Will Harris officially returns for Astros

August 30, 2017

Houston Astros – Will Harris looked sharp on Tuesday in his first appearance since July 5. He retired the side in the sixth inning on just eight pitches, including a strikeout.

Hierarchy remains: Giles | Devenski | Harris.

Los Angeles Angels – The Angels won, 7-2, on Tuesday night, and normally that wouldn’t elicit a report from us, barring a three-inning save. However, Cam Bedrosian was the only main reliever used in the victory, coming into the eighth inning with the Angels in the midst of a two-on, two-out jam. Bedrosian needed just five pitches to get the required out, and perhaps Mike Scioscia was just being extra cautious. What will be interesting is who gets Wednesday’s save chance. Bedrosian seemingly should be available for a rare second straight day given he threw just five pitches Tuesday, but if the Angels are keeping with their strict regimen for Bedrosian, expect Blake Parker to get the ball in the ninth inning.

Hierarchy remains: *Bedrosian | Parker | Norris.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago Cubs — Justin Wilson has struggled since coming to Chicago at the trade deadline, posting a 4.00 ERA in his month with the Cubs. CJ Edwards, Pedro Strop and Koji Uehara are Joe Maddon’s preferred late-inning arms right now when the Cubs have a lead. Wilson may get back into the mix as the playoff race hits the final couple weeks, but for now he’s seeing time in low-leverage situations.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Edwards | Strop.

New York Mets — Jeurys Familia’s second post-DL appearance went a lot smoother than his first one, as he struck out three, walked one and did not allow a hit in 1.2 innings of work with the Mets trailing by four. While it was low-leverage work, it was a promising sign for Terry Collins and the Mets that Familia appears to be shaking off any rust from his long layoff.

Hierarchy remains: Ramos | Blevins | Familia.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Joe Kelly – Both Craig Kimbrel and Addison Reed have pitched in three straight games.

Tomorrow
1. Archie Bradley – Fernando Rodney threw 31 pitches on Tuesday night, meaning he could see a day off Thursday if he has another lengthy outing today.
2. CJ Edwards – If Wade Davis pitches today it will be his third straight appearance.

Angels bullpen situation gets murkier as Bud Norris returns with save

August 21, 2017

Chicago White Sox — Juan Minaya still looks like the man to own for the White Sox, but he’s not making things easy. After Aaron Bummer walked a man on four pitches, in came Minaya. He walked the next guy, induced a double play, then gave up a two-run homer, but managed to retire Elvis Andrus to nail down a rocky save. Meanwhile, Gregory Infante has begun to get late-inning looks in a setup role, and the newly promoted Danny Farquhar is also someone to watch — last night he pitched a scoreless seventh.

Updated hierarchy: *Minaya | Bummer | Infante.
* = closer-by-committee

Los Angeles Angels — Angels committee leader Cam Bedrosian was used strangely again on Sunday. He pitched a clean seventh inning in a tied game, retiring the 8-9-1 hitters. When the Angels took the lead later in the game, it was old friend Bud Norris who picked up the save. Norris is apparently in good graces again, having “shown improvement lately.” Sunday’s clean inning was his second straight after he gave up runs in his previous three outings. Make of Sunday’s bullpen use what you will, but for now we’ll slide Norris back into the hierarchy and hope this situation sorts itself out.

Updated hierarchy: *Bedrosian | Norris | Parker.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago Cubs — Koji Uehara returned from the disabled list and pitched in a tight spot with the score tied in the tenth. He was charged with two runs, but the Cubs became the first team this season to win after trailing by multiple runs in extra innings, so he was spared the loss. We’ll return him to his normal hierarchy spot now, but we’ll track the Cubs bullpen closely this week to see if things change.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Wilson | Uehara.

Texas Rangers — Matt Bush is in the concussion protocol after colliding with Joey Gallo during Sunday’s game. Bush suffered a knee bruise and won’t travel with the team unless tests confirm he didn’t suffer a concussion. No DL trip yet.

Hierarchy remains: *Claudio | Leclerc | Bush.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Santiago Casilla — Blake Treinen went two innings for a save last night.
2. Bud Norris — Cam Bedrosian isn’t pitching back-to-back games yet.
3. Juan Nicasio/George Kontos — Felipe Rivero has gone in two straight (30 pitches) and hasn’t done three since he became the closer. Nicasio has also gone in two straight, while Kontos was rested on Sunday.
4. Aaron Bummer/Gregory Infante — Juan Minaya has gone in two of three, and the White Sox have a doubleheader today.

Tuesday:
1. Addison Reed/Joe Kelly — Craig Kimbrel has gone in two of three.
2. Anthony Swarzak — Corey Knebel has gone in two straight.

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.

Yes, Bud Norris is still the Angels’ closer

August 9, 2017

Los Angeles Angels — Keynan Middleton overcame a solo home run to pick up his first career save. Bud Norris hadn’t pitched since Sunday, but after Tuesday’s win Mike Scioscia said that he wanted to give Norris and Blake Parker a night off because they’ve pitched so much. Norris has struggled lately, but it looks as though his job is safe for now. Scioscia was quick to praise Middleton as well, saying that his stuff is “electric.” If the Angels do go back to a committee at some point, expect Middleton to be an important part of it.

Updated hierarchy: Norris | Parker | Middleton.

Texas Rangers – Keone Kela is back on the DL for the second time in five weeks thanks to shoulder soreness. Jeff Banister said that if Kela does return this season, it most likely won’t be as the team’s closer. Banister also said that he wants flexibility with when and where he deploys Alex Claudio, so expect him to continue pitching in a variety of situations.

Updated hierarchy: *Claudio | Leclerc | Bush.
* = closer-by-committee

Pittsburgh Pirates – The Pirates picked up George Kontos off waivers from the Giants, and Clint Hurdle plans on using Kontos in many different situations. So far, he’s earned two holds in two tries for Pittsburgh, retiring all six hitters he’s faced on just 16 total pitches. And just like that, Joaquin Benoit is off another hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Rivero | Nicasio | Kontos.

Seattle Mariners – David Phelps was placed on the DL Tuesday morning and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with an elbow impingement.

Hierarchy remains: Diaz | Vincent | Zych.

Colorado Rockies — Jake McGee is no longer on the DL, but he has still yet to pitch since July 25. It was a bit curious that McGee wasn’t summoned at all in a 1-0 game last night, especially when the Rockies twice played the matchups against left-handed hitters, but perhaps Bud Black is hoping to ease McGee back into the late innings.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Neshek | McGee.

Chicago Cubs — Koji Uehara left Tuesday’s game with a stiff neck. The injury is not considered serious, and Uehara is targeting a Friday return. In the meantime, expect C.J. Edwards to see any seventh-inning opportunities should the Cubs have a lead.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Wilson | Edwards.

Cleveland Indians – Andrew Miller is eligible to activated from the 10-day DL on Aug. 12, but he may need a little longer to recover from knee tendonitis. Once activated, Terry Francona expects to use him right away. We’ll see if that activation happens this weekend or early next week.

Hierarchy remains: Allen | Smith | Shaw.

Philadelphia Phillies – While Jesen Therrien may still get a look down the stretch of a lost season, the last couple days suggest that Edubray Ramos will be the most likely seventh-inning option in Philadelphia when the Phillies have a lead. Hoby Milner is one of just two lefties in the Phillies’ bullpen, and he earned an eighth-inning hold on Tuesday against a lefty-heavy Braves lineup. Expect Milner to also get some more late-inning chances as matchups dictate.

Updated hierarchy: Neris | Garcia | Ramos. 

Minnesota Twins – The Vulture Save Watch predicted a night off for Matt Belisle, but it somehow missed out on foreseeing Dillon Gee tossing four scoreless innings to close out an 11-4 win and earn his first career save. Can’t win ’em all!

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

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Pat Neshek – Greg Holland threw 31 pitches en route to a blown save Tuesday. The Rockies are off Thursday, but Holland may still get Wednesday off.

Tomorrow
1. Junichi Tazawa – If Brad Ziegler pitches today, it will be two straight and three of four.
2. Santiago Casilla – It will have been two straight and four of five for Blake Treinen if he pitches on Wednesday.
3. Luis Garcia – Same goes for Hector Neris.
4. Kirby Yates – And Brad Hand.
5. Ryan Tepera/Danny Barnes – And Roberto Osuna. Ryan Tepera threw 29 pitches Tuesday, so he may also get Thursday off if he has a heavy workload Wednesday.

Shane Greene likely to close in Detroit after Justin Wilson traded to Cubs

July 31, 2017

Detroit Tigers — The Tigers shipped Justin Wilson to the Cubs on Sunday night, pending a medical review. Shane Greene should be the first choice for saves now in Detroit, with Bruce Rondon and Alex Wilson behind him.

Updated hierarchy: Greene | Rondon | A. Wilson.

Chicago Cubs — The Cubs bolstered their bullpen Sunday night when they acquired Justin Wilson from the Tigers, pending a medical review. Wilson should become the primary setup man, with Koji Uehara and C.J. Edwards still in the mix for holds.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Wilson | Uehara.