12 relievers the Mets should target ahead of the trade deadline

10) NY Mets trade target Lou Trivino

Some relievers are on this list because they’re performing well. Others are on this list because they’re not, but they’re metrics lead me to believe that a turnaround is coming. Trivino fits into the latter.

Trivino’s numbers are not pretty. In 23 appearances, he’s pitched just 16.2 innings and allowed 26 hits, 157 earned runs, eight walks, and struck out 26 batters. His ERA is 9.18, but his FIP is only 3.20, so there’s going to be a resurgence at some point. 

His Savant metrics look pretty good too. He’s in the 88th percentile in strikeout rate, 77th percentile in xSLG, 71st percentile in xERA and xwoBA, and 66th percentile in whiff rate. He’s still got that strikeout stuff working even in his struggles.

Trivino has alway been a pitcher who walks a lot of guys. He averages 4.2 BB/9 for his career, and he’s at 4.3 this year. The trade off is that he strikes out a ton of guys, with an absurd K/9 of 14 this season. The other trade off is that he doesn’t allow homers, averaging 0.9 HR/9 for his career.

Trivino has two more years of control in 2023 and 2024 before becoming a free agent in 2025. He is 30 years old, and given his struggles in the first third of the season, as well as his tanking team’s utter lack of use for a late-inning reliever, he shouldn’t be too expensive.