Yankees' spring training report date features 1 surprise player arrival

All this time spent trying to figure out which reliever might emerge from the Yankees' murky pile of non-roster invitees to help the team out of nowhere, and the answer might be someone we're already very familiar with. Huh.

The Yankees' pitchers and catchers formally reported to spring training on Wednesday, though Carlos Rodón has been there for months trying to get right ahead of the curtain's official rise. The cavalcade arrived for that official opening with an extra name in tow: Lou Trivino, the right-handed reliever who'd undergone Tommy John surgery early in 2023.

Trivino, who may be active by the end of 2024, but also might suffer a setback, was non-tendered by the Yankees back in November. New York could've explored a two-year deal for Trivino, baking in a rehab season, but instead allowed him to test the open market.

Spoiler Alert: the open market has been horrendous for healthy pitchers this offseason, so why would it be any better for rehabbing relievers? Trivino was spotted at Yankees camp on Wednesday, though it remains unknown whether he's worked out a minor-league pact or whether he's just continuing to heal amongst familiar faces.

Yankees' Lou Trivino reports to camp after being non-tendered

Trivino was due just over $4 million in 2024, a cost the "cash-strapped" Yankees felt they couldn't afford to pay for a likely inactive participant. The righty was excellent in his one half-season in the Bronx, just as his peripherals in Oakland claimed he would be. After posting an uncharacteristic 6.47 mark in 32 innings with the A's where everything went wrong, Trivino parlayed his trademark heavy sinker into a 1.66 ERA/3.34 FIP in 21.2 innings in New York.

His FIP in Oakland that year? 3.83. His ERA spent all year fighting to get back to that point of stasis, and finally made real progress when he reached Matt Blake and the Yankees.

Unfortunately, Trivino's elbow gave out before he was able to appear in a single game for the disastrous 2023 Yankees, officially stamping the team's Frankie Montas/Trivino trade as an all-time unhelpful blockbuster. The Yankees would love to keep Trivino in the family, on the oft-chance he contributes this year, but a different salary would be ideal. Hopefully, Wednesday's arrival represents the first step towards a happy medium.

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