Santiago Casilla burns Bruce Bochy for the last time

September 10, 2016

San Francisco Giants — Turns out Bruce Bochy wasn’t kidding when he said that the Giants’ new closer committee could include the struggling Santiago Casilla — it was Casilla himself who got the very first save chance, in the tenth inning of Friday’s game. Casilla blew the save when Jake Lamb hit his third home run in three at-bats against the righty this season, and Bochy admitted Casilla probably won’t get the next opportunity: “I’ve touched that hot stove enough.” The Giants took the lead in the twelfth, and Cory Gearrin wound up with a unique save that saw him retire a batter, move to left field, then return to the mound. San Francisco has no shortage of save options: Derek Law probably has the inside track when he returns from the DL early next week, but other qualified candidates include lefties Will Smith and Javier Lopez, ex-closers Sergio Romo and Joe Nathan, and eternal closer-in-waiting Hunter Strickland. Or Bochy could grab that stove again.

Updated hierarchy: *Romo | Nathan | Strickland.
*  = closer-by-committee

Miami Marlins — Fernando Rodney has struggled recently as head of the Miami committee, giving up six runs over four September appearances. On Friday, he gave up a leadoff homer and two singles before being pulled with no outs — but A.J. Ramos came in and set down three straight to record the save. We think Ramos is back ahead in the Miami ‘pen.

Updated hierarchy: *Ramos | Rodney | Barraclough.
*  = closer-by-committee

Texas Rangers — Matt Bush picked up a win last night after recording the last out of the seventh and staying on for the eighth. Bush has been getting eighth innings ahead of Sam Dyson lately, while Jake Diekman has struggled mightily in three September appearances (45.00 ERA, 7.00 WHIP). Keone Kela has looked good lately and could pass Diekman soon.

Updated hierarchy: Dyson | Bush | Diekman.

Chicago Cubs — Hector Rondon looked solid in a high-leverage eighth-inning hold Friday night, and should see vulture save chances over young C.J. Edwards going forward.

Updated hierarchy: Chapman | Rondon | Edwards.

Minnesota Twins — Trevor May returned from the DL on Friday, but because he didn’t get the benefit of any minor league rehab appearances, he isn’t expected to get any high-leverage use right away.

Hierarchy remains: Kintzler | Pressly | Rogers.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Andrew Miller, Cleveland Indians — Cody Allen has pitched in three straight and Miller got last night off.
2. Felipe Rivero, Pittsburgh Pirates — Tony Watson has pitched in four of five, and Neftali Feliz is still out.
3. Steve Cishek/Nick Vincent, Seattle Mariners — Edwin Diaz has gone in three straight, and Cishek has pitched in three of four himself.
4. Fernando Salas, New York Mets — The Mets may well keep riding their workhorse Jeurys Familia, but both he and Addison Reed have pitched in three of four and five of seven.

Jason Grilli gives Roberto Osuna some much-needed rest

June 13, 2016

Toronto Blue Jays – A stretch of 10 appearances in a 17-day span prompted John Gibbons to give Roberto Osuna a second consecutive day off on Sunday, and Jason Grilli got the save in his place. Osuna’s job is perfectly safe, and Grilli has quickly established himself as the youngster’s handcuff.

Hierarchy remains: Osuna | Grilli | Floyd. 

Colorado Rockies – A day after being named closer, Carlos Estevez needed a night off due to recent workload. In his stead, the Rockies played matchups in the 9th, with Jason Motte starting off the inning and then Boone Logan picking up the last out for his first save of the year. You can expect to see something similar on nights when Estevez isn’t available in the future.

Hierarchy remains: Estevez | Motte | Logan.

San Francisco Giants – Santiago Casilla retired both hitters he faced last night for his 13th save. He had some help at the start of the inning, as lefty Javier Lopez was used to get Adrian Gonzalez (who tried to bunt his way on!), but it was still an encouraging outing for the righty, who has been shaky of late.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Gearrin | Strickland.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Cory Gearrin, San Francisco Giants – Santiago Casilla has pitched in three straight.
2. Will Smith/Tyler Thornburg, Milwaukee Brewers – Jeremy Jeffress has pitched in three straight, while Will Smith has gone in four of the last five.

Fernando Abad and Brandon Kintzler will share Twins’ closer role

June 9, 2016

Minnesota Twins — As we told you last night, Brandon Kintzler and Fernando Abad will be “mix and match” closers for the woeful Twins going forward. Lefties are batting .111 against Abad, while Kintzler is equally effective against lefties and righties. With Glen Perkins still at least two weeks away from returning, owners can expect as many as one or even two saves from the new guys.

Updated hierarchy: *Kintzler | Abad | May.
* = closer-by-committee

Houston Astros — Will Harris converted his second straight save opportunity since Luke Gregerson’s demotion. Harris hasn’t allowed a run since April 7, his first appearance of the season; that’s a 26-game streak. If he gets the next chance too, this probably isn’t a committee anymore.

Hierarchy remains: *Harris | Giles | Gregerson.
* = closer-by-committee

San Francisco Giants — When David Ortiz came on to pinch-hit with a runner on second, closer Santiago Casilla was pulled for LOOGY Javier Lopez — who had surprisingly mediocre numbers against lefties (.333 BAA, 5.14 ERA). Lopez walked Ortiz, then struck out Travis Shaw, and Bruce Bochy called on Hunter Strickland for what turned out to be a one-pitch save. Casilla did not appear pleased with the move (again), and the whole affair is likely to encourage those rooting for Strickland to get the ninth full-time.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Gearrin | Strickland.

Chicago White Sox — Chicago has lost 12 of their last 14, and David Robertson has suffered from a lack of regular use. In his first action since last Wednesday, he came in with the Sox down seven in the eighth, and immediately boosted the lead into double digits. If the team keeps struggling, there could be another summer of Robertson trade rumors ahead.

Hierarchy remains: Robertson | Jones | Duke.

Baltimore Orioles — Up four in the eighth, the Orioles called on Brad Brach with two on and one out. After Brach escaped, he went back out and finished the ninth to earn a unique save.

Hierarchy remains: Britton |  Brach | Givens.

New York Mets — A timely double play helped Jeurys Familia overcome three walks to extend his franchise-record regular season save streak to 35.

Hierarchy remains: Familia | Reed | Henderson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Fernando Abad, Minnesota Twins — Paul Molitor says that he’ll choose his closer based in part on matchups.
2. Ken Giles, Houston Astros — If Will Harris doesn’t keep the job all for himself, Ken Giles should get the next chance.

Santiago Casilla is a man on the mound; here comes Big Will again

May 13, 2016

San Francisco Giants — For the second straight night, Santiago Casilla ran into trouble. He faced five batters, and while he did strike out two, he allowed the others to reach base via a walk and two hits. Bruce Bochy then summoned lefty specialist Javier Lopez to face Jake Lamb, enraging Casilla. “It shows the manager didn’t have faith in me,” Casilla told reporters after the game. “Don’t just take the ball and say nothing. It is not a kid. It is a man on the mound.” Bochy’s decision was likely based on Lamb’s complete inability to hit against lefties, not to mention his two career home runs in six at-bats against Casilla. Bochy vowed to talk to Casilla, and it’s unlikely that their spat will impact the closer role going forward.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Osich | Gearrin.

St. Louis Cardinals — With the Cardinals up five in the ninth on Thursday, the Angels didn’t give up, getting three runs off Seth Maness to make things interesting. In came Trevor Rosenthal, who walked the bases loaded (14 pitches; only 2 strikes!) before getting pulled for Kevin Siegrist, who finished the game for his first save. Over his last three appearances, Rosenthal has walked as many men as he’s retired. It’s unusual to see a closer with an identical ERA and WHIP (1.64); if Rosenthal’s control issues linger, manager Mike Matheny may have to start mixing in Siegrist more often.

Hierarchy remains: Rosenthal | Siegrist | Oh.

San Diego Padres — The Vulture Save Watch correctly projected a night off for Fernando Rodney, but it was Ryan Buchter — not Brandon Maurer — who earned his first career save Thursday (seemingly surprising Padres beat writers in the process). Buchter has been lights-out this season (0.54 ERA, 23 Ks in 16.2 IP, 0.96 WHIP), and should be considered the favorite to get a save when Rodney is unavailable.

Updated hierarchy: Rodney | Buchter | Maurer.

Milwaukee Brewers — Will Smith’s absence from this year’s Independence Day reboot is starting to make more sense now that we know he’s been cleared to throw off a mound for the first time since tearing his LCL in March. Before the injury, Smith projected as Milwaukee’s closer. Watch your back, y’all.

Hierarchy remains: Jeffress | Thornburg | Blazek.

Los Angeles Angels — Injured closer Huston Street is getting closer to returning; he played catch for the third straight day on Thursday and hopes to have a bullpen session next week.

Hierarchy remains: Smith | Salas | Alvarez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Kevin Siegrist, St. Louis Cardinals — Trevor Rosenthal is battling control issues and has pitched in two straight games, throwing 36 pitches. Siegrist has also pitched in two straight, but he hasn’t had to work as hard (just 23 pitches).
2. Josh Osich, San Francisco Giants — Santiago Casilla has pitched in two straight, struggling a bit in both games. He threw 38 pitches and may need the night off. Osich and Cory Gearrin have also pitched in two straight, but they’ve worked lower-leverage situations, and Osich has thrown only 10 pitches.

Sean Doolittle is almost back to save Oakland’s bullpen

August 15, 2015

Oakland A’s — Edward Mujica pitched the seventh and eighth innings with Oakland down two runs, and after the A’s tied the score, Fernando Rodriguez pitched the ninth. As the game stretched on, Drew Pomeranz worked the eleventh and twelfth, then suffered an apparent elbow injury in the thirteenth. The good news is that Sean Doolittle pitched a perfect eighth for Nashville on a rehab assignment; until he gets back, we’ll move the streaking Fernando Abad into the hierarchy, assuming that Pomeranz takes some time off. The A’s are one intradivisional trade away from the world’s first all-Fernando hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: *Mujica | Rodriguez | Abad.

Detroit Tigers — Bruce Rondon has moved ahead of Alex Wilson in the Detroit closer committee, and should see the most save opportunities going forward, as the team tries to figure out if he can be the long-term solution. Manager Brad Ausmus added that lefthander Blaine Hardy will also see use in the eighth and ninth innings, based on matchups.

Updated hierarchy: *Rondon | Wilson | Hardy.
* = closer-by-committee

Milwaukee Brewers — In between plans to launch a Fresh Prince reboot, Will Smith has kept pulling up to the mound in the seventh and eighth, nudging aside Jeremy Jeffress, who has made only one appearance since August 5.

Updated hierarchy: Rodriguez | Smith | Jeffress.

Atlanta Braves — Arodys Vizcaino is cementing his role as the Braves closer, and David Aardsma seems to be his chief lieutenant, although the relief roles officially remain fluid. Aardsma got the seventh and eighth in front of Vizcaino on Friday night.

Updated hierarchy: Vizcaino | Aardsma | McKirahan.

Minnesota Twins – A trip to the disabled list for Phil Hughes has forced Paul Molitor to move Trevor May back into the Minnesota rotation, perhaps permanently. May had been successful as a reliever, and with Blaine Boyer also hitting the DL (elbow inflammation), the Twins will now be forced to rely heavily on Casey Fien and Kevin Jepsen to set up Glen Perkins.

Updated hierarchy: Perkins | Jepsen | Fien.

Los Angeles Dodgers — After two months, the Dodgers activated Chris Hatcher from the disabled list, only to see Juan Nicasio take his place with an abdominal strain. Yimi Garcia, recently recalled from Triple-A, should return to a higher-leverage role.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Baez | Garcia.

San Francisco Giants — Frisbee champion Javier Lopez got the last out of a three-run win by retiring Bryce Harper. He didn’t get a save, but we needed an excuse to link to that GIF.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Romo | Strickland.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Wade Davis, Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland bounced back from his horrible Thursday outing to grab the save on Friday, but now he’s up to 45 pitches in two days.
2. Dellin Betances/Justin Wilson, New York Yankees — Justin Wilson needed 28 pitches to get Friday’s save and threw 18 on Thursday.
3. Kevin Siegrist, St. Louis Cardinals — Trevor Rosenthal has pitched in three of four (42 pitches).