventually placed Trivino on the 60-day IL in 2023, and a setback forced the reliever to undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the entire season. New York re-signed Trivino in 2024, but non-tendered him earlier this offseason.

The Reds' bullpen is severely understaffed at the moment. Cincinnati is banking on a lot of high-upside, but inexperienced arms at the moment. Casey Legumina, Zach Maxwell, and Luis Mey are all incredibly talented, but none of them have much of a track record in the big leagues.

The Reds need to do something in order to bolster the bullpen ahead of Opening Day, but pinning one's hopes on a reliever who hasn't pitched in the major leagues since 2022 is a rather bold strategy.

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