Betances records save for Yankees

May 3, 2015

New York Yankees –Dellin Betances picked up his first save of the season yesterday.  The Yankees wanted to give Andrew Miller the day off on Saturday and that allowed Betances to look dominant in the closers’ role for one night, as he struck out all four batters that he faced on only 14 pitches.  Miller should still see the majority of save chances, but Betances proved that he can get the job done if the Yankees want to give Miller extra rest at any point during the season.

Hierarchy remains: Miller | Betances | Martin.

Los Angeles Dodgers — Chris Hatcher got the call in the 9th last night and converted for his second save of the season.  Although Hatcher got the save, it was Yimi Garcia who faced the middle of the order in the 8th inning.  Garcia appears to the most important pitcher coming out of the Dodgers’ bullpen, and that should mean some save chances, but could also mean he is needed before the 9th on occasion.

Updated hierarchy: *Garcia | Hatcher | Baez.
*closer-by-committee

Baltimore Orioles — Brad Brach came on with 2 men on base and 2 outs in the 8th inning to protect a four run lead.  He got Steven Souza to foul out and then came back to pitch a perfect 9th for his first career save.  Brach has gotten off to solid start to the season and it appears the Orioles are starting to trust him in higher leverage situations.

Updated hierarchy: Britton | O’Day | Brach.

Minnesota Twins – The Twins activated Brian Duensing from the DL on Saturday and immediately inserted him into a tight situation in the 8th inning.  He ended up walking the only batter he faced, but he had a hold and a save before going on the DL and should continue to see time in the later innings.

Updated hierarchy: Perkins | Thompson | Duensing.

San Diego Padres — Brandon Maurer pitched a perfect 7th and 8th ahead of closer Craig Kimbrel last night.  The Padres’ usual setup man, Joaquin Benoit, has been battling dead arm and was unavailable.  Benoit is hoping to avoid a stint on the DL but if he continues to miss time, Brandon Maurer and Dale Thayer should fill in for him.

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Benoit | Thayer.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jordan Walden, St. Louis Cardinals 
– Trevor Rosenthal has pitched in two straight and three of four.
2. Chris Hatcher, Los Angeles Dodgers – Chris Hatcher could get the call on any given night.
3. Aaron Thompson/Brian Duensing, Minnesota Twins – Glen Perkins has appeared in back-to-back games.

Still Andrew Miller time for the Yankees

April 18, 2015

New York Yankees — Joe Girardi might still call it a closer committee in the Bronx, but Andrew Miller is the one running all the meetings. Dellin Betances took care of business in the seventh and eighth last night before giving way to Miller, who earned his third save with three strikeouts.

Hierarchy remains: *Miller | Betances | Carpenter.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago Cubs — Neil Ramirez left Wednesday’s game with right shoulder discomfort, and Friday’s MRI revealed inflammation, but no structural damage. Later that day, Joe Maddon went to Brian Schlitter with two on and a two-run lead in the seventh, and Schlitter immediately gave up the go-ahead home run — right after a would-be strikeout pitch that wound up leading to Maddon’s ejection. We might have gone to Jason Motte instead, but Maddon (correctly) noted that Schlitter is great at inducing ground balls (not to mention scatological puns). Three-run homers tend to weigh on the mind, however, and we think Motte will have the edge when the next late/close opportunity arrives.

Updated hierarchy: Rondon | Strop | Motte.

Texas Rangers — Tanner Scheppers, recovered from his sprained ankle, immediately returned to high-leverage work for the Rangers, holding on through a rocky eighth inning in relief of Shawn Tolleson. One place Scheppers won’t be used anytime soon is the Double-A Texas League, which fined and suspended him after he was ejected from a rehab appearance for throwing behind a batter in defense of a teammate.

Updated hierarchy: Feliz | Scheppers | Tolleson.

New York Mets — The Mets sent Rafael Montero down to the minors to stretch him out for a planned spot start on April 28; if the outing goes well, Montero could challenge Dillon Gee for the fifth starter role. Manager Terry Collins used the move to advocate a new roster format that would allow teams to deactivate players, as in the NFL and NBA. Jerry Blevins, who got the eighth-inning hold in Friday’s game, is in line for more high-leverage work.

Updated hierarchy: Familia | C.Torres | Blevins.

Boston Red Sox — Junichi Tazawa, who has yet to give up a run this season, has gained the edge over Alexi Ogando in the Boston bullpen.

Updated hierarchy: Uehara | Mujica | Tazawa.

Minnesota Twins — Brian Duensing is headed to the disabled list for the first time in his career, with a strained intercostal muscle. Paul Molitor sees fellow lefty Aaron Thompson, who pitched two scoreless innings in a tie game on Friday, sliding into Duensing’s role.

Updated hierarchy: Perkins | Fien | Thompson.

San Diego Padres — It’s been Dale Thayer, not Shawn Kelley, getting high-leverage work ahead of Benoit and Kimbrel for the Padres.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Benoit | Thayer.

Toronto Blue Jays – Things continue to be unsettled in the Jays’ pen; last night, Roberto Osuna pitched the fifth and sixth and Brett Cecil gave up three runs on two homers in the eighth. Miguel Castro continues to look like the best Toronto reliever to own — he pitched a scoreless ninth in the losing effort.

Hierarchy remains: *Castro | Osuna | Cecil.
*closer-by-committee

St. Louis Cardinals — Kevin Siegrist got a save for pitching the final two innings of a 5-1 win on Friday. And if you read this, you must really love bullpens.

Hierarchy remains: Rosenthal | Walden | Belisle.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1.
Joba Chamberlain, Detroit Tigers — Joakim Soria got a late win on Friday and has now pitched on three of the last four days, and six of the last eight. Meanwhile, Detroit’s penchant for shutouts has left Joba with one appearance all year.
2. Carlos Torres/Jerry Blevins, New York Mets — Jeurys Familia (five outings in six days; 62 pitches) has to take a break sometime.
3. Casey Fien, Minnesota Twins — Glen Perkins has pitched in three straight and four of five.

Street, Perkins, Qualls all dealing with minor injuries

September 10, 2014

Houston Astros — Interim manager Tom Lawless chose Josh Fields to close out the Seattle Mariners; after the game, we learned that Chad Qualls was day-to-day with a minor injury.

Hierarchy remains: Qualls | Sipp | Fields.

Minnesota Twins — With Glen Perkins still battling tingling in his shoulder and neck, Jared Burton earned Tuesday night’s save. Perkins hopes to return to action on Wednesday.

Updated hierarchy: Perkins | Burton | Fien.

New York Mets — When Jenrry Mejia loaded the bases on two hits and a walk, Terry Collins used lefty Josh Edgin and set-up guy Jeurys Familia to nail down the win. With Vic Black returning from the disabled list and Familia outpitching Mejia down the stretch, the Mets closer remains firmly on the Hot Seat.

Updated hierarchy: Mejia | Familia | Black.

Milwaukee Brewers — Milwaukee is now 1-13 over its last 14 games, with the latest loss coming on the strength of two two-out home runs surrendered by closer Francisco Rodriguez. K-Rod’s 14 home runs allowed are the highest in the league for a reliever.

Hierarchy remains: Rodriguez | Broxton | Smith.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Tyler Clippard, Washington Nationals — Drew Storen has earned three saves in three days, retiring all nine men he’s faced. Although he appears to be cementing his position as interim closer, he’ll be unavailable on Wednesday.
2. Josh Fields/Tony Sipp, Houston Astros — Chad Qualls is day-to-day with a minor injury.
3. Dale Thayer, San Diego Padres — Joaquin Benoit is presumably still hurting, and Kevin Quackenbush struggled in a 28-pitch outing last night.
4. Joe Smith, Los Angeles Angels — Huston Street was unavailable with a tight hamstring on Tuesday; although Mike Scioscia expects him back on Wednesday, you never know.

Benoit to close after Street is traded to Angels, Putnam picks up save

July 19, 2014

San Diego Padres — Huston Street has been traded to the Angels and set-up man Joaquin Benoit will assume the 9th inning duties.  It sounds like the Padres will use a number of different guys in the set-up role, with Dale Thayer, Kevin Quakenbush and Nick Vincent, when he returns from injury, being mentioned.

Updated hierarchy: Benoit | Thayer | Quakenbush.

Chicago White Sox — Zach Putnam got the first save opportunity coming out of the All-Star break and converted for his third save of the season.  It’s hard to read too much into one game, especially with the way Robin Ventura has been using his relievers recently, but it looks like we are back to Putnam and Petricka sharing the closing duties for now.

Updated hierarchy: Petricka | Putnam | Guerra.

Los Angeles Angels — The Angels acquired former Padre closer Huston Street late Friday night, and he is expected to immediately bump Joe Smith back to a setup role.

Updated hierarchy: Street | Smith | Jepsen.

Miami Marlins — Kevin Gregg has been placed on the DL with right elbow inflammation.  The Marlins activated A.J. Ramos from the DL and he should split time with Bryan Morris in the 7th and 8th innings.

Updated hierarchy: Cishek | Morris | Ramos.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Zach Putnam, Chicago White Sox – The White Sox are still going with a committee so it could be Putnam or Petricka on any given night.
2. Grant Balfour/Brad Boxberger, Tampa Bay Rays – Jake McGee has been pitching great and getting most of the save opportunities, which means it’s a perfect time for Joe Maddon to try somebody else in his committee.

Rays committee continues to baffle; DL moves aplenty across majors

June 17, 2014

Tampa Bay Rays – Committees can be maddening for fantasy owners, and Joe Maddon hasn’t helped matters by the way he has gone about the late innings. Joel Peralta pitched the seventh before giving way to Grant Balfour, who struggled through one out of the eighth. Jake McGee, who appeared to be the leading candidate for saves, was called upon to bail him out and instead allowed an inherited runner to score, tying the game. The Rays regained the lead in the bottom half of the inning and it was Juan Carlos Oviedo who picked up his first save since he was Leo Nunez in 2011. After the game, Maddon insisted that there’s “no need” to settle on one closer, and that it’ll be the opponents’ batting order that dictates who enters the game. We still think McGee is at the head of the committee, but at this point it really could be anyone who gets the call at any particular moment.

Hierarchy remains: McGee | Peralta | Balfour.

San Francisco Giants — Santiago Casilla will rejoin the Giants beginning with their two-game series against the White Sox that opens tonight. Jean Machi, who sports a tremendous 0.29 ERA in 31 innings pitched this season, will cede the 8th-inning role to Casilla and become the go-to guy in the sixth and seventh innings.

Updated hierarchy: Romo | Casilla | Machi.

San Diego Padres — Nick Vincent was placed on the 15-day DL due to right shoulder fatigue. Dale Thayer will be the likely replacement for Vincent.

Updated hierarchy: Street | Benoit | Thayer.

Houston Astros – Josh Fields became the latest Astros arm to hit the disabled list with soreness in his throwing forearm. Kyle Farnsworth should see time in Fields’ stead. In addition, Houston signed former closer Jose Veras to a minor-league deal and he will be worth keeping an eye on as he continues rehabbing an oblique strain.

Updated hierarchy: Qualls | Sipp | Farnsworth.

Cleveland Indians — The usual suspects in the Indians’ bullpen were tuckered out – Cody Allen and Bryan Shaw had pitched in three straight games and John Axford was used in consecutive contests – which allowed an opportunity for Carlos Carrasco to pick up his first career save on Monday night. Carrasco certainly earned it, striking out four and allowing just one hit in 2.1 innings of work.

Hierarchy remains: Allen | Shaw | Axford.

Chicago Cubs – Hector Rondon returned on Monday night against the Marlins and needed 26 pitches to strike out the side in the bottom of the ninth inning, keeping the game tied. The Cubs took the lead in the top half of the 13th before James Russell breezed through the final three outs to record his first save of the season and just the third of his career.

Hierarchy remains: Rondon | Ramirez | Strop.

St. Louis Cardinals — Seth Maness got the Cardinals out of a minor jam in the eighth inning and stayed on to complete the ninth and collect his first save of the season in a 6-2 victory over the Mets.

Hierarchy remains: Rosenthal | Motte | Neshek.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Junichi Tazawa, Boston Red Sox – Koji Uehara has pitched in three straight while Andrew Miller has appeared in four consecutive contests.
2. Neil Ramirez, Chicago Cubs – Hector Rondon threw 26 pitches in his return last night and might get a breather.