Giovanny Gallegos placed on the IL

September 19, 2023

Kansas City Royals – James McArthur picked up his first career save on Monday, pitching a scoreless 9th inning after the Royals scored 4 runs against the scuffling Trevor Stephan. With a win, a hold, and now a save, all in the past week, we welcome McArthur to this hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: *Hernandez | Clarke | McArthur.
* = closer-by-committee

St. Louis Cardinals – Giovanny Gallegos was placed on the IL with shoulder inflammation. Look for Drew VerHagen to get more holds opportunities in his absence.

Updated hierarchy: Helsley | King | VerHagen.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today

1. Jorge Lopez – The entire Baltimore hierarchy has pitched in back to back games, so we’ll tab old pal Jorge Lopez for a possible save chance today.
2. Bryan Abreu – Ryan Pressly threw 31 pitches in a blown save yesterday, and Hector Neris has thrown 53 pitches over the last three days.
3. Andrew Nardi – Tanner Scott has gone in three of four, including a 24-pitch loss last night.
4. Drew VerHagen – Ryan Helsley and John King have gone back to back.

Tomorrow
1. Josh Winckowski – If Chris Martin goes today, it’s back to back and three of four.
2. Robert Suarez – Same for Josh Hader.
3. Jason Foley/Beau Brieske – If Alex Lange or Jason Foley go today, it’s three of four.

Chris Martin closing for Boston this week

September 14, 2023

Boston Red Sox — As we alerted you yesterday, Kenley Jansen has COVID-19 and will be out at least seven days on that specialized IL. Chris Martin should be in line for whatever saves come in Jansen’s absence, with Josh Winckowski, Garrett Whitlock, and John Schreiber in the middle-innings mix.

Updated hierarchy: Martin | Winckowski | Whitlock.

St. Louis Cardinals — Ryan Helsley is pitching back-to-back again already and has three straight saves; let’s axe his asterisk.

Hierarchy remains: Helsley | Gallegos | King.

Pittsburgh Pirates — Carmen Mlodzinski’s second hold in two days officially makes him the third-best reliever on the fourth-best team in the fifth-best division in baseball. Get that on his surprisingly comprehensive Wikipedia page!

Updated hierarchy: Bednar | Holderman | Mlodzinski.

Atlanta Braves — Good show for the Vulture Save Watch, correctly tabbing Kirby Yates for Wednesday’s save with Raisel Iglesias and A.J. Minter each resting after three straight days of use.

Hierarchy remains: Iglesias | Minter | Yates.

Miami Marlins — David Robertson isn’t closing for Miami anymore, but he’s found a pretty comfortable home in the seventh inning. Robertson is the only righthander in the Marlins’ top five relievers.

Updated hierarchy: Scott | Nardi | Robertson.

Tampa Bay Rays — Just when we thought the Rays had foresaken their eternal quest to spread out saves, Robert Stephenson earned his first of the season on Wednesday. We’ll keep an eye on it.

Updated hierarchy: Fairbanks | Poche | Stephenson.

Washington Nationals — Mason Thompson was optioned to Rochester on Wednesday, reopening the seventh inning for Jordan Weems.

Updated hierarchy: Finnegan | Harvey | Weems.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Garrett Whitlock (BOS) — The Red Sox play two against . . .
2. Tommy Kahnle (NYY) — . . . the Yankees.
3. Lucas Sims (CIN) — Alexis Diaz has pitched in two straight and three of four.
4. Justin Lawrence (COL) — Tyler Kinley has pitched in three of four.
5. Taylor Rogers (SF) — So have Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers.

Friday:
1. Colin Holderman (PIT) — David Bednar threw 30 pitches Wednesday and won’t go in three straight.

Ryan Helsley records first save since returning from injury

September 10, 2023

St. Louis Cardinals – Ryan Helsley pitched a scoreless inning for his first save since returning from the IL while Giovanny Gallegos got the 8th inning.  Helsey has four scoreless appearances since coming back and should be the best option for saves on any given night.

Hierarchy remains: *Helsley | Gallegos | King.
* = closer-by-committee

Texas Rangers — Aroldis Chapman worked around a pair of walks to pitch a scoreless inning and close out a 3-2 Rangers win.  Will Smith picked up the win with a scoreless 8th inning.  The Rangers have been struggling so there haven’t been a ton of save chances but Chapman has recorded the last two saves and should continue to lead this committee.

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

Detroit Tigers — Alex Lange went 1.1 perfect innings with a pair of strikeouts to pick up his 22nd save of the season.  Lange has cut his walks down and seems to be settling back into the role as he has recorded the last five saves for the Tigers.  We will get rid of the committee label and hope Lange can keep it going through the end of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Lange | Foley | Brieske.

Kansas City Royals – Austin Cox hurt his knee trying to cover 1st base and was placed on the 60-day IL.  The Royals bullpen is a mess and they haven’t had any save chances in September so it’s probably best to just avoid this situation.

Updated hierarchy: *Hernandez | Clarke | Cruz.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Mark Leiter Jr. (CHC) – Adbert Alzolay has pitched in two straight.
2. John King (STL) – Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos have both pitched in two straight.

Monday
1. Shintaro Fujinami (BAL) – Yennis Cano threw 32 pitches yesterday and will likely get Monday off if he pitches again today.
2. Trevor Stephan (CLE) – If Emmanuel Clase pitches on Sunday, it will be four of five.
3. Kevin Ginkel/Scott McGough (ARI) – If Paul Sewald pitches on Sunday, it will be two straight and three of four. Same for Kevin Ginkel.

Tyler Kinley takes over as Rockies closer

September 6, 2023

Colorado Rockies – We thought Justin Lawrence might get a second straight night off after a heavy workload this past weekend. We were right, though it seems like Lawrence is going to see some extended time off, at least from the ninth inning. The man to replace him? None other than Tyler Kinley, who tossed a 1-2-3 inning for his second save in his last three appearances. Jake Bird pitched a perfect eighth yesterday and Matt Koch retired all three batters he faced in the seventh.

Updated hierarchy: Kinley | Bird | Koch.

St. Louis Cardinals – Oliver Marmol clarified how he planned to utilize the back end of his bullpen now that JoJo Romero is on the IL, stating that Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos will split time based on availability. That centers mostly around Helsley, who will not be pitching on back-to-back days at the moment as he continues his return from the IL. In addition to Helsley and Gallegos, lefty John King may get save opportunities if the matchups are right, so we’ll add him to the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: *Helsley | Gallegos | King.
* = closer-by-committee

Baltimore Orioles – With Yennier Cano getting the night off, DL Hall got the ball with a one-run lead in the ninth after the Orioles rallied to take the lead in the top half of the frame. That advantage was short lived, however, as Hall promptly blew the save. In the 10th inning, the Orioles retook the lead and Shintaro Fujinami picked up his second save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Cano | Fujinami | Coulombe.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today

1. Chris Martin (BOS) – Kenley Jansen has gone in three straight. Martin has pitched in the last two games, but the Sox bullpen is gassed so Alex Cora might have no choice.
2. Tommy Kahnle (NYY) – Clay Holmes has gone in three of four.
3. Robert Stephenson (TB) – The same is true of Pete Fairbanks and Colin Poche.
4. Aaron Loup (LAA) – Carlos Estevez has pitched in two straight while Jose Soriano has gone in two of three.
5. Giovanny Gallegos (STL) – Ryan Helsley pitched on Tuesday and is not ready for back-to-back days of work.
6. Jake Bird (COL) – Tyler Kinley has gone in three of four.

Tomorrow
1. Andrew Nardi (MIA) – If Tanner Scott goes today, it’s back-to-back and three of four.
2. Matt Brash/Justin Topa (SEA) – If any hierarchy member, including Andres Muñoz, pitches today it’ll be two straight.

Ryan Helsley to lead closer committee after JoJo Romero’s mystery injury

September 5, 2023

St. Louis Cardinals – While there’s still been no official word — or any specific injury designation — from the team, MLB’s transactions page showed that the Cardinals have placed JoJo Romero on the IL, retroactive to Sept. 2. Look for Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos to share save opportunities in his absence.

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

Cincinnati Reds – With Alexis Diaz having gone two of three, the Reds opted to stay away from him on Monday, with Buck Farmer pitching the 8th and logging the first two outs of the 9th before he got into a bit of trouble. He was lifted for Ian Gibaut, who earned his second save of the year.

Hierarchy remains: Diaz | Sims | Gibaut.

Philadelphia Phillies – Craig Kimbrel was used as a fireman on Monday, facing the top of the order in the 8th inning, which left the 9th to Jose Alvarado. Alvarado converted for his 7th save.

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Alvarado | Dominguez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today

1. Matt Koch – Justin Lawrence threw 55 pitches over the weekend and might need a second day off.
2. Colin Holderman – David Bednar has pitched in three of four.
3. Jordan Hicks – Jordan Romano has gone back to back and three of four.
4. Seranthony Dominguez – Craig Kimbrel and Jose Alvarado have gone back to back.
5. Chris Martin – Same for Kenley Jansen…
6. Danny Coulombe – …and Yennier Cano.

Tomorrow
1. Kevin Ginkel – If Paul Sewald goes today, it’s back to back.
2. Jose Soriano – Same for Carlos Estevez.