Jake McGee out for the year; Glen Perkins out for five more days

August 21, 2015

Tampa Bay Rays — Sometimes-closer Jake McGee has a torn meniscus and will miss the rest of the season after knee surgery. Xavier Cedeno and Steve Geltz will be Tampa’s next line of defense behind a shaky but secure Brad Boxberger (four blown saves, nine losses).

Updated hierarchy: Boxberger | Cedeno | Geltz.

Minnesota Twins – Glen Perkins received a cortisone shot on Wednesday and hopes to play catch before the weekend. If all goes well, Perkins could be back by next Tuesday; until then, Minnesota will split save opportunities between Kevin Jepsen and Trevor May.

Updated hierarchy: Perkins | Jepsen | May.

Boston Red Sox — Junichi Tazawa earned his second save in as many days on Thursday night and appears to be interim manager Torey Lovullo’s first choice in the ninth inning. Taz hasn’t had a great month (5 ER in 7 IP), but he’s definitely Boston’s best remaining bullpen arm, if only by default. Ryan Cook has been pitching like Taylor Swift, and has the 19.89 ERA to prove it. John Farrell may have considered him an alternate closer option, but it doesn’t seem like Lovullo does.

Updated hierarchy: *Tazawa | Machi | Ogando.

Colorado Rockies — The resurgent John Axford earned his first save since July 10 after shutting down the Nationals Thursday night. What’s more remarkable is that Axford had four blown saves (and three wins) in between his two most recent converted attempts. Scott Oberg pitched the eighth inning ahead of the Ax Man, and has two holds over the last week.

Updated hierarchy: Axford | Kahnle | Oberg.

Cincinnati Reds — Aroldis Chapman has a stiff left shoulder that has left him unavailable since Tuesday. JJ Hoover, Jumbo Diaz, and Burke Badenhop (in that order) will become more relevant in the late innings as long as Aroldis is ailing.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Hoover | Diaz.

Houston Astros — Reliever Josh Fields (0.95 WHIP, 2.20 ERA) was sent down to Double-A for the crime of having options. The Astros needed “a jolt of freshness” in their bullpen after playing three extra-inning games out of five and using six relievers on Wednesday, so they called up rookie Vince Velasquez. Fields cannot return to the team for the next 10 days, unless someone gets hurt, which takes him to September 1 roster expansion anyway. For now, we’ll move Will Harris to second in line. He has six holds and a fine K rate, and nailed down a save earlier this month.

Updated hierarchy: Gregerson | Neshek | Harris.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Kevin Jepsen/Trevor May, Minnesota Twins – Jepsen or May will get the next save chance for the Twins.
2. Mike Dunn, Miami Marlins — A.J. Ramos is young, but he’s also pitched in 4 of the last 5 days, and his arm isn’t made of rubber. Look for Mike Dunn to pitch in a pinch if needed in the 9th on Friday.
3. Jean Machi, Boston Red Sox — Junichi Tazawa has pitched in two straight games (25 pitches), and if the Red Sox still consider this a committee, Jean Machi may get the next save chance.
4. Alex Wilson, Detroit Tigers — Gone are Joe Nathan and Joakim Soria. In their place is a lot of uncertainty. Will it be Bruce Rondon in a save chance Friday night? We think so, but keep an eye on Alex Wilson (1.80 ERA, 2 saves).
5. Edward Mujica, Oakland A’s — Until Sean Doolittle returns early next week, Drew Pomeranz is currently the man at the front of the Oakland committee. Keep an eye on Edward Mujica, who holds that “valuable closer experience” card.

Junichi Tazawa gets first save chance for Boston after Uehara’s injury

August 12, 2015

Boston Red Sox — Boston got its first post-Uehara save chance, and John Farrell went to Jean Machi for a shaky eighth, followed by Junichi Tazawa in the ninth. Unfortunately for the Red Sox, Tazawa gave up two singles, a wild pitch, and a sac fly to blow the save. As you probably know, Tazawa’s numbers (2.69 FIP, 48 K in 49 IP) are far superior to Machi’s (4.36 FIP, 3.86 BB/9), so we’re going to cross our fingers and hope that tonight might be a sign that he’ll get a majority of chances in this committee. Meanwhile, even though the recently promoted Ryan Cook was used in the sixth on Tuesday night, Farrell mentioned him as a third closer option down the stretch. With options like these, your only winning move is not to play.

Updated hierarchy: *Tazawa | Machi | Cook.

Tampa Bay Rays — Kevin Cash got Brad Boxberger and Jake McGee some extra rest by using lefty Xavier Cedeno to pick up the save. The outing was Cedeno’s twelfth straight without a run allowed, and Cash has praised him as a “model of consistency.”

Updated hierarchy: Boxberger | McGee | Cedeno.

Baltimore Orioles — Shoulder tendinitis is the apparent source of Chaz Roe’s recent struggles; he’ll head to the disabled list and be replaced in the Baltimore hierarchy by Brad Brach (63 K in 55.1 IP).

Updated hierarchy: Britton | O’Day | Brach.

Kansas City Royals — Luke Hochevar earned a 2.2-inning save on Tuesday night. If you started him on your fantasy team and you can prove it with a screenshot, we’ll let you sponsor tomorrow’s email for free! NOTE: Offer does not apply to fantasy teams owned by Luke Hochevar. While we’re here, we should mention that Wade Davis has a stiff back and hasn’t pitched since last Thursday.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

Chicago Cubs — With a lefty-heavy lineup coming up for the Brewers, the Cubs called on lefty James Russell to nail down the save. BOOM!! You got MADDONed! It was a planned night off for Hector Rondon.

Hierarchy remains: Rondon | Strop | Hunter.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jean Machi/Ryan Cook, Boston Red Sox — See above.

Carson Smith ascending; Adam Ottavino out for the year

May 5, 2015

New York Yankees – After Chase Whitley tossed 7 innings of shutout ball, Chris Martin and Dellin Betances surrendered 3 runs between them. Martin was tagged with the loss and Betances credited with his first blown save of the year. With Andrew Miller getting some rest following a long outing last night, it is safe to say that Betances did not make the most of his chance to stake a claim to the 9th inning.

Hierarchy remains: Miller | Betances | Martin.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Chris Hatcher was tasked with holding on to the Dodgers’ two-run lead in the 8th inning, coming into the game with 2 inherited runners on base. He was ineffective, coughing up three runs and earning his third loss and first blown save of the season. Though he might still get a chance at a hold here or there, we’d be a bit surprised to see him get any more save chances before Kenley Jansen’s return.

Hierarchy remains: *Garcia | Hatcher | Baez.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies – Confirming what many had already suspected, Adam Ottavino needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of 2015.

Hierarchy remains: Axford | Betancourt | Logan.

Seattle Mariners – In a bit of a surprise, Yoervis Medina was optioned to AAA over the weekend. Medina had been among the names mentioned by speculators when Fernando Rodney was struggling, but Medina had struggled with his control in recent weeks (5 BBs in his last 4.2 innings) and will attempt to straighten himself out in the minors. Fortunately for the Mariners, righty Carson Smith (0.73 ERA) has emerged as a reliable arm in the bullpen. Smith picked up his 5th hold of the season on Sunday and should be considered for save chances on nights when Fernando Rodney is unavailable.

Updated hierarchy: Rodney | Farquhar | Smith.

Oakland A’s — Ryan Cook’s early struggles got him sent back to the minors; Dan Otero is probably the best of Oakland’s remaining seventh-inning options until Sean Doolittle’s return relieves some of the pressure on the A’s pen. Otero had made late-inning appearances in five straight games before Monday night.

Updated hierarchy: Clippard | Scribner | Otero.

Washington Nationals – Tanner Roark picked up his first career save after the Nationals gave up and subsequently regained the lead late in the ballgame. Drew Storen had pitched two days in a row and three of the last four.

Updated hierarchy: Storen | Barrett | Roark.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jonathan Broxton, Milwaukee Brewers – K-Rod has pitched in three straight.
2. Ken Giles, Philadelphia Phillies – Jonathan Papelbon has pitched in three straight.

Tyler Clippard blows a save; Keone Kela ascends

April 27, 2015

Oakland A’s — Oakland’s bullpen has been struggling lately, turning Evan Scribner into an eighth-inning fixture, and leading Bob Melvin to give Ryan Cook the seventh-inning role in his season debut. Cook pitched well, but Tyler Clippard blew the save. Clippard has enough good will built up, though, that he’s not on the Hot Seat yet. Sean Doolittle is throwing from flat ground, but he still isn’t expected back until June.

Updated hierarchy: Clippard | Scribner | Cook.

Texas Rangers — While Tanner Scheppers sorts things out in the earlier innings, Keone Kela will be counted on in higher-leverage spots. He pitched a scoreless ninth in a tie game on Sunday. Kela’s performance has been a source of inspiration at a difficult time for the scout who signed him.

Updated hierarchy: Feliz | Tolleson | Kela.

New York Yankees — David Carpenter has been absent from close games lately; maybe he’s not tall enough for Joe Girardi’s liking. In a bullpen full of literal giants, 6-foot-8 Chris Martin stands as tall as any — and the five straight outs he recorded during last night’s two-run win over NY (NL) gets him into a hierarchy that’s now only an inch short of 20 feet tall.

Updated hierarchy: Miller | Betances | Martin.

Chicago White Sox — After making some mechanical adjustments recently, Jake Petricka was used in a tight seventh, and should continue to get important innings for the Sox.

Updated hierarchy: Robertson | Duke | Petricka.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Keone Kela/Roman Mendez, Texas Rangers — Neftali Feliz threw 38 pitches on Sunday and Shawn Tolleson was heavily used as well. Kela and Mendez are next in line.
2. Zach Duke, Chicago White Sox — David Robertson picked up a win and a save on Sunday, and needed 37 total pitches to do it. If he can’t go on Monday, Duke should get the nod.
3. Roberto Osuna/Brett Cecil, Toronto Blue Jays — The Jays’ relievers are being used situationally.

Joel Peralta nudges his way to the front in Los Angeles

March 26, 2015

Los Angeles Dodgers — Chris Hatcher and his Wilsonesque beard have endured some rough outings lately, pushing his spring ERA over 10. Although Hatcher is a virtual lock to make the team because he’s out of minor league options, Joel Peralta may have edged in front of him in the race to lead what appears to be a confirmed committee situation that could also include Sergio Santos, Juan Nicasio, and lefties J.P. Howell and Paco Rodriguez. As expected, Brandon League will join Kenley Jansen on the DL to start the season, and some in LA are looking Rafael Soriano’s way.

Updated hierarchy: Peralta* | Hatcher | Santos.
*closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s — A struggling Ryan Cook was sent to the minors on Tuesday to fix his mechanics. Eric O’Flaherty and Dan Otero will back up Tyler Clippard during Sean Doolittle’s absence, and young R.J. Alvarez is another intriguing option. Doolittle, meanwhile, is staying busy teaching his coaches about social media.

Updated hierarchy: Clippard | O’Flaherty | Otero.

Boston Red Sox — Koji Uehara, who turns 40 next week, might miss Opening Day with a hamstring strain. Edward Mujica would likely take the closer’s role until Uehara can get healthy, with Alexi Ogando moving ahead of Junichi Tazawa as a backup option.

Updated hierarchy: Uehara | Mujica | Ogando.

Tampa Bay Rays — Grant Balfour made his first appearance of the spring on Monday and expects to be ready for Opening Day. All three of Tampa’s current top relievers allowed a run in the game. Jake McGee is throwing curveballs again and should be back to closing in late April or early May.

Hierarchy remains: Balfour | Boxberger | Jepsen.

Toronto Blue Jays — As expected, Brett Cecil was officially named Toronto’s closer; Aaron Loup will set him up, with Steve Delabar and Miguel Castro behind them.

Hierarchy remains: Cecil | Loup | Delabar.

Colorado Rockies — Walt Weiss told reporters that Adam Ottavino will be the club’s top vulture save option when 42-year-old closer LaTroy Hawkins is fatigued, or watching Matlock reruns.

Updated hierarchy: Hawkins | Ottavino | Axford.

Cincinnati Reds — The eighth inning is wide open for the Reds, according to manager Bryan Price, who named no fewer than five possibilities for set-up work. We’ll leave things the way they are until the situation clears up, but one intriguing option Price didn’t mention is lefty Tony Cingrani, who may find a welcoming home in the bullpen.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Diaz | LeCure.