The Philadelphia Phillies have been shaking up their bullpen throughout the 2026 MLB season, looking for the right combination of players to bridge the gap to closer Jhoan Duran .
Right-handed reliever Orion Kerkering has been excellent, but with Brad Keller sidelined because of an injury , it has been a bit of a revolving door for the middle relief recently. And now, the team is looking for a spark once again.
Right-handed reliever Chase Shugart is being demoted to Triple-A Lehigh Valley after back-to-back brutal outings against the Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets . Taking his place in the bullpen will be veteran Lou Trivino .
As shared by Todd Zolecki of MLB.com on X, the Phillies have purchased the contract of the veteran righty from Triple-A to join the Big League club. This is his second stint in Philadelphia after making 10 appearances for the team in 2025.
Feb 22, 2026; West Palm Beach, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Lou Trivino (22) delivers a pitch against the Washington Nationals during the third inning at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Trivino was great when his number was called last year for the Phillies. He threw nine innings with a 2.00 ERA, striking out eight batters. A 230 ERA+ and 3.36 FIP were produced along with 0.3 bWAR in such a short period of time.
The 2025 campaign was the first time that Trivino pitched in the Major Leagues since 2023. He actually began the 2026 season with Philadelphia but was released and signed by the Baltimore Orioles on May 4.
Trivino made two appearances, giving up six earned runs in three innings, and was granted free agency on May 12. Four days later, he was signed by the Phillies again, and now he is set to join the Big League club.
He certainly earned the promotion to the Big Leagues with how well he performed with Lehigh Valley. In 22 appearances and 28.1 innings of work, Trivino had a 1.27 ERA and 34 strikeouts, certainly looking like someone who can help stabilize a bullpen that has been, at times, overworked.
There will certainly be work for Trivino right away. Shugart was someone that interim manager Don Mattingly was going to with some regularity, but he struggled recently, looking to possibly be running on fumes.
He has given up three runs in back-to-back outings against the Pirates and Mets. That gives him three appearances in June alone, during which three runs have been scored against him, which spiked his ERA to 4.97.
Before the recent struggles, he had a 2.21 ERA through his first 16 appearances in 2026.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/mlb/phillies/onsi as Phillies Shake up Bullpen Demoting Chase Shugart in Favor of Veteran .
