Lou Trivino had been a rock in the back of the Oakland A’s bullpen for much of this season. From May 31 until the final few days of August, he had been one of the best closers in the game, shutting down the opposition and making the ninth inning as painless as possible.
That has not been the case recently. Trivino has struggled, blowing saves and imploding. But there may be a reason aside from his wearing down, as he has been dealing with back spasms lately.
Bob Melvin said Lou Trivino has had back spasms the last couple of days and was unavailable today. Trivino last pitched last Thursday against the Yankees.
— Matt Kawahara (@matthewkawahara) September 2, 2021
Back issues may be cause of Lou Trivino’s struggles
Trivino has been solid overall this season. He has posted a 2.55 ERA and a 1.233 WHiP in his 60 innings, notching 21 saves as he had taken over for Liam Hendriks. While he may not have been as dominant, he has been a solid option to close out games.
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But his last three outings have been disastrous. He has taken a loss in each of those outings, with two blown saves, allowing six runs on six hits, including two homers, and two walks in his 2.1 innings. Trivino had gone from being a rock in the bullpen to a disaster, sinking the A’s when they needed those wins most.
Those back issues may be the reason why Trivino has struggled lately. While those spasms have cropped up over the past few days, they had to have started somewhere. His back problems could have started when his struggles began, causing his implosion over those few days.
Hopefully, this will just be a brief issue. With some rest and these few days off, Trivino’s back may be in better shape. Likewise, if he was hitting a bit of a wall physically, he would get the chance to get that time to be ready over the final few weeks.
Lou Trivino has been dealing with back spasms over the past few days. Those issues may be the reason why he has struggled recently.