No clarity yet among Glover, Treinen, and Kelley

March 30, 2017

New York Mets — As expected, Jeurys Familia will miss the first 15 games of the year as a result of his offseason domestic violence arrest. Addison Reed will close during Familia’s suspension.

Updated hierarchy: Reed | Salas | Robles.

Washington Nationals — Still no clarity in D.C., where the front office loves what it sees from Koda Glover, but hasn’t been ready to commit to him over sinkerballer Blake Treinen and fragile-armed Shawn Kelley. The latest media speculation is that Treinen’s durability could give him the edge. We may not have an answer until the Nationals take on the Marlins next Monday.

Hierarchy remains: *Glover | Treinen | Kelley.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies — It’s a guessing game in Colorado, where neither Greg Holland nor Adam Ottavino is having a lights-out spring. We continue to believe that it’ll be Holland closing out games for the Rockies.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Ottavino | McGee.

Seattle Mariners — The Mariners’ bullpen has been ravaged by injuries — Tony Zych and Steve Cishek will be on the shelf through at least mid-April, while Shae Simmons could see an even longer absence. 24-year-old Dan Altavilla — who made 28 starts in high-A in 2005 and jumped straight to the bigs from the Jacksonville Suns Jumbo Shrimp — will be counted on to repeat his impressive run from last September.

Updated hierarchy: Diaz | Vincent | Altavilla.

Boston Red Sox – Tyler Thornburg is headed to the disabled list with a controversial shoulder injury. Joe Kelly will slide into the eighth, leaving some combination of Matt Barnes, Robbie Ross, Jr., and Heath Hembree to take the seventh.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Kelly | Barnes.

Tampa Bay Rays — A lingering lat injury will sideline Brad Boxberger through at least the first few weeks of April. If Erasmo Ramirez isn’t traded soon, he’ll be in line to get some seventh-inning work. Old friends Danny Farquhar, Chase Whitley, and Shawn Tolleson are the other options.

Updated hierarchy: Colome | Cedeno | Ramirez.

Los Angeles Dodgers — Adam Liberatore will start the season in the minors. Grant Dayton, Luis Avilan, and Chris Hatcher are the names to know in his stead.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Romo | Dayton.

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.

Joaquin Benoit hits the disabled list

April 26, 2016

Pittsburgh Pirates – Colorado native A.J. Schugel came into the game hoping to hold the lead for Tony Watson and Mark Melancon, but pitched well enough that Clint Hurdle left him in after the Pirates scratched out a couple more runs. The 2.1 inning outing was Schugel’s first career save.

Hierarchy remains: Melancon | Watson | Feliz.

Seattle Mariners – The Mariners have sent 38-year old reliever Joaquin Benoit to the 15-day DL with shoulder inflammation and recalled reliever Mayckol Guaipe. Last night, Joel Peralta slid into the 8th inning role, surrendering one run, but maintaining the lead and grabbing a hold. Based on recent usage and the fact that he throws about 110 mph, we anticipate that Tony Zych will get put into some high pressure spots while Benoit is away.

Updated hierarchy: Cishek | Peralta | Zych.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Mark Lowe, Detroit Tigers — K-Rod is off on emergency leave.
2. Nate Jones, Chicago White Sox — David Robertson has pitched in three straight.
3. Addison Reed, New York Mets — Jeurys Familia has pitched in back-to-back games and three of four.
4. Hunter Strickland, San Francisco Giants — Santiago Casilla has pitched in back-to-back games, including an effort that spanned two innings last night.
5. Junichi Tazawa/Robbie Ross, Boston Red Sox — Craig Kimbrel has pitched in two straight and three of four, while Koji Uehara has pitched in back-to-back games and rarely goes three in a row. Tazawa or Ross could get the 9th tonight.

2016 AL East preview

February 29, 2016

Baltimore Orioles — Zach Britton and Darren O’Day will be back in the roles they’ve dominated since Tommy Hunter’s demotion last May. The seventh inning should be left in the capable hands of Mychal Givens and Brad Brach.

Starting 2016 hierarchy: Britton | O’Day | Givens.
Holds candidates: O’Day, Givens, Brach.

Boston Red Sox — What a difference this offseason made for the dog’s breakfast of a Fenway bullpen. A November trade installed Craig Kimbrel in the closer role; although he led the league in saves each year between 2011 and 2014, he’s still only 27. Setting up Kimbrel will be the ageless Koji Uehara, back from his broken wrist and giving Sox opponents two very different looks in the late innings. The seventh inning should belong to Carson Smith and his crazy release point, with Junichi Tazawa and Robbie Ross, Jr. providing further depth. And don’t look now, but Carlos Marmol got a minor league deal from Boston, and there’s already talk that he might be back to his effective self again.

Starting 2016 hierarchy: Kimbrel | Uehara | Smith.
Holds candidates: Uehara, Smith, Tazawa.

New York Yankees — You may have heard a little about these guys — the only three relievers to strike out over 100 batters in 2015, combining to compensate for a Yankee offense so old it got invited to a Democratic debate. The major complicating factor is a possible domestic violence suspension for Aroldis Chapman, which could sideline him as many as 45 days. In that event, New York would turn to last year’s dynamic duo of Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances.

Starting 2016 hierarchy: Chapman | Miller | Betances.
Holds candidates: Miller, Betances, Chasen Shreve.

Tampa Bay Rays — Brad Boxberger will hold onto the closer role he inherited last season, but with Jake McGee out of the picture, it’s the newly acquired Danny Farquhar who will be his chief assistant. Behind them are familiar names like Xavier Cedeno, Alex Colome, and Steve Geltz, although Enny Romero is a longshot worth watching.

Starting 2016 hierarchy: Boxberger | Farquhar | Cedeno.
Holds candidates: Farquhar, Cedeno, Geltz.

Toronto Blue Jays — It’ll be a spring training battle for the closer role between incumbent Roberto Osuna and newcomer Drew Storen. Storen, who was displaced from the ninth a few times in Washington, is expressing a team-first attitude about his role, and we think he has the edge over Osuna, whose usage will be somewhat limited. Brett Cecil should be in line for the seventh, but if you want a deep sleeper with Storen-edging experience, Rafael Soriano just joined the team as well.

Starting 2016 hierarchy: Storen | Osuna | Cecil.
Holds candidates: Osuna, Cecil, Aaron Sanchez.