Blake Treinen Injures Shoulder, Out For Postseason

Dodgers right-hander Blake Treinen is done for the season after injuring his shoulder while warming up in the bullpen today, according to The Athletic’s Fabian Ardaya. Manager Dave Roberts relayed that Treinen will go for imaging and inevitably go on the injured list, ruling him out for the Dodgers’ postseason run. “I don’t know if it was a complete blowout, but it’s really unfortunate,” Roberts told reporters, including Maddie Lee of the Los Angeles Times.

The shoulder injury closes the book on Treinen’s season and the two-year, $22MM deal he signed with the Dodgers leading into 2025. The righty missed over three months in 2025 with right forearm tightness, then another two months and change in the current season for elbow inflammation. Treinen was clearly diminished when healthy in 2025, as he pitched to a 5.40 ERA in 26 2/3 innings with an elevated 14.7% walk rate and a career-low 33.3% ground ball rate. The latter is up to 44.4% this year, and Treinen’s ERA is down to 3.64 in 36 appearances. He’s cut his walk rate to a more manageable 10.0%, while his 23.8% strikeout rate is his lowest since the 2020 season.

The 38-year-old Treinen would have been in play for low-leverage spots in the postseason, but he’s now out of the equation entirely. Of course, the Dodgers are exceptionally well stocked with pitchers and won’t have any trouble filling the void from Treinen’s absence. Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Tarik Skubal, Tyler Glasnow, and Blake Snell are as formidable a rotation as they come. Snell threw four innings of one-run ball in his final postseason tune-up today.

Two of their starters – Roki Sasaki and 2026 All-Star Justin Wrobleski – will pitch in relief in October, adding to a stacked bullpen behind closer Tanner Scott, setup man Alex Vesia, Edgardo Henriquez, and Jack Dreyer, among other solid arms. Edwin Díaz is also on hand, but he’s struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness this year. The Dodgers are not committed to carrying him on the postseason roster.

The specific details of Treinen’s shoulder injury and whether he will require surgery will be made clear once the imaging comes back. If he does go under the knife, it will be his fifth major injury absence in the last five seasons. He missed most of 2022 with right shoulder soreness, appearing in three games in April plus two more in September. That November, Treinen underwent surgery to repair his labrum and rotator cuff, causing him to miss all of 2023. He was relatively healthy in 2024, only missing two weeks with left hip discomfort and delivering a 1.93 ERA in 46 2/3 innings.

That said, with the forearm injury in 2025, plus this year’s elbow inflammation, and now a new shoulder injury, it’s fair to wonder if Treinen’s career is near the end of the line. Next year will be his age-39 season. He failed to reach the 30-inning mark this year and last, and any club that signs him for 2027 will probably expect him to miss some time. Someone may pick him up on a low cost flier, but it would be a gamble on Treinen’s long-term track record rather than a reflection of his recent performance and health.

In separate news, the Dodgers reinstated catcher Dalton Rushing from the 10-day injured list on Friday. Infielder Alex Freeland was optioned down to make room for Rushing on the active roster, per the team’s announcement. The 25-year-old Rushing is batting .248/.331/.464 with a 119 wRC+ in 251 plate appearances this season. He’d been out since September 6th what was later revealed to be a partially torn UCL in his throwing elbow. He is unable to throw and won’t catch in the postseason, but he should be available off the bench as a pinch hitter against right-handed pitching.