Oh likely to get first crack at saves with Rosenthal injured

August 18, 2017

St. Louis Cardinals — If Thursday’s game is any indication, Seung Hwan Oh is the most likely guy to grab saves in St. Louis with closer Trevor Rosenthal on the shelf. Oh was warming in the bullpen with the Cards up 7-5, but entered the 9th with an 11-5 lead, so there was no save chance to be he had. With the increased cushion, Oh allowed two runs before shutting the door. Lefty Tyler Lyons pitched the eighth inning ahead of Oh, and should get any save chances when Oh needs a breather. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are holding their breath as they brace for news about Rosenthal’s elbow. An MRI is scheduled for Friday.

Hierarchy remains: *Oh | Lyons | Brebbia.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Yankees — Aroldis Chapman threw a bullpen session Thursday and did not appear to show discomfort with his leg. As for now, he is not on the disabled list, but consider him day-to-day until further notice. Dellin Betances made the most of the save opportunity Thursday, shutting the door in the ninth on 11 pitches for his eighth save.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Betances | Robertson.

Minnesota Twins – An old friend was back in the bullpen for the Twins on Thursday. Glen Perkins made his long-awaited return from a 2015 surgery to reattach the labrum in his left shoulder. The 34-year-old said it felt like his major league debut again. For now, he’s obviously rusty (0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB in Game 1 of a doubleheader Thursday), but congratulations are due for his big league return. It’ll remain to be seen how he factors into the late-inning plans for the Twins, who are still competing for one of the Wild Card spots in the American League. In the nightcap, Matt Belisle closed the door for his third save.

Hierarchy remains: *Belisle | Rogers | Hildenberger.
* = closer-by-committee

Washington Nationals — Ryan Madson was placed on the disabled list Thursday because of a sprained finger. Shawn Kelley was activated to take his spot on the roster. It’s a big blow for the Nationals to lose Madson, who hadn’t allowed a run in nine innings of work with his new team. Expect Matt Albers, Enny Romero and perhaps Kelley to see more late-inning chances.

Updated hierarchy: Doolittle | Kintzler | Albers.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Michael Lorenzen— Raisel Iglesias has thrown 53 pitches over two of the last three games.
2. Ryan Tepera — Roberto Osuna has gone in three of four, throwing 41 pitches.
3. Tyler Lyons — Seung Hwan Oh has pitched in two straight and could need some rest. He threw 28 pitches Thursday.
4. David Robertson — Dellin Betances has pitched in four of the last five days, while Aroldis Chapman may still need rest.

Saturday:
1. Brandon Kintzler — Sean Doolittle has pitched three of the last five days. Friday would make four of six.
2. Jose Leclerc — Alex Claudio hasn’t been that busy lately, but over his last three outings since Aug. 11, he has pitch counts of 35, 21 and 28 (Thursday). If he throws a lot in an appearance Friday, that’d be two straight stressful outings for him.

Matt Belisle with another scoreless ninth; watch for the return of Glen Perkins

August 10, 2017

Minnesota Twins — Yeah, Matt Belisle struck out the side for his third scoreless ninth in four days, and his sixteenth straight appearance without an earned run. Sure looks like the closer to us. Glen Perkins should be back next week, but probably won’t challenge for the job right away.

Updated hierarchy: Belisle | Rogers | Hildenberger.

Colorado Rockies — Even though Wednesday’s game went 12 innings, Bud Black managed to rest Greg Holland and Pat Neshek. Jake McGee pitched in the eighth and ninth, and Tyler Chatwood made his first appearance since being moved to the bullpen, picking up his first save in five years. Chatwood is the only pitcher this season with both a save and a shutout, and he’s the first guy to do it since — *drum roll* — Matt Andriese in 2016. That answer is kind of a letdown, I’ll be honest with you.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Neshek | McGee.

Chicago Cubs — The Cubs are being careful with the 42-year-old Koji Uehara, putting him on the disabled list to recover from his neck strain. Meanwhile, CJ Edwards has been struggling (23.62 ERA in August), and Joe Maddon is talking about using him in a lower-leverage setting to get him back on track. Pedro Strop and Brian Duensing should benefit.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Wilson | Strop.

Philadelphia Phillies — Not only did Hoby Milner earn his second straight eighth-inning hold on Wednesday, but Pete Mackanin specifically mentioned that Milner would get more late-inning opportunities over the last seven weeks of the season. Luis Garcia hasn’t appeared in a game since picking up his second straight loss on August 4, but given the great season that preceded this week, we’ll wait for confirmation before moving him around.

Updated hierarchy: Neris | Garcia | Milner. 

St. Louis Cardinals — Brett Cecil has been used mostly in long relief lately, but Zach Duke is keeping the seventh inning in the two first names family. On the field at Busch, a stray cat inspired Yadier Molina to hit a grand slam off Peter Moylan — the first homer attributable to an animal since Mr. Ed took Sandy Koufax deep in 1963.

Updated hierarchy: Rosenthal | Oh | Duke.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Luis Garcia — We may find out if Garcia is available, because Hector Neris won’t be (four of five).
2. Nick Vincent — Edwin Diaz has gone in three of four (56 pitches).
3. Taylor Rogers/Trevor Hildenberger — Belisle has also appeared in three of four.

Friday:
None, but try any of the guys listed above if their closer pitches again today.

Shawn Kelley to close until Jonathan Papelbon’s return

June 17, 2016

Washington Nationals — When Felipe Rivero ran into trouble in the ninth inning Thursday night, manager Dusty Baker turned again to Shawn Kelley, who retired the two batters he faced to close it out for his second save. After the game, Baker named Kelley the closer until Jonathan Papelbon returns from the DL, though Kelley’s workload will be watched. With the closer-by-committee tag gone, be sure to snag him if he’s still available in your league.

Hierarchy remains: Kelley | Rivero | Treinen.

Minnesota Twins — Regular closer Glen Perkins is officially out for the rest of the season with a torn labrum. The original thought was rest and rehab would allow Perkins to heal properly and give him a chance to play again this season, but that’s now not the case.

Hierarchy remains: *Kintzler | Abad | Pressly.
* = closer-by-committee

Baltimore Orioles — Darren O’Day’s recovery from a strained hamstring is going slower than expected. He can come off of the DL this weekend, but he still hasn’t thrown off a mound. There’s no timetable for his return.

Hierarchy remains: Britton |  Brach | Givens.

Houston Astros — Luke Gregerson could be back from the family-emergency list as soon as Friday (but maybe as late as early next week). He was placed on the list earlier this week to deal with an issue with his father. No other information was released.

Hierarchy remains: Harris | Giles | Gregerson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joaquin Benoit, Seattle Mariners — Steve Cishek has pitched in three straight games, while Benoit enjoyed a night off yesterday.
2. Felipe Rivero/Blake Treinen, Washington Nationals — Shawn Kelley has pitched in two straight days and three of the last four, going at 1.2 innings in two of those games.

Joe Smith hits the DL

June 8, 2016

Los Angeles Angels — Joe Smith was placed on the 15-day DL Tuesday thanks to a hamstring injury, which he tried to pitch through for three weeks. Smith hopes to be back in 12 days. Fernando Salas will slide up to Smith’s spot in the meantime, with but after that there’s no clear-cut contender for the seventh inning. Greg Mahle and Jose Alvarez are two lefties that have battled for that role, while Mike Morin, called up on Tuesday, pitched well earlier this season and was mentioned by manager Mike Scioscia as someone who will also be in the mix for the eighth. Despite mop-up duty on Tuesday, Morin gets our nod based on Scioscia’s postgame comments.

Updated hierarchy: Street | Salas | Morin.

Pittsburgh Pirates — After a horrible weekend for Tony Watson, which included a blown save, a loss and six earned runs allowed, it looks like Neftali Feliz is the trusted arm in the eighth inning for Clint Hurdle. Feliz pitched the eighth in both games of Tuesday’s doubleheader and his only blemish was a solo home run in the afternoon affair.

Updated hierarchy: Melancon | Feliz | Watson.

Minnesota Twins – Trevor May was one of just two Twins relievers to not appear in an 11-inning win on Tuesday thanks to a lower back/hip issue, though his 5.13 ERA wasn’t exactly missed. Brandon Kintzler pitched the ninth after the Twins tied the game in the eighth while Kevin Jepsen allowed a hit in the 11th and has not recorded a 1-2-3 inning since April 17. In Glen Perkins news, the injured closer claims there’s “light at the end of the tunnel” and manager Paul Molitor said that Perkins will soon get a rehab assignment.

Updated hierarchy: Jepsen | Abad | Kintzler.

New York Yankees – As the Vulture Save Watch predicted, Aroldis Chapman got a night off and Andrew Miller picked up his seventh save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Miller | Betances. 

Atlanta Braves — Jim Johnson got his first high-leverage work since returning from the DL and retired the side on 10 pitches to protect a 3-2 lead in the eighth inning. His ERA is still over 7.00, but at least he can say he had a better night than Arodys Vizcaino, who suffered his second blown save.

Hierarchy remains: Vizcaino | Johnson | Cervenka.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jake Diekman/Matt Bush, Texas Rangers – Sam Dyson has appeared in three straight games, including a 30-pitch outing yesterday. Diekman threw 21 pitches on Tuesday and could also get a night off.
2. Hector Neris, Philadelphia Phillies – Jeanmar Gomez recorded a six-out save on Tuesday, throwing 25 pitches.
3. Tony Watson, Pittsburgh Pirates – Both Mark Melancon (27 pitches) and Neftali Feliz (37 pitches) appeared in each game of yesterday’s doubleheader, while Watson only pitched once.
4. Cory Gearrin, San Francisco Giants – Santiago Casilla threw 25 pitches in 1.1 innings of work on Tuesday, and while he hadn’t worked since June 1, he still may get a night off.

Will Harris to lead committee in Houston; Kevin Jepsen still struggling

June 6, 2016

Minnesota Twins – After entering with the game tied and giving up two runs to take the loss, Kevin Jepsen saw his ERA climb to 6.26. He’s now given up runs in 12 of his 24 appearances this season. He’d probably be out of a job right now if Glen Perkins’s return wasn’t in sight — and he might be anyway. We’ll continue to monitor.

Hierarchy remains: Jepsen | Abad | May.

New York Yankees – Trade rumors have begun swirling around the 26-30 Yankees, and if they decide to rebuild, it’s likely that one or more of their trio of late inning arms would be on the block. Aroldis Chapman will be a free agent after this year, while Andrew Miller’s name is also being thrown around. If Miller is available in your league, he’s worth an add, as he’d likely close almost anywhere that he’s dealt.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Miller | Betances. 

Houston Astros – Will Harris recorded the save on Sunday instead of Luke Gregerson, and after the game, A.J. Hinch confirmed that Gregerson will be removed from the closer’s role and other guys will get a look. We will put Harris at the top of hierarchy based on his save today and his twenty five appearance scoreless streak.  Ken Giles picked up a save last week when Gregerson was unavailable so he should see chances as well, and Michael Feliz has impressed recently and could also be an option. Gregerson is also supposedly going to get another chance, so hold on to him if you’ve got the roster space.

Updated hierarchy: *Harris | Giles | Feliz.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Xavier Cedeno, Tampa Bay Rays – Alex Colome has pitched in three straight.
2. Andrew Miller, New York Yankees – Aroldis Chapman has pitched in back to back games and three of four.
3. Ken Giles/Luke Gregerson, Houston Astros – The Astros are in committee mode, and while Will Harris got the save yesterday, he’s pitched two in a row.