The longtime Minnesota Twins relief pitcher has recently struck a deal with the Boston Red Sox. The deal is a minor league deal, with an invite to spring training. Should he make the roster, he will earn $700k. Who is Trevor Hildenberger and what can he do?
The 29-year-old was drafted in the 22nd round back in 2014 and has been a pure reliever since becoming a pro. He made his major-league debut in 2017, where he really started showing some of that potential. That season, in 37 appearances and 42 innings, he pitched to a 3.21 ERA while striking out a batter per inning average.
His first full season blew up. He posted a 4-6 record, 5.42 ERA with 70 strikeouts, 26 walks in 73 innings pitched. His 73 appearances that year is his career-high. Last year he kept trending downward. His 2-2 record, 10.47 ERA made that very clear.
Him along with the addition of Austin Brice is a good sign that this new gm Chaim Bloom cares about making this team a contender, even through payroll issues. Hildenberger comes as a low risk, high reward option for the bullpen that is in desperate need of new faces.
If he pitches well in spring, it shouldn’t be too difficult to find room on the roster. If not, he either gets more time to work in Triple-A or opts out and hits free agency again. It is unclear at this time whether or not he has an opt out and, if he does,
