Trevor Hildenberger

[William Malone]

Trevor Sean Hildenberger was born on December 15, 1990 in San Jose, California.

The Minnesota Twins selected him in round 22 of the 2014 MLB Draft. He quickly became one of the most dominant relief pitchers in their farm system. Hildenberger had a 1.55 ERA with 17 saves in 2015, splitting the year between Class-A and High-A. He had a 0.75 ERA with 19 saves in 2016, splitting that season between High-A and Double-A.

After beginning 2017 as a closer in Triple-A, the Twins called up Hildenberger in late June. He began his big league career with a streak of 7.1 shutout innings, before surrendering two runs in a relief outing against the Baltimore Orioles on July 9th. Hildenberger began to earn higher leverage reps as the year went along, especially after All-Star closer Brandon Kintzler was traded at the deadline. He became a key set-up man for new closer Matt Belisle during the final two months, and even earned his first career save on August 13th against the Detroit Tigers.

Hildenberger went 3-3 with a 3.21 ERA as a rookie, striking out 9.4 opponents per nine innings. He had one save and 12 holds. Despite being deadline sellers, Minnesota rallied to earn the last playoff spot. Hildenberger allowed a run in 1.1 innings during their AL Wild Card Game loss against the New York Yankees.

He came out of the gate strong in 2018, posting a 2.06 ERA and a 0.915 WHIP through his first 36 appearances. His overall stats in the second half took a hit in the second half, largely ballooned by a handful of disastrous outings. Hildenberger had two five run showings, and two more four run showings across his final 37 appearances. Those four bad outings produced over 40% of his earned runs, in just 5.5% of his 73 appearances during the 2018 campaign. He finished the season with seven saves, serving as a part time closer after veteran Fernando Rodney was traded at the deadline.

The sidearm slinging righty had a strong start to 2019 as well, finishing April with a 1.93 ERA over 9.1 innings. He had 11 strikeouts, two wins, one save, and five holds. But things quickly turned. It wasn't just a small handful of bad outings like 2018. Hildenberger allowed runs in seven of his next nine appearances, and was sent down to Triple-A. He finished the season down there, and was removed from the 40-man roster in the off-season.

Hildenberger signed a minor league deal with the Boston Red Sox that winter. He spent the COVID shortened season at their alternate training site, but was never called on for big league action. The New York Mets signed him to a minor league deal the following off-season. Hildenberger was called up for a two appearance cup of coffee during the regular season. He spent 2022 and 2023 in the San Francisco Giants minor league system, but was limited to just 11 games between the two seasons due to various injuries and setbacks.

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