September 23, 2016
Philadelphia Phillies — While the Phillies are out of it and there’s not much time left in the season, manager Pete Mackanin is about to make a change that will impact the fantasy baseball playoffs. Mackanin is expected to announce Friday that he’s removing Jeanmar Gomez from the closer’s role, handing the job over to Hector Neris. Gomez has a 16.20 ERA in September, but the numbers have been even worse over the last four games: 1.2 IP, 8 ER (including 2 ER to blow the save Thursday). His ERA was under 3.00 at the end of August and now sits at 4.28 just three weeks later. Good riddance.
Hierarchy remains (for now): Gomez | Neris | Ramos.
San Francisco Giants – It seemed like forever in between Sergio Romo saves when he got his first one of the year on Tuesday. Romo’s second save this season (Thursday) came just two days later, though. He appears to be firmly entrenched at the top of the Giants closing committee.
Hierarchy remains: *Romo | Law | Smith.
* = closer-by-committee
Atlanta Braves – As predicted by the Vulture Save Watch, Mauricio Cabrera picked up the save Thursday as regular closer Jim Johnson needed some rest.
Hierarchy remains: Johnson | Cabrera | Simmons.
Texas Rangers — Reports are suggesting that reliever Jeremy Jeffress is expected to rejoin the Rangers on Friday. He has been away from the team since an Aug. 26 arrest for alleged drunken driving. He entered into a rehab facility days later. Jeffress could be back to prepare for the playoffs, if he makes the postseason roster. We’ll see how he’s used once he’s back before jumping to conclusions.
Hierarchy remains: Dyson | Bush | Diekman.
Tampa Bay Rays — Chase Whitley now has three holds in three appearances, with each appearance lasting at least two innings. On Thursday, he bridged the gap from the sixth inning through two outs in the eighth inning ahead of closer Alex Colome. It may seem like a stretch, but he could be sneaking into the Rays late-inning plans as the season’s end draws near. Plus, Brad Boxberger has been terrible lately. He has allowed six runs over his last two outings, raising his season ERA to 5.31.
Updated hierarchy: Colome | Cedeno | Whitley.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Koji Uehara, Boston Red Sox –Craig Kimbrel has pitched in three straight games.
2. Hector Neris, Philadelphia Phillies — This is pretty obvious. Even if Jeanmar Gomez isn’t dropped as the team’s closer, it would still be tough to expect him to pitch Friday after disastrous outings Tuesday and Thursday.
3. J.C. Ramirez, Los Angeles Angels — Andrew Bailey has pitched in two straight games, and has not played in three straight days since April 20-22, 2013. J.C. Ramirez has also gone in two straight games (34 pitches), but he did pitch in three straight for the Angels earlier this year and could do it again.
