Jose Leclerc looks like Texas’s playoff closer

September 28, 2023

Texas Rangers — Aroldis Chapman pitched the eighth with a two-run lead, facing the 8-9-1 hitters in the Angel lineup. Though the Rangers scored three more in the ninth, eliminating the save chance, it was Jose Leclerc who came out for the final inning. We’re going to move Jose to the top of this committee.

Updated hierarchy: *Leclerc | Chapman | Smith.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago Cubs – It’s not official yet, but Adbert Alzolay believes he’ll be activated from the injured list on Friday. He should immediately return to the closer role, especially after Wednesday’s loss, which included blown saves by Mark Leiter Jr., Julian Merryweather, and Daniel Palencia.

Hierarchy remains: *Merryweather | Cuas | Leiter Jr.
* = closer-by-committee

Philadelphia Phillies — The day after Jose Alvarado and Craig Kimbrel pitched to a blown save, Philly turned to Gregory Soto in the ninth (after using Seranthony Dominguez in the fifth and sixth). Soto struck out the side and can be safely returned to the hierarchy for the final few games.

Updated hierarchy: *Kimbrel | Alvarado | Soto.
* = closer-by-committee

Minnesota Twins — Jhoan Duran was used in the seventh inning of a tight game (and struck out the side), so Dallas Keuchel got the eighth and ninth for Minnesota. Griffin Jax relieved him with one out to go and picked up a very vulturey save. In other news, Brock Stewart returned after a few months on the injured list and could return to high-leverage work just in time for the playoffs.

Hierarchy remains: Duran | Jax | Pagan.

San Diego Padres — The Padres’ big three all did their jobs to keep the game tied, and in the tenth inning, it was lefty Tom Cosgrove who earned his first career save.

Hierarchy remains: Hader | Suarez | Barlow.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Jason Foley (DET) — The Royals and Tigers are playing a game and a half today.
2. Carlos Hernandez/Taylor Clarke (KC) — See above.

Friday:
1. Ian Hamilton (NYY) — An appearance today would be three in four days for Clay Holmes.

Andres Munoz dealing with nagging injury

September 11, 2023

Chicago Cubs – As expected, Adbert Alzolay got the day off after pitching in two straight, and the Cubs used Jose Cuas, Mark Leiter Jr., Hayden Wesneski, and Julian Merryweather (in that order) to get the game’s final 10 outs. It was Merryweather’s first save of the season, and he’ll likely share 8th inning chances with Leiter going forward, with occasional save opportunities mixed in.

Hierarchy remains: Alzolay | Leiter Jr. | Merryweather.

San Diego Padres – Robert Suarez returns today from his 10-game suspension and should slot back in to his previous high-leverage role.

Updated hierarchy: Hader | Suarez | Barlow.

Seattle Mariners – Andres Munoz is dealing with some hip discomfort and might not pitch for a day or two. Look for Matt Brash to get opportunities in the mean time; we’ll send an alert if Munoz is going to miss significant time.

Hierarchy remains: Munoz | Brash | Topa.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Matt Brash – See above.
2. Jordan Hicks – Jordan Romano has gone in two of three, racking up 57 pitches in the process.
3. Jason Foley – Alex Lange has gone back to back.
4. Jose Soriano – Same for Carlos Estevez.
5. AJ Minter – The Braves have a doubleheader…
6. Jose Alvarado – …against the Phillies.
7. AJ Puk – Tanner Scott and Andrew Nardi have both seen heavy workloads of late and might be down today.

Tomorrow
1. Colin Poche – If Pete Fairbanks goes today, it’s back to back and three of four.
2. Tyler Rogers – Same for Camilo Doval.
3. Tommy Kahnle – If Clay Holmes goes today, it’s back to back.
4. Aaron Bummer – Same for Gregory Santos…
5. Brooks Raley/Drew Smith – …and Adam Ottavino and Brooks Raley…
6. Lucas Sims – …and Alexis Diaz…
7. Joel Payamps – …and Devin Williams.

Guardians claim Matt Moore, Reynaldo Lopez off waivers

September 1, 2023

Cleveland Guardians – Cleveland is six games under .500, but in the pitiful AL Central that puts them only five games back of the division-leading Twins at the start of September. With that in mind, the Guardians made some big moves Thursday, claiming pitchers Lucas Giolito, Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez off waivers from the Angels. For our purposes, Moore and Lopez are interesting additions to the bullpen. We think Moore fits into the hierarchy right away, but expect some shuffling of the many viable options behind Emmanuel Clase.

Updated hierarchy: Clase | Stephan | Moore.

Los Angeles Angels – The Angels lost two hierarchy members Thursday when Cleveland landed both Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez. We’ll slot in Jose Soriano, who had four holds in August, and Aaron Loup, who has an ERA above 5.00 on the season but had a pair of holds in August.

Updated hierarchy: Estevez | Soriano | Loup.

Detroit Tigers — Just when it seems like he pulls us back in, Alex Lange burns us once again. On Thursday, Lange was protecting a 3-0 lead in the ninth inning when he yielded a game-tying, three-run shot to blow the save. Lange, who had been on a run of seven straight scoreless outings before Thursday, is still likely the Tigers closer moving forward, but we’ll see how he trends over the final few weeks.

Hierarchy remains: *Lange | Foley | Brieske.
* = closer-by-committee

San Diego Padres — Robert Suarez has dropped his appeal of a 10-game suspension issued over foreign-substance use on the mound. Suarez began serving it Thursday. For the time being, expect Nick Martinez to gather some late-inning holds when the Padres have a slim lead.

Updated hierarchy: Hader | Barlow | Martinez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Kirby Yates (ATL) – Raisel Iglesias has gone in three straight, while A.J. Minter has pitched in three of four.
2. Tommy Kahnle (NYY) – Clay Holmes has gone in three of four.
3. Mark Leiter Jr. (CHC) – The Cubs play a doubleheader Friday…
4. Lucas Sims (CIN) – … against the Reds.

Saturday:
1. Scott Barlow (SD) – If he goes Friday, that would be four of five for Josh Hader.

More bullpen trouble in Texas

August 31, 2023

Texas Rangers — Will Smith had a bounce-back outing on Wednesday, retiring five batters and allowing only one walk in a tie game. Unfortunately for the Rangers, after they failed to score in the top of the tenth, Aroldis Chapman ended things with an intentional walk, an unintentional walk, and a bases-loaded hit by pitch. The game was tied, by the way, because Jose Leclerc gave up a two-run homer in the eighth before Smith came on. With Texas in the thick of races for the division and the wild card, now is not the time for bullpen uncertainty.

Hierarchy remains: *Chapman | Smith | Leclerc.

San Diego Padres — Steven Wilson was placed on the injured list with right hip inflammation, giving Scott Barlow another chance at high-leverage work. Barlow pitched a solid seventh and eighth with a one-run lead on Wednesday, only to see a rare Josh Hader blown save in the ninth. 

Updated hierarchy: Hader | Suarez | Barlow.

Pittsburgh Pirates — Thomas Hatch, who picked up his third hold in the seventh inning last night, has moved into the Pirates’ hierarchy behind David Bednar and Colin Holderman.

Updated hierarchy: Bednar | Holderman | Hatch.

New York Yankees — Don’t look now, but the Yankees have reeled off three wins in a row and could be making an improbable push for the — just kidding, they’re still totally cooked. But Ian Hamilton did pick up a nice three-inning save for them last night.

Hierarchy remains: Holmes | Kahnle | Peralta.

Los Angeles Dodgers — For the second time in two weeks, Ryan Yarbrough earned a super-sized save. Wednesday he gave the rest of the bullpen the night off by powering through four innings of scoreless ball in a 7-0 win.

Hierarchy remains: Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Robert Suarez (SD) — Josh Hader’s blown save came on his third straight day of work.
2. A.J. Minter (ATL) — Raisel Iglesias has pitched back-to-back.

Friday:
1. Tyler Kahnle (NYY) — If Clay Holmes pitches Thursday, that will be three games in four days.
2. Mark Leiter Jr./Julian Merryweather (CHC) — The Cubs play a doubleheader Friday…
3. Lucas Sims (CIN) — …against the Reds.

Kenley Jansen leaves game with injury

August 24, 2023

Boston Red Sox – Kenley Jansen left Wednesday’s game with right hamstring tightness after retiring the first batter he faced in the ninth inning. If Jansen misses any time, Chris Martin will be the frontrunner to close games for Boston. Martin pitched the eighth inning of a tie game on Tuesday, so Josh Winckowski closed out the win in the 10th.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

San Francisco Giants – Camilo Doval’s struggles continued on Wednesday, as he became the first player in franchise history to blow a save in four straight appearances. Thankfully for the Giants, they retook the lead in the 10th and eventually Ryan Walker came on to record the final out and lock up his first MLB save. Manager Gabe Kapler, who said after Tuesday’s game that Doval needed to mix his pitches better, said on Wednesday that the game is moving fast for Doval. The Giants are off on Thursday, but we’ll see how Kapler uses Doval this weekend against Atlanta.

Hierarchy remains: Doval | Ty. Rogers | Ta. Rogers.

St. Louis Cardinals — JoJo Romero pitched the final two innings of last night’s 6-4 win over Pittsburgh and now has the Cardinals’ last two saves, albeit over 10 days apart. In addition, Romero has pitched the ninth in his other three appearances between those two saves. We’ll swap him and Giovanny Gallegos accordingly.

Updated hierarchy: *Romero | Gallegos | Pallante.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies – Justin Lawrence’s rough stretch continued on Wednesday, as he suffered his third blown save over his last five appearances. Lawrence may have been a bit unlucky on Tuesday, but he’s now allowed eight earned runs over his last three outings. We’ll see just how long a leash the Rockies give Lawrence, but you have to imagine it’s getting shorter and shorter.

Hierarchy remains: Lawrence | Bard | Koch.

San Diego Padres – Robert Suarez is facing a 10-game suspension after being ejected from Wednesday’s game following a foreign substance check. We’ll let you know when the suspension becomes official.

Hierarchy remains: Hader | Suarez | Wilson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. John Schreiber (BOS) – Kenley Jansen is likely unavailable today after his injury on Wednesday. Chris Martin threw 29 pitches yesterday and Josh Winckowski has gone in two straight, combining for 46 pitches.
2. Aaron Bummer/Jimmy Lambert (CHW) – Gregory Santos threw 36 pitches in yesterday’s blown save. Aaron Bummer tossed 28 pitches of his own on Wednesday while Bryan Shaw has thrown 47 pitches over the last two days.
3. Griffin Jax (MIN) – Jhoan Duran threw 34 pitches yesterday.
4. Hector Neris (HOU) – Both Ryan Pressly and Bryan Abreu have gone in three of four.
5. Buck Farmer (CIN) – Alexis Diaz has gone in two straight, Lucas Sims threw 31 pitches last night and Ian Gibaut has pitched back-to-back nights.
6. Daniel Bard (COL) – Justin Lawrence threw 25 pitches yesterday and may get a breather today.
7. Brusdar Graterol (LAD)/Trevor Stephan (CLE) – The Dodgers and Guardians will complete last night’s suspended game before playing their regularly scheduled contest today, which means there could be a vulture save opportunity for one or both teams.

Friday:
1. Jason Adam (TB) – If Pete Fairbanks pitches today that will be back-to-back days of work.
2. Tyler Rogers (SF) – The Giants are off today but Camilo Doval may get another day of rest to get himself right.
3. Mark Leiter Jr. (CHC) – If Adbert Alzolay goes doay that will be two in a row.
4. Kevin Ginkel/Scott McGough (ARI) – If either Paul Sewald or Ginkel pitches today that will be three of four.