Aroldis Chapman finally gets a save

July 21, 2021

New York Yankees — It had been a month since Aroldis Chapman had earned a save, but despite allowing a solo homer to Andrew McCutchen, the struggling reliever stuck out Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins and Didi Gregorius to convert his first save opportunity since that disastrous outing against the Mets on July 4. Not only did Chapman get the save, but his velocity was great, particularly in the final two at-bats of the night. In other news, Jonathan Loaisiga is back with the team and could return this weekend while Darren O’Day will have season-ending surgery.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Green | Britton.

Detroit Tigers — The Tigers have opened the second half of the season on a five-game win streak, with Gregory Soto earning a pair of saves in that stretch, including his ninth of the year on Tuesday. Soto has the team’s last three saves and if he locks down the next one he should lose the asterisk.

Hierarchy remains: *Soto | Cisnero | Funkhouser.
* = closer-by-committee

Cincinnati Reds – The Reds continued to deploy their relievers in the toughest spots on Tuesday, as Brad Brach entered the seventh with two runners on and pitched out of the jam. That set the stage for Heath Hembree to get the eighth with the Mets’ 4-5-6 hitters due up. Hembree gave up a run but kept the Reds in front to allow Amir Garrett to come on and work around a leadoff walk to pick up his seventh save of the season. Hembree had consistently been getting the ninth inning prior to Tuesday and should still be the favorite for save chances, but we’ll keep an eye on this to see if the asterisk needs to return.

Hierarchy remains: Hembree | Brach | Garrett.

Kansas City Royals — After Scott Barlow maintained a 5-2 lead against the Brewers’ 3-4-5-6 hitters in the eighth inning, Greg Holland shut the door in the ninth to pick up the Royals’ first save since July 4. Barlow remains the most likely Royals reliever to collect a save, but as we saw on Tuesday, he may pitch earlier depending on matchups.

Hierarchy remains: *Barlow | Holland | Staumont.
* = closer-by-committee

San Francisco Giants – With two lefties due up in the eighth, the Giants went to Jake McGee in that spot to protect a one-run lead, leaving the ninth for Tyler Rogers. The reliable righty was unusually awful, however, as he wasn’t close to the strike zone in a pair of walks before he allowed the game-winning home run. The good news for any Rogers owners is that Gabe Kapler won’t hesitate to get Rogers back on the mound.

Hierarchy remains: *McGee | Rogers | Leone.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Brad Brach/Sean Doolittle (CIN) – All three members of the Reds hierarchy have gone in two straight and three of four, but Brach has thrown significantly fewer pitches than Heath Hembree and Amir Garrett.
2. Tyler Rogers (SF) – Gabe Kapler said he wants to get Rogers back out on the mound, and that may be for a save chance tonight since Jake McGee has gone in two straight.
3. Giovanny Gallegos/Andrew Miller (STL) – Alex Reyes has gone in three of four, including a 30-pitch blown save (snapping his 24-save streak to start his career) last night. Giovanny Gallegos, Genesis Cabrera and Ryan Helsley have also gone in three of four, but Gallegos only tossed nine pitches last night. If you’re desperate you can take a shot on a guy like Andrew Miller.
4. Pete Fairbanks (TB) – Diego Castillo has gone in two straight.

Tomorrow
1. Chad Green/Zack Britton (NYY) – If Aroldis Chapman pitches today that’s two straight and three of four, which would also be true of Green and Britton.
2. Tyler Rogers (SF) – As mentioned above, Jake McGee has pitched in two straight heading into Wednesday.

Darren O’Day is placed on the IL

May 2, 2021

Toronto Blue Jays — Jordan Romano pitched a scoreless 10th inning to pick up the win yesterday.  Romano has strung together three straight scoreless appearances after struggling in his first appearance off the IL.  However, it was Rafael Dolis who pitched a scoreless top of the 9th inning of a tie game, which is usually where a team will use its closer.  We will hold off on making a switch at this point, but if Dolis gets the next save. he could move to the top of this committee.  One switch we will make is to move Tyler Chatwood onto the hierarchy.  Chatwood pitched a scoreless 8th inning with a pair of strikeouts yesterday and has yet to allow an earned run this season.

Updated hierarchy: *Romano | Dolis | Chatwood.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Yankees — Darren O’Day has been placed on the IL with a rotator cuff strain.  Jonathan Loaisiga pitched another scoreless inning yesterday, his sixth straight appearance without allowing an earned run.  Loaisiga should see more time in the later innings while O’Day is out.

Updated hierarchy: Chapman | Green | Loaisiga.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Devin Williams/Brent Suter (MIL) – Josh Hader has pitched in three straight. Devin Williams has also pitched in two of three.
2. Jose Alvarado (PHI) – Hector Neris has pitched in three of four.
3. Rafael Dolis (TOR) – Jordan Romano has pitched in two straight and three of four.

Monday
1. Andrew Chafin/Rex Brothers (CHC) – If Craig Kimbrell pitches today, it will be two straight and three of four. Same for Andrew Chafin.
2. Joely Rodriguez/John King (TEX) – If Ian Kennedy pitches today, it will be two straight and three of four. Same for Joely Rodriguez.

Daniel Bard to close in Colorado; Hunter Harvey is hurt

March 14, 2021

Colorado Rockies – Bud Black said that Daniel Bard will start the season as the Rockies’ closer. Scott Oberg made his spring debut on Friday, and the plan is to have him pitch in eight different outings and see how he feels after each one. That will determine whether he begins the season on the active roster. We’ll keep him in the hierarchy for now and see how he progresses through the rest of March.

Updated hierarchy: Bard | Givens | Oberg.

Baltimore Orioles — Hunter Harvey is expected to miss several weeks with a left oblique injury. With Harvey sidelined, this opens the door for guys like Cesar Valdez and Tanner Scott to take over the ninth inning. 

Updated hierarchy: *Valdez | Scott | Armstrong.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Yankees — Zack Britton is scheduled to have surgery to remove a bone chip from his pitching elbow, which means he is likely to be out until at least May. Aaron Boone plans to mix and match in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings with guys like Chad Green, Justin Wilson and Darren O’Day.

Updated hierarchy: Chapman | Green | Wilson.

Texas Rangers — Jonathan Hernandez will be shut down from pitching for at least four weeks with a UCL sprain. Joely Rodriguez is still behind in spring training because of a sprained ankle, and fellow lefty Brett Martin is dealing with a sore back. The Rangers need to protect Jose Leclerc at all costs right now.

Updated hierarchy: Leclerc | Rodriguez | Sborz.

2020 NL East Preview

February 26, 2020

Atlanta Braves — The Braves picked up a trio of veteran relievers late in 2019, and those three righties — Mark Melancon, Shane Greene, and Chris Martin — will make up the core of their bullpen in 2020, along with offseason signing Will Smith. There’s pretty good depth here, too, with Darren O’Day and Luke Jackson likely to make the team; the latter closed for a spell last season. And they’ve still got two promising youngsters who have both logged some impressive major league innings (albeit not in 2019) in AJ Minter and Chad Sobotka. Right now it seems that Brian Snitker is leaning toward Melancon to start out in the closer role rather than Smith, who was one of the best relievers in baseball last year. But Snitker has suggested that things could be fluid and matchup-based, so both are likely worth drafting. 

Starting 2020 Hierarchy: Melancon | Smith | Greene.
Holds candidates: Smith, Greene, Martin.

Miami Marlins — The Marlins picked up Brandon Kintzler shortly before the start of spring training, and Don Mattingly quickly anointed him the likely closer, which is understandable given the other options the Marlins have on the roster. Ryne Stanek, who they acquired midseason last year, converted just 1 of his 5 save chances; Drew Steckenrider was injured for most of the season and pitching to a 6+ ERA when he was healthy; and Adam Conley was similarly ineffective. Look for Kintzler and another offseason acquisition, Yimi Garcia, to be the high-leverage guys here, with some mix of the other three also factoring in. 

Starting 2020 Hierarchy: Kintzler | Garcia | Stanek.
Holds candidates: Garcia, Stanek, Steckenrider.

New York Mets — The Mets’ worst three bullpen ERAs in history have come in 2019, 2018, and 2017, but there’s again reason for cautious optimism in Flushing, as various projection systems are projecting bounce-back campaigns from Edwin Diaz and Jeurys Familia, along with a healthy (or healthier) contribution from Dellin Betances. Seth Lugo was one of the NL’s top relievers last year, and he figures to factor in to the late-inning mix as well, with veterans Justin Wilson and Brad Brach bridging the gap to the late innings. The Mets will give Diaz a chance to close to start the year, but it’s likely he’ll be on a short leash due to his 2020 struggles, so Betances and/or Lugo might be worth stashing if you’ve got the roster space.

Starting 2020 Hierarchy: Diaz | Betances | Lugo.
Holds candidates: Betances, Lugo, Familia.

Philadelphia Phillies — Gabe Kapler is gone, replaced by Joe Girardi, so the Phillies bullpen might make a little more sense this season than in years past. The situation remains fluid at the moment, but our best guess is Hector Neris gets the first chance to close, with Seranthony Dominguez setting up. Adam Morgan, Jose Alvarez, and Tommy Hunter will be contributors, and we figure at least one of the handful of veterans (Blake Parker, Francisco Liriano, Anthony Swarzak) who have gotten spring training invites will make a difference at some point. Monitor this bullpen in spring training to make sure Neris is on track.

Starting 2020 Hierarchy: Neris | Dominguez| Morgan.
Holds candidates: Dominguez, Morgan, Alvarez.

Washington Nationals – The Nationals bullpen was largely terrible in 2019, but they patched their way through the playoffs and won a World Series. That success led them to probably be less aggressive than they could have been in free agency, as the only acquisition they made was former Astro Will Harris; instead, they’re hoping that Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson can tag-team the late innings the way they did in the playoffs last year. Tanner Rainey and Wander Suero are likely to make the roster, as will Hunter Strickland and Roenis Elias, but we’d only consider drafting the top three guys here, even in deep leagues.

Starting 2020 Hierarchy: Doolittle | Hudson | Harris.
Holds candidates: Hudson, Harris, Rainey.

Will Smith picks up a save for the Giants

June 30, 2018

San Francisco Giants – Bruce Bochy announced before Friday’s game that Sam Dyson would be unavailable for a save chance after pitching in four of the last seven games. Mark Melancon had also pitched in four of seven, so with a one-run lead and Tony Watson having already pitched, the save chance fell to Will Smith. Smith pitched a perfect 9th with two strikeouts to earn his first save of the year. Dyson has had a rough June, with a 5.11 ERA and two blown saves. Because Bochy announced before the game that Dyson would get the night off, we aren’t ready to remove him from the closer’s role, but he is on a burning hot seat with Watson, Melancon and now Smith pitching well behind him.

Hierarchy remains: Dyson | Melancon | Watson.

Toronto Blue Jays – The Blue Jays used Seung Hwan Oh in the 8th inning of a one-run game before they turned to Tyler Clippard instead of Ryan Tepera to close out the game in the 9th. Clippard converted for his fifth save of the year. Tepera started out with six straight save conversions, but has since blown two in a row. John Gibbons said after the game that Tepera was unavailable, but this has all the looks of a committee, with Tepera, Oh and Clippard all getting saves in the past week. Whoever closes for Toronto in July, it seems that it is only a temporary role, as Toronto GM Ross Atkins announced that Roberto Osuna is the team’s closer when he returns from his suspension on August 5. Osuna is serving a 75-game suspension for a violation of MLB’s domestic violence policy, and has a court date on July 9th. Now may be the time to stash Osuna in case he was dropped when the suspension was announced.

Hierarchy remains: *Tepera | Oh | Clippard.
* = closer-by-committee

Tampa Bay Rays – Sergio Romo started the 9th inning, but after two quick outs he gave up a single and got pulled for Jose Alvarado. Alvarado got a groundout to end the game and secure his second save of the year. Tampa Bay may still use Romo as a starter, but if he isn’t opening games he will certainly continue to see save opportunities when available.

Hierarchy remains: *Romo | Alvarado | Roe.
* = closer-by-committee

Atlanta Braves – The Braves had a five-run lead going into the 9th inning, but when Luke Jackson loaded the bases with only one out, they brought in Dan Winkler. An inherited runner scored, but Winkler got out of the inning to record his first save of the year. The Braves are clearly in committee mode and used AJ Minter in the 8th inning. Both Minter and Winkler are pitching well, so any save opportunity will come down to matchups, at least until Arodys Vizcaino returns.

Hierarchy remains: *Minter | Winkler | Carle.
* = closer-by-committee

Los Angeles Dodgers — Setup man Josh Fields was placed on the 10-day DL with shoulder inflammation. Manager Dave Roberts has indicated he will use a variety of pitchers to replace Fields in the 8th. Fields’ absence isn’t likely to be very long, but while he is out we think Scott Alexander is likely to see a bump in responsibilities. Alexander has five holds in his last eight appearances, but as a lefty his situational use may cut down on clear save opportunities.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Goeddel | Alexander.

Baltimore Orioles – Darren O’Day has hit the 60-day DL, and may be out for the rest of the season with a hamstring injury. As we noted, this makes Brad Brach the clear frontrunner for saves when Zach Britton is inevitably traded.

Hierarchy remains: Britton | Brach | Givens.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Lou Trivino – Blake Treinen has pitched in back to back games and four of the last five.
2. Adam Ottavino – Wade Davis has gone on back-to-back days, and the only time he has pitched three n a row this year (June 5/6/7), he blew the save chance on that third day.

Tomorrow
1. Joe Kelly/Matt Barnes – Craig Kimbrel got a much needed rest last night, but if he pitches today it will be three of four with over 40 pitches in that span.
2. Steve Cishek – Brandon Morrow has pitched back-to-back games (while only throwing seven pitches), so today would be three in a row for him.
3. Kyle Crick – Today would be back-to-back and three of four for Felipe Vazquez.