Roberto Osuna placed on administrative leave for domestic violence

May 8, 2018

Toronto Blue Jays – Major League Baseball has placed Roberto Osuna on administrative leave following an arrest this morning for domestic violence. Prior to Tuesday’s game, manager John Gibbons did not commit to one guy as his closer, mentioning such names as Ryan Tepera, Tyler Clippard and John Axford as possibilities for the ninth inning. Not specifically mentioned was Seung Hwan Oh, but that does not mean he is out of the running. Hopefully Tuesday’s game sheds more light on how the late innings will shape up in Toronto.

Updated hierarchy: *Tepera | Oh | Clippard.
* = closer-by-committee

Keone Kela still leading a shaky Texas bullpen

May 8, 2018

Texas Rangers – After blowing a four-run lead last Tuesday and then giving up a go-ahead run on Thursday, Keone Kela had a nice bounce-back appearance last night, striking out two hitters in a scoreless 9th to pick up his 7th save. His ERA sits at 6.00, but he’s probably safer than that number would suggest, in part because most of the damage came across two particularly bad appearances, and also because his would-be competition hasn’t been much better. Jake Diekman got the 8th inning last night, but he’s walked 12 hitters in 12.1 IP this year, contributing to a 1.70 WHIP, and Alex Claudio has been knocked around all season, having allowed 29 hits and 11 earned runs in 16.1 innings of work. Jose LeClerc and Tony Barnette have been decent, though, and are both sporting ERAs under 3 — it seems likely that both of these righties will start getting higher-leverage work. And if Kela falters or gets hurt, one of them could be in position to benefit.

Updated hierarchy: Kela | Diekman | LeClerc. 

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Jordan Hicks/Greg Holland – Bud Norris is probably out for another couple days.

Tomorrow
1. Jake Diekman – If Keone Kela goes today, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
2. Jared Hughes – If Raisel Iglesias goes today, it’ll be back to back games. (He pitched in 3 straight only once all of last year.)