7-Year Veteran Pitcher Elects Free Agency After Stint With Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles announced Tuesday that Trivino elected free agency after clearing outright waivers.
Baltimore designated him for assignment Sunday after just two appearances with the club.
In his Orioles debut against the Yankees, Trivino was rocked for six runs on four hits and three walks without recording a full inning.
#orioles recalled RHP Tyler Wells from Triple-A Norfolk. Placed LHP Grant Wolfram (low back strain) on the 15-day Injured List, retroactive to May 9. RHP Lou Trivino cleared outright waivers and elected free agency in lieu of accepting an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk.
— Roch Kubatko (@masnRoch) May 12, 2026
He came back Saturday against the Athletics and bounced back completely, throwing 2.1 scoreless innings with three strikeouts.
But after that outing, Trivino would have been unavailable for at least a day due to pitch count.
The Orioles swapped him out for a fresh arm, which required a DFA given Trivino's five-plus years of MLB service time, entitling him to refuse any minor league assignment.
He did.
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Trivino's path to the Orioles was itself convoluted.
He posted a 2.77 ERA with a 20-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio across 13 innings at Triple-A Lehigh Valley with Philadelphia earlier this year before opting out of his minor league deal when a promotion did not come.
Baltimore was willing to give him the major league contract he sought and signed him Monday last week.
He lasted nine days with the organization.
For his career, the 34-year-old righty from Slippery Rock University has made 334 appearances across nine seasons with Oakland, the Yankees, the Giants, the Dodgers, the Phillies, and now briefly Baltimore, posting a 4.00 ERA with 339 career strikeouts.
The Phillies add RHP Lou Trivino on an MiLB deal with a NRI to ST.
— Baseball Unstitched (@BaseUnstitched) February 7, 2026
One thing Trivino has struggled with in his career is getting out LHH compared to RHH
When you look at the pitch mix, he might be better off toning down the cutter usage and opting for the 4S more often pic.twitter.com/0m2N5Srbcc
His best work came in Oakland from 2018 through 2021, where he was one of the most reliable setup men in the American League, highlighted by a 2.45 ERA across 67 appearances in 2021.
Tommy John surgery wiped out 2023 and most of 2024, and he has been cycling through organizations ever since his return, never quite finding the sustained opportunity that his pre-surgery track record would suggest he deserves.
His fastball sat 94-96 mph in his work this season, a legitimate velocity range that should keep phones ringing.
He has now entered free agency three times since last August.
Photo Credit: James A. Pittman-Imagn Images
