San Francisco Giants Add Former A's Reliever to Roster

Jul 17, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Lou Trivino (62) delivers a pitch during the ninth inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

According to Shayna Rubin of the San Francisco Chronicle, the San Francisco Giants will be adding non-roster invitee and former Oakland Athletics relief pitcher, Lou Trivino, to the 26-man roster.

This is a significant move for a pair of reasons.

The will be the first time that Trivino has pitched in the big leagues since the 2022 season, which he split between the A's and, later, the New York Yankees. Trivino was the other piece of the Frankie Montas deal that landed Ken Waldichuk, JP Sears, Luis Medina, and Cooper Bowman in the green and gold.

The other reason this is a fairly big move is that Trivino will be reunited with his former manager in Oakland, Bob Melvin, who he had been a solid late-inning reliever for.

In his Melvin Era (2018-2021), Trivino tossed 231 innings across four seasons, holding a 3.70 ERA with a 113 ERA+. In his final season under Melvin, he held a 3.18 ERA as the A's closer and totaled 73.2 innings of work that year.

As things stand right now, Trivino won't be asked to be the late-inning guy that he was back in Oakland. That will be left up to Ryan Walker, Tyler Rogers, and Camilo Doval, at least to begin the 2025 campaign.

In 2022, Mark Kotay took over as the A's skipper, and at midseason the team traded him to the Yankees. He ended up holding a 6.47 ERA in Oakland and a 1.66 in New York, but persistent arm injuries kept him out of action the past three seasons.

He was able to pitch in 11 Minor League games in 2024, holding a 4.91 ERA (4.30 FIP) split between Double-A and Triple-A. This spring he made nine appearances out of the bullpen with the Giants, spanning 9.1 innings of work, and didn't allow an earned run. He also struck out 31.3% of the batters he faced.

To make room on the 40-man roster for Trivino, the Giants designated David Villar for assignment.