2017 NL Central Preview

March 1, 2017

Chicago Cubs — The World Series champions replaced one All-Star closer with another, signing Wade Davis to replace Aroldis Chapman. Davis has been one of the best relievers in the league recently, and should see a lot of save chances for an excellent Cubs team. Hector Rondon will likely be the first option if Davis struggles or gets hurt. Rondon closed most of last year, but struggled late in the season. Although Rondon seems to have Joe Maddon’s confidence, the Cubs are spoiled for choice. Newly acquired Koji Uehara and returning setup man Pedro Strop will push Rondon for vulture saves, but perhaps the most intriguing option is C.J. Edwards. With a high-90s fastball and impressive stats in his brief career, Edwards could emerge as a viable late-inning option — but he will have to work hard to crack the stacked Cubs bullpen.

Starting 2017 hierarchy: Davis | Rondon | Strop.
Holds candidates: Uehara, Edwards, Strop, Justin Grimm.

Cincinnati Reds — The worst bullpen in MLB never did find a consistent closer last year, and Bryan Price has already announced that they’ll start out in a committee. Price also wants to use his relievers for multiple innings at a time in a reboot of an older strategy. If you’re up for a gamble, though, Raisel Iglesias is your best bet. Iglesias finished 2016 as the de facto closer and filled that role in his Cuban career as well. Another option is top offseason signee Drew Storen, who has stated openly that he wants the job. Converted starter Michael Lorenzen will also serve in the committee, while Tony Cingrani could see action based on matchups, but is a stronger candidate for LOOGY holds.

Starting 2017 hierarchy: *Iglesias | Storen | Lorenzen.
* = closer-by-committee
Holds candidates: Storen, Lorenzen, Cingrani, Blake Wood.

Milwaukee Brewers — The Brewers traded the bulk of their bullpen at the deadline last year, and brought in Neftali Feliz to fill the void this year. Since Milwaukee appears to be rebuilding, Feliz could be a prime trade target if the team struggles out of the gate. Corey Knebel was lined up for the job before Feliz was signed, and will serve as the primary setup man. Veteran Carlos Torres should take the seventh inning. The 34-year-old was versatile last year, and could be the most stable part of the Brewer bullpen.

Starting 2017 hierarchy: Feliz | Knebel | Torres.
Holds candidates: Knebel, Torres, Michael Blazek.

Pittsburgh Pirates — Tony Watson will close again in Pittsburgh, although he’ll make $400,000 less than he hoped after losing an arbitration hearing. Behind him will be Daniel Hudson and Felipe Rivero, both solid options to fill in if Watson needs a day off. Clint Hurdle tends to stick with particular roles for his relievers so, barring injury or a trade, you can expect stability for the Pirates bullpen — making Watson a bit more valuable than his stats might suggest.

Starting 2017 hierarchy: Watson | Hudson | Rivero.
Holds candidates: Hudson, Rivero, Antonio Bastardo, Jared Hughes.

St. Louis Cardinals — “Final Boss” Seung Hwan Oh has made the closing role his own, taking the job and running with it after he deposed the ineffective and injujured Trevor Rosenthal. Rosenthal is young and still has lights-out stuff, but may get a shot in the rotation. If he does, it will leave Kevin Siegrist competing with newcomer Brett Cecil for the setup role. Siegrist has been a reliable source of holds, and will probably take the eighth inning out of the gate — but he has also struggled with shoulder tightness early this spring. Cecil signed a four-year deal, so the Cardinals see him as a valuable asset going forward. Jonathan Broxton is also in the mix, but will have to regain his form before truly becoming a factor.

Starting 2017 hierarchy: Oh | Siegrist | Cecil.
Holds candidates: Siegrist, Cecil, Broxton, Matt Bowman.

Brad Ziegler officially closing in Boston

July 21, 2016

Boston Red Sox — As expected, Brad Ziegler was named the Boston closer now that Koji Uehara has joined Craig Kimbrel on the disabled list. Although Matt Barnes and Robbie Ross, Jr. are backing Ziegler up in the late innings, Ross entered in the fourth on Wednesday night, while Barnes pitched the sixth, seventh, and eighth. Heath Hembree is another late-inning option, but if the Red Sox don’t want to release Clay Buchholz, Hembree will likely be demoted when Junichi Tazawa rejoins the team on Friday. Uehara tweeted (in Japanese) that he expects to be out for a month.

Hierarchy remains: Ziegler | Barnes | Ross.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Hector Neris, Philadelphia Phillies — Jeanmar Gomez has gone three in a row.
2. Justin Wilson, Detroit Tigers — K-Rod took the loss in a rough 25-pitch outing last night, and has pitched in three of four.
3. Fernando Abad, Minnesota Twins — Brandon Kintzler has pitched in two straight (41 pitches).
4. Jonathan Broxton, St. Louis Cardinals — Seung Hwan Oh saved both ends of Wednesday’s doubleheader, and Kevin Siegrist appeared in both games also.

Daniel Hudson and Tyler Clippard fighting to replace Brad Ziegler

July 9, 2016

Arizona Diamondbacks — Arizona traded away closer Brad Ziegler early Saturday morning. Daniel Hudson, returning from the bereavement list today, is positioned to get the first crack at saves, but Tyler Clippard (10.86 K/9, 54 career saves) has been pitching more effectively and will also be in the mix. With the season slipping away, both men could potentially be traded as well, so don’t be too surprised if 24-year-old Jake Barrett gets a chance to close before the season is over.

Updated hierarchy: *Hudson | Clippard | Barrett.
* = closer-by-committee

Boston Red Sox — Craig Kimbrel injured his knee in classic Mariano Rivera fashion on Friday, while shagging fly balls during batting practice. MRI results will come in on Saturday, but he’ll be out at least through the All-Star break. Junichi Tazawa was also unavailable with a shoulder injury, so Koji Uehara picked up his third save of the season. Early Saturday morning, the Red Sox acquired Brad Ziegler from Arizona; although such a move had been rumored, it could indicate that one or both of these injuries is serious. Expect Ziegler to step right into the late innings, especially with Kimbrel and Tazawa recovering from injury, and he may even get some save opportunities if Kimbrel is out for some time.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Ziegler | Uehara.

Atlanta Braves — With a four-run lead in the ninth inning, it was Mauricio Cabrera who got the ball for Atlanta. He was not quite as good as he has been recently, giving up a run on three hits, but he finished the game for the second straight day. Before the game, manager Brian Snitker indicated that Arodys Vizcaino is still the closer, but with trade rumors flying, Snitker seems to be preparing for life without him. Given recent usage, Cabrera is the most likely option to take the role when and if Vizcaino is traded — although the Braves may still want him to serve an apprenticeship under wise old Jim Johnson.

Updated hierarchy: Vizcaino | Cabrera | Johnson.

St. Louis Cardinals — The Cardinals’ injury woes continued last night, as Trevor Rosenthal entered a tie game in the ninth inning, only to leave with a strained hamstring and the loss. Rosenthal is considered day-to-day at this point; while he’s out, look for Matt Bowman to pick up a few additional opportunities.

Updated hierarchy: Oh | Broxton | Bowman.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jonathan Broxton, St. Louis Cardinals — Seung Hwan Oh has pitched in three straight.
2. Koji Uehara/Brad Ziegler, Boston Red Sox — Craig Kimbrel is out at least through the All-Star break with an injured knee.
3. Tyler Clippard, Arizona Diamondbacks — Daniel Hudson has the 96 MPH fastball, but Clippard has the closing experience and the higher K rate.

Brandon Kintzler establishing himself; Jonathan Papelbon returns

July 4, 2016

Minnesota Twins – Following a scoreless 9th inning yesterday, Brandon Kintzler now has four saves to Fernando Abad’s one. Abad has also struggled recently, having allowed 6 ERs in his last 5.1 innings. Kintzler is inches from kicking his asterisk and could make appealing trade bait for teams looking to add some help.

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

St. Louis Cardinals – Seung Hwan Oh picked up his second save in as many days on Sunday, and has been the clear choice for the Cardinals following Trevor Rosenthal’s demotion, despite Mike Matheny’s reluctance to name him the primary closer. The Cardinals are still hoping that Rosenthal can return to the role soon, but until then, Oh will get the fast majority of chances.

Updated hierarchy: Oh | Broxton | Rosenthal.

Washington Nationals – Jonathan Papelbon was activated from the DL this morning and will resume closing immediately. Shawn Kelley did a serviceable job in his place, but didn’t do nearly enough to raise a discussion about the role going forward.

Updated hierarchy: Papelbon | Kelley | Rivero.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Tony Watson, Pittsburgh Pirates – Mark Melancon has pitched in three straight.

Oh records save, Jake McGee returns for Rockies

July 3, 2016

St. Louis Cardinals — Seung Hwan Oh pitched a perfect ninth with two strikeouts to record his first career save.  Jonathan Broxton pitched a scoreless eighth inning ahead of Oh.  Another clean save from Oh could drop the committee talk and leave him as the primary closer.

Hierarchy remains: *Oh | Broxton | Rosenthal.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies — Jake McGee was activated from the DL on Saturday.  He started the seventh inning with the Rockies down three runs, and struck out the first batter he faced.  Unfortunately, he gave up a double and walk to the next two batters and got pulled after throwing 22 pitches.  Manager Walt Weiss has not said whether or not McGee would regain the closer’s role.  Carlos Estevez has pitched well in McGee absence, and we will leave him in the closer spot for now (and as of this post, Denver Post readers agree).  We will continue to monitor this and let you know when Weiss announces his plans moving forward.

Updated hierarchy: Estevez | McGee| Motte.

Seattle Mariners — Former starter Nathan Karns pitched the last three innings of a Mariners’ blowout win and earned his first career save.  Karns does not factor into the Mariners normal late inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: Cishek | Benoit | Diaz.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Neftali Feliz, Pittsburgh Pirates – Mark Melancon has pitched in two straight
2. Jason Grilli/Drew Storen, Toronto Blue Jays – Roberto Osuna has pitched in two straight and four of five.  Jason Grilli has also pitched in two straight so Storen could get the call if the Blue Jays decide to rest him as well on Sunday.