Aroldis Chapman shaky again for Rangers; Tanner Scott back for Marlins

September 29, 2023

Texas Rangers — Jose Leclerc, who we like the most in the Texas bullpen, entered in the eighth inning on Thursday, tossing a scoreless frame. That left the ninth for Aroldis Chapman, who struggled again. He was charged with two runs on two hits and a walk and did not record an out. Jonathan Hernandez relieved him and got the first two outs before allowing a game-ending RBI double to J.P. Crawford. Leclerc is the best bet for saves this weekend, though Will Smith could be in line for one Friday because he is the most-rested member of the hierarchy.

Hierarchy remains: *Leclerc | Chapman | Smith.
* = closer-by-committee

Miami Marlins — Thursday’s game against the Mets was suspended after the Marlins took the lead in the ninth inning. The game is set to resume Monday – after the regular season ends for everyone else. Whoever pitches — aside from Andrew Nardi, who got the final out of the eighth inning and could be in line for a win if he re-enters — will be facing a save situation. Meanwhile, Tanner Scott has been activated from the paternity list. 

Updated hierarchy: Scott | Nardi | Robertson

Baltimore Orioles – Baltimore won its 100th game Thursday and clinched the AL East title for the first time in nine years. Their strong bullpen carried them to the end in a tight game. After Yennier Cano and Cionel Perez finished things off in the eighth, former starter Tyler Wells shut the Red Sox down in the ninth for his first save. Perez has pitched in a lot of late-and-close situations lately and deserves recognition in this hierarchy. Shintaro Fujinami, meanwhile, will get the boot now that his ERA is near 5.00 in his time with Baltimore.

Updated hierarchy: Cano | Perez | Coulombe.

Boston Red Sox — The Red Sox placed Chris Martin on the injured list with a viral infection. He ends the year with three saves, a 1.05 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 46 strikeouts across 51.1 innings. Garret Whitlock could see some extra late-inning looks this weekend.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Winckowski | Whitlock.

Milwaukee Brewers — Recalled from the minors earlier this week, Ethan Small was called into an unusual situation: the ninth inning with a three-run lead. He held it together, mixing in a couple of walks with a strikeout to earn his first career save. After the game, he told reporters he was surprised to enter the game at that time, adding that he needed a “win” in the majors “pretty bad.” While wins are important in fantasy baseball, we admire the chase for saves here at Closer Monkey, so well done, Mr. Small!

Hierarchy remains: Williams | Payamps | Uribe.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Aaron Bummer (CHW) – Bryan Shaw has gone in two straight.
2. Will Smith (TEX) – Jose Leclerc and Aroldis Chapman each have gone in two straight.

Saturday:
1. Carmen Mlodzinski (PIT) – A Friday appearance would be three of four for David Bednar.
2. Jose Alvarado (PHI) – Same as above for Craig Kimbrel.
3. A.J. Minter (ATL) – An outing Friday would be three of four and four of six for Raisel Iglesias.
4. Matt Brash (SEA) – Andres Munoz also faces three-in-four and four-in-six if he goes Friday.

Garrett Crochet and Jason Adam return

September 21, 2023

Chicago White Sox – Aaron Bummer and Bryan Shaw are in line for saves now that Gregory Santos is out for the year, but they’ll be joined in the bullpen by old friend Garrett Crochet. Although Crochet might be a starter next season, he’s likely to stay in relief for the next few weeks.

Updated hierarchy: *Bummer | Shaw | Crochet.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago Cubs – Mark Leiter Jr. pitched in the sixth inning on Wednesday, with the Cubs down 8-6, and let three more runs score. We’ve got to think this gives Julian Merryweather the inside track at Chicago’s next save chance, with Adbert Alzolay and Michael Fulmer still out injured.

Updated hierarchy: *Merryweather | Leiter Jr. | Boxberger.
* = closer-by-committee

Milwaukee Brewers — Elvis has left the building, with righty Peguero hitting the injured list with right elbow trouble. He will miss the rest of the regular season, but could conceivably return for the playoffs. We’ve got Abner Uribe slightly ahead of Hoby Milner and Trevor Megill for the time being.

Updated hierarchy: Williams | Payamps | Uribe.

Tampa Bay Rays — Jason Adam was reinstated from the injured list Thursday morning and should be thrown right back into the Rays’ late-inning mix.

Updated hierarchy: Fairbanks | Adam | Poche.

Detroit Tigers — See! Will! Vest! See Will Vest! We’ll admit he’s not the best. But when the Tigers need a vulture, he’s the righty that they culture. Lange’s a mensch, but on the bench; had to get his arm refreshed. Holy moley, Jason Foley’s gotta sit and watch his homey — that’s Will Vest! Wasn’t stressed: he got five outs with flair and zest. Yes, Detroit chose to exploit their bullpen guest! Will’s ringing up the K’s, Thursday he’ll spank the A’s, see Will Vest, see Will Vest, seeeee Willll Vessssssssst!

Updated hierarchy: Lange | Foley | Vest.

Seattle Mariners — Protecting a three-run lead against the heart of the Oakland lineup on Wednesday, the Mariners went with top arm Andres Muñoz, which left Justin Topa to pull down the save against lesser hitters in the ninth. Muñoz is still the main guy here, but expect him to get the occasional high-leverage eighth.

Hierarchy remains: Muñoz | Brash | Topa.

Philadelphia Phillies — Craig Kimbrel pitched the ninth in a tied game, leaving the tenth-inning save to Matt Strahm, making him the sixth Phillie reliever with at least two saves. Strahm, Gregory Soto, Jeff Hoffman, and Seranthony Dominguez are all neck-and-neck (and other-neck-and-other-neck) for that second-in-line spot in Philadelphia’s bullpen.

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Alvarado | Dominguez.

Minnesota Twins — Jhoan Duran came into the game in the eighth inning to keep Minnesota within a run, so when Alexis Diaz gave up three in the ninth, it was Griffin Jax called on for the save.

Hierarchy remains: Duran | Jax | Pagan.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Shintaro Fujinami/Danny Coulombe (BAL) — Yennier Cano hasn’t thrown a lot of pitches lately, but an appearance Thursday would be his fourth in five days.

Friday:
1. Jason Foley/Will Vest (DET) — SEE…. WILL… Okay, we won’t put you through the reprise, but Alex Lange has had a lot of work lately and his backups could grab another save against Oakland.
2. Hunter Harvey (WAS) — Kyle Finnegan has pitched a lot recently.

Jordan Luplow is funny

August 12, 2023

Boston Red Sox – We took a shot in the dark yesterday in predicting that Kyle Barraclough would get a vulture save, and while that didn’t happen, Barraclough did get a win, posting 1.1 scoreless innings. The save went to Chris Murphy, who pitched three scoreless to finish off the 5-2 victory.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

Milwaukee Brewers – Abner Uribe picked up a save in the 10th inning after the rest of the Milwaukee hierarchy had pitched, stranding the automatic runner with a flyout and two groundouts. The 23-year-old righty has only allowed two earned runs in his first 13.1 big league innings, and could push for setup opportunities soon.

Hierarchy remains: Williams | Payamps | Peguero.

Minnesota Twins – Outfielder Jordan Luplow, who pitched the 8th inning for the Twins in a blowout loss, was heartily booed when doing his best Craig Kimbrel impression on the Citizens Bank Ballpark mound. We found it amusing, though, and so did Kimbrel. Keep being you, Jordan.

Hierarchy remains: Duran | Jax | Pagan.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Jason Adam – Pete Fairbanks threw 30 pitches in a blown save last night.
2. AJ Minter – The Braves have a doubleheader…
3. Adam Ottavino – …against the Mets.

Tomorrow
1. Joel Payamps – If Devin Williams goes today, it’s back to back and four of five.
2. Aaron Bummer – If Gregory Santos goes today, it’s back to back and three of four.
3. Tommy Kahnle – If Clay Holmes goes today, it’s back to back.
4. Austin Cox – Same for Carlos Hernandez…
5. Aroldis Chapman – …and Will Smith…
6. Mark Leiter Jr. – …and Adbert Alzolay.

Daniel Hudson hits the IL

July 7, 2023

Los Angeles Dodgers — It was another good news/bad news day for the Dodgers’ bullpen on Thursday. The bad news is that Daniel Hudson, who earned his first save in 392 days on Wednesday, landed on the IL with an MCL sprain on his right knee. Hudson is expected to miss at least 1-2 months, if not longer. The good news is that Brusdar Graterol, who was expected to end up on the IL yesterday, avoided that and looked sharp in an efficient eighth-inning hold. With Evan Phillips still unavailable, that left the save to Alex Vesia, who was recalled from Triple-A that afternoon. Vesia looked sharp as well, earning his first save in nearly a year. Caleb Ferguson, who desperately needed a day off after three straight outings, returns to the hierarchy following the Hudson injury, but we’ll keep an eye on Vesia to see if he continues to get high-leverage looks even when the Dodgers have their full complement of relievers available.

Updated hierarchy: *Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays — The Blue Jays recorded two saves on Thursday, but none came from a member of their hierarchy. After Jordan Romano blew a save in game one of the doubleheader, Yimi Garcia got the final two outs of the 11th inning to preserve a 6-2 win. In the nightcap, Nate Pearson was the last reliever standing to earn his first MLB save.

Hierarchy remains: Romano | Swanson | Mayza.

Milwaukee Brewers — As predicted in yesterday’s Vulture Save Watch, Joel Payamps protected a 6-5 lead for his third save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Williams | Payamps | Peguero.

Chicago White Sox – Joe Kelly landed on the IL with right elbow inflammation, which means Reynaldo Lopez has returned to the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Graveman | Kelly | Lopez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Genesis Cabrera (STL) — Both Jordan Hicks and Giovanny Gallegos have gone back-to-back days.
2. Nick Martinez (SD) — Josh Hader may get a second straight day of rest after he pitched three in a row earlier this week.
3. Elvis Peguero (MIL) — This is a bit of a long shot, but if Devin Williams gets a second consecutive night off, Peguero could vulture a save since Joel Payamps has pitched in two straight.

Tomorrow:
1. Erik Swanson (TOR) — If Jordan Romano pitches today that will be two straight and three of four.
2. Gregory Santos (CHW) — Same is true for Kendall Graveman.
3. Jose Alvarado (PHI) — And for Craig Kimbrel.
4. Lucas Sims (CIN) — If Alexis Diaz pitches today it will be two in a row.

Scott McGough bounces back and Will Smith records a save

July 2, 2023

Arizona Diamondbacks — The Diamondbacks went right back to Scott McGough after allowing three runs in a blown save in his previous outing and he responded with a scoreless 9th inning for his 7th save of the season.  Andrew Chafin got the 8th inning hold ahead of him.  It’s a good sign for McGough that the Diamondbacks were not deterred by one bad outing and this appears to be McGough’s job for the foreseeable future.

Hierarchy remains: McGough | Chafin | Castro.

Texas Rangers — The Rangers were up 5-0 headed into the 9th inning but after Joe Barlow gave up a couple runs to make it 5-2, Will Smith came on to record the final out of the game and pick up his 15th save of the season.  It’s hard to read too much into this one out save so we will leave the hierarchy as is until we get a more traditional save opportunity.

Hierarchy remains: *Chapman | Smith | Sborz.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Mets – As predicted in the Vulture Save Watch yesterday, David Robertson received the day off and Adam Ottavino got the 9th inning in his absence.  Ottavino bounced back from giving up two runs in his previous appearance to pitch a scoreless 9th inning and earn his 6th save of the season. 

Hierarchy remains: Robertson | Ottavino | Raley.

Milwaukee Brewers — Devin Williams got a second day off after a heavy workload and Joel Payamps pitched a perfect 9th inning for his second save of the season.  Payamps should continue to be the back-up to Williams and see the occasional save opportunity when he is unavailable. 

Hierarchy remains: Williams | Payamps | Peguero.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Colin Holderman returned after missing the minimum 15 days on the injured list and had a scoreless appearance.  He should slide back into the set-up role for the Pirates.

Updated hierarchy: Bednar | Holderman | De Los Santos.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Chris Martin (BOS) – Kenley Jansen has pitched in two of three, including 22 pitches yesterday.
2. Reynaldo Lopez (CHW) – Kendall Graveman has pitched in three of four while Joe Kelly has pitched in two of three, including a 33 pitch outing yesterday.
3. Jason Foley (DET) – Alex Lange has pitched in two of three, throwing a total of 54 pitches over that time.
4. Sam Moll (OAK) – Trevor May has pitched in two straight.

Monday
1. Taylor Clarke/Amir Garrett (KC) – If Scott Barlow pitches today, it will be two straight and three of four. Same for Taylor Clarke.