A’s closer Blake Treinen earns historic raise in arbitration case

After a record-setting 2018 season, closer Blake Treinen won his arbitration case against the A’s and will earn $6.4 million this year.

Treinen, 30, went 9-2 with a career-high 38 saves and a career-best 0.78 ERA to help the A’s win the American League’s second wild-card spot. His ERA was the lowest by a pitcher with a minimum of 80 innings pitched since the stat was introduced in 1912.

Treinen also was the first pitcher in major-league history to save 30 games, compile an ERA under 1.00 and strike out 100 batters, so winning an arbitration case was going to be a tough challenge for Oakland, which had offered him $5.6 million. He earned $2.15 million in 2018, and his $4.