Paul Sewald, Joakim Soria pick up their first saves of the season

July 2, 2021

Seattle Mariners — Paul Sewald recorded the final four outs Thursday for the surging Seattle Mariners (22-13 in their last 35 games) to earn his first save. Kendall Graveman did not pitch, and there was no indication postgame that Sewald is now “the guy.” But a look at the numbers shows just how good Sewald has been: 1.66 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and 38 Ks in just 21.2 IP. Could Seattle continue riding the hot hand? We shall see…

Updated hierarchy: Graveman | Sewald | Misiewicz.

Arizona Diamondbacks — Joakim Soria has finally picked up his first save for the Diamondbacks, who are now just 23-60 on the season. Save chances will be few and far between, but with Stefan Crichton and Chris Devenski out of the picture, the job is Soria’s to lose. 

Hierarchy remains: Soria | Ramirez | Buchter.

Philadelphia Phillies — The Phillies have activated Brandon Kintzler to help their beleaguered bullpen and designated Neftalí Feliz for assignment. We’ll monitor Kintzler’s usage and give updates as necessary, but don’t be surprised if he finds his way into the hierarchy sooner rather than later. 

Hierarchy remains: *Alvarado | Bradley | Neris.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays – The Blue Jays could soon get more bullpen reinforcements. Rafael Dolis will join Triple-A Buffalo on a rehab assignment on Friday. 

Hierarchy remains: Romano | Chatwood | Mayza.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Ryan Burr (CHW) — Liam Hendriks threw 23 pitches Thursday and has pitched in two of three and four of six.
2. Emilio Pagan (SD) – Mark Melancon had a rough and taxing outing Thursday (28 pitches) and has gone in three of five.
3. Carlos Estevez (COL) – Daniel Bard has gone in two straight and three of four. 

Saturday:
1. Noe Ramirez (ARI) – A Friday outing would be three in a row for Joakim Soria. 
2. Adam Ottavino (BOS) – Matt Barnes threw in three straight earlier this week. A Friday appearance would be four of five for him. 
3. Austin Voth (WAS) – If Brad Hand pitches Friday, that would be four of six for him.
4. Mike Mayers (LAA) – Same above for Raisel Iglesias.
5. Giovanny Gallegos (STL) – If he goes Friday, that would be three of four for Alex Reyes.
6. Blake Treinen (LAD) – A Friday outing would be three of five for Kenley Jansen, and the Dodgers usually don’t like to overwork their closer this time of year (or ever, really). 

2018 NL West Preview

February 28, 2018

Arizona Diamondbacks – Fernando Rodney somehow recorded 39 saves for the Diamondbacks last year, but he’ll be shooting arrows in Minnesota this year. That leaves the ninth inning in limbo, with three arms in line for the closer’s role. Archie Bradley was the team’s best reliever last season, but Arizona may want the flexibility to use him in any key situation, regardless of inning. Two newcomers will battle Bradley for the job. Newly acquired Brad Boxberger has experience closing in the majors, while Yoshihisa Hirano is a veteran closer from Japan who has saved 156 games since 2010. We think Bradley is the best bet for the job, but be prepared for the dreaded asterisk to remain as the season gets going.

Starting 2018 hierarchy: Bradley | Boxberger | Hirano.
Holds candidates: Boxberger, Hirano, Neftali Feliz.

Colorado Rockies – The Rockies have the most expensive bullpen in baseball after they signed Wade Davis to a three-year, $52 million contract. They also snagged righty Bryan Shaw in the offseason and re-signed lefty Jake McGee to hefty contracts, and we’ll see if the Rockies get the bang for their buck that they expect. Those three guys are the key arms, but Adam Ottavino and Mike Dunn will also be in the mix for some holds during the season.

Starting 2018 hierarchy: Davis | Shaw | McGee.
Holds candidates: Shaw, McGee, Ottavino, Dunn.

Los Angeles Dodgers – The reigning National League champions will enter 2018 with perhaps the game’s most dominant closer in Kenley Jansen. The Dodgers did lose a valuable setup man, however, as Brandon Morrow moved on to close for the Cubs. That means the Dodgers will look to an assortment of options to get the ball to Jansen. Josh Fields is back and figures to be one of the top contenders to pitch the eighth along with Pedro Baez, who is hoping to rebound after a disastrous end to 2017. Don’t sleep on lefty Scott Alexander, acquired via trade from the Royals, who posted an impressive ground ball rate of 73.8% last year. Lefty Tony Cingrani will also be in the mix for holds after joining the Dodgers for last year’s postseason push.

Starting 2018 hierarchy: Jansen | Fields | Alexander.
Holds candidates: Fields, Alexander, Baez, Cingrani.

San Diego Padres – The Padres are set at closer with All-Star lefty Brad Hand, though he may not be exclusively deployed in the ninth. Behind Hand, the Padres have plenty of options, with Kirby Yates and Craig Stammen the guys to likely start as the key setup men for manager Andy Green. Keep an eye on Japanese submariner Kazuhisa Makita, whose unique delivery and 80 MPH fastball will be debuting in the majors this year.

Starting 2018 hierarchy: Hand | Yates | Stammen.
Holds candidates: Yates, Stammen, Makita, Phil Maton.

San Francisco Giants — The Giants bullpen, plagued by injuries last year, hopes it can remain healthy in 2018. Mark Melancon will start the season as closer, with Sam Dyson and lefty Tony Watson serving as the primary setup men. Watson is more reliable than Dyson, though Dyson somehow converted 14 of 17 save chances with the Giants last year. Will Smith is also expected to be ready for Opening Day after missing 2017 due to Tommy John surgery, and his return will give Bruce Bochy some flexibility in the late innings with how he deploys his top lefties.

Starting 2018 hierarchy: Melancon | Watson | Dyson.
Holds candidates: Watson, Dyson, Smith, Hunter Strickland.

 

K-Rod complains about role, gets high-leverage chance, blows it

June 16, 2017

Detroit Tigers – This week, manager Brad Ausmus declared he would try former closer Francisco Rodriguez in high-leverage situations again after he complained a bunch. Ausmus wasn’t lying, as it was 3-2 in the eighth inning when K-Rod came trotting out to the hill. He picked up another blown save (his sixth) after allowing a game-tying home run, leading to a smattering of boos and cursing from the Detroit crowd. Justin Wilson owners were pleased by that development, as the current closer picked up the win with a clean ninth after the Tigers walked off in the bottom half. As for K-Rod, it’s hard to believe he’ll already be in the dog house, but he can’t be trusted until he earns it back.

Hierarchy remains: J. Wilson | A. Wilson | Greene.

Philadelphia Phillies – In a tight 1-0 win Thursday, the Phillies turned to Pat Neshek… in the eighth inning (1 H, 1 K, 0 R, 1 W) and Hector Neris in the ninth (1 BB, 2 Ks, 0 R, 1 SV). Don’t sound the alarm, but it’s starting to look like it’s Neris’s job again — and perhaps he never lost it. The Phillies are auditioning Neshek to boost his trade value, but if Neris gets the next save or two for Philly, we’ll remove the asterisk.

Hierarchy remains: *Neris | Neshek | Gomez.
* = closer-by-committee

Milwaukee Brewers – Oliver Drake picked up his first career save with a scoreless ninth inning for Milwaukee. Corey Knebel and Jacob Barnes were apparently unavailable after each pitched in two straight games, and Carlos Torres was called upon to get crucial outs with the game tied in the eighth inning. If we listed a third-in-line, it would likely be Drake, and definitely not former closer Neftali Feliz, who recently got DFA’d.

Hierarchy remains: Knebel | Barnes | Torres.

New York Yankees – Injured closer Aroldis Chapman is set to start for Double-A Trenton and if all goes well, he’ll rejoin the Yankees this weekend and reclaim his job, though Dellin Betances has been Fernando Rodney 2012-like in his absence, posting 41 K in 21.2 IP, a 0.42 ERA and 6 saves. (Yes, we’re testing to see if this works again.)

Hierarchy remains: Betances | Clippard | Warren.

Los Angeles Angels – Former closer Cam Bedrosian appears ready to rejoin the big club this weekend, but we’ll wait to see how he fits in given that Bud Norris has pitched pretty well in his absence.

Hierarchy remains: Norris | Hernandez | Parker

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Jake McGee – Greg Holland has pitched in two straight. He hasn’t gone in three straight days yet this season.
2. Tyler Clippard – Dellin Betances threw 39 pitches over 1.2 IP Thursday, but he had rest prior to that appearance and could conceivably be available Friday.

Tomorrow
1. Alex Wilson – Justin Wison has pitched in three of the last five games, including Thursday. If he goes again Friday, that’d be 3 out of 4 and 4 out of 6 for him.

Koji Uehara vultures a save; Koda Glover gets bombed

June 5, 2017

Chicago Cubs – After pitching Friday and Saturday, Wade Davis got the night off on Sunday. What was a bit surprising was that CJ Edwards stayed in his usual 8th inning slot, while Koji Uehara stepped in to fill the 9th. Uehara, of course, has the edge in terms of experience, but it’s unclear if this is a situation where Uehara would jump Edwards to fill the role long-term, should anything happen to Davis. We will monitor their usage going forward, but you could make an argument for either player as the handcuff right now.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Edwards | Uehara.

Washington Nationals – Koda Glover came on to get the last out of the 8th, but he melted down in the 9th, allowing the first five hitters to reach base (4 singles and a walk). Shawn Kelley came on and gave up a grand slam, scoring all the inherited runners, but then settled down and got the last two outs to pick up his fourth save. Glover has been great, and had a decent excuse for last night in that the Nationals had a very long turn at bat in the top of the 9th, so he probably got a bit cold. His job should be safe for now.

Hierarchy remains: Glover | Kelley | Albers.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Jacob Barnes – Corey Knebel threw 25 pitches yesterday, and has pitched in four of the last six.

Tomorrow
1. Carlos Torres/Neftali Feliz – If Corey Knebel and Jacob Barnes both go tonight, it’ll be back to back and four of five with pretty heavy workloads; it’s possible neither will be available tomorrow.
2. Pat Neshek/Jeanmar Gomez – If Hector Neris and Pat Neshek go tonight, it’ll be three straight. Monitor who pitches to see who would get Tuesday’s chance.

Corey Knebel might be stuck in a committee in Milwaukee

May 13, 2017

Milwaukee Brewers — When managers begin to use their relievers more optimally, their teams improve, but the result can be fantasy chaos. The latest example could be Craig Counsell’s Brewers, who demoted disappointing offseason acquisition Neftali Feliz from the closer role, but want to retain the flexibility to use the impressive Corey Knebel when needed most. This approach could open up opportunities for Jacob Barnes, Carlos Torres, and others. Last night, with Knebel unavailable after a 41-pitch outing on Thursday, Barnes got the ninth with a five-run lead. His poor performance created a save opportunity for Jared Hughes, who’s probably the fifth or sixth option going forward.

Updated hierarchy: *Knebel | Barnes | Torres.
* = closer-by-committee

Washington Nationals — Wholesale substitutions in the Washington bullpen, as both Shawn Kelley and Koda Glover returned from the disabled list on a rainy Friday. With both guys coming back at the same time, it looks like Kelley will take over the ninth, with Glover taking the eighth.

Updated hierarchy: Kelley | Glover | Albers.

New York Mets — One tingling finger led to some precautionary tests and, 48 hours later, Jeurys Familia was having surgery to remove a blood clot near his right shoulder. Familia is expected to miss several months of action, reopening the door for Addison Reed to establish himself as New York’s closer. It will be a combination of Hansel Robles, Jerry Blevins, and Fernando Salas setting Reed up.

Hierarchy remains: Reed | Robles | Blevins.

New York Yankees — Two straight rough outings for Aroldis Chapman, who shook his arm in discomfort shortly before being pulled in the middle of the ninth inning. Chapman denied feeling any pain, but his owners — and Dellin Betances’s — should be aware.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Betances | Clippard.

Los Angeles Angels — It’s been David Hernandez and his sub-1 ERA with the eighth inning on lockdown lately for LA. Things have gone pretty smoothly for the Angels given the number of relief arms they have missing. Cam Bedrosian hasn’t been able to throw off a mound yet, but may get there next week. Huston Street is still on track for a June 1 return, while Andrew Bailey has hit a snag.

Updated hierarchy: Norris | Hernandez | Parker.

Tampa Bay Rays — Erasmo Ramirez has returned from his stint as a spot starter and seems to have reclaimed his role as the Rays’ middle-inning specialist.

Updated hierarchy: Colome | Farquhar | Ramirez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Dellin Betances — It’s not terribly likely, but there’s a chance Chapman gets a day off.

Sunday:
1. Joe Smith — Roberto Osuna hasn’t thrown many pitches, but he’s pitched a lot lately. If he goes Saturday, he’ll probably get Sunday off.
2, Matt Belisle — Brandon Kintzler has gone in two straight and won’t make it to four.
3. Ryan Buchter — Same for Brandon Maurer.
4. Hunter Strickland — Derek Law has gone in two of three and four of six.
5. Hector Rondon — Wade Davis needed 24 pitches on Friday night; another long night would probably earn him some rest.
6. Ryan Madson — Santiago Casilla blew the save last night and has gone in two of three.