Brad Hand gets a vote of confidence after a third straight blown save

August 22, 2019

Cleveland Indians – Despite Brad Hand’s third straight blown save on Wednesday — the latest disappointment of a subpar two-month period (7.32 ERA, 2.03 WHIP) — Terry Francona is not considering a change in the ninth inning. “We can’t run from Brad.” Apparently Brad can’t run to first either. Hand’s velocity looks fine, but his location has been questionable; with the Indians still in the heart of the wild card race, Francona’s confidence in his most talented reliever is almost certainly the right play.

Hierarchy remains: Hand | Wittgren | Goody.

Seattle Mariners — A month after he was acquired from Minnesota for cash considerations, the clock finally struck midnight for Matt Magill. Emilio Pagan blew the save for the Rays in the top of the ninth, but Magill gave it right back in the bottom of the inning. It’ll probably take another bad outing before he loses his slot at the top of the Seattle committee, though.

Hierarchy remains: *Magill | Bass | Tuivailala.
* = closer-by-committee

Milwaukee Brewers — By closing out the last batter in the seventh, Junior Guerra put himself in position to earn a rare rain-shortened save.

Hierarchy remains: Hader | Albers | Peralta.

Chicago Cubs — Brandon Morrow will not pitch this season, is unlikely to return to the Cubs, and may call it a career after learning that he needs surgery on his ailing right ulnar nerve. Morrow’s last appearance was July 15, 2018.

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Wick | Strop.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Edwin Diaz — Seth Lugo went two innings on Thursday.
2. Rowan Wick — Craig Kimbrel has gone in three of four since his return.
3. Joe Kelly — Kenley Jansen will see his workload heavily limited down the stretch to an average of one appearance per series.
4. Blake Treinen — Liam Hendriks went 1.2 innings Wednesday, his second straight day of work.

Friday:
1. Nick Wittgren — Brad Hand might get another chance Thursday, but he likely won’t go in three straight.
2. Ty Buttrey — After three straight appearances and four out of five for Hansel Robles, he might get two straight days off.
3. Joe Kelly/Pedro Baez — See above.

Matt Magill picks up another save for the Mariners

August 21, 2019

[EDITOR’S NOTE: We are starting our annual Donation Drive today. Thank you, as always, for supporting us!

Seattle Mariners – Matt Magill earned his second save in as many chances on Tuesday night thanks to a 1-2-3 inning. Magill has now put together six straight scoreless outings (6.0 IP). Meanwhile, Anthony Bass pitched the eighth inning last night. We’ll swap Magill and Bass in the hierarchy accordingly.

Updated hierarchy: *Magill | Bass | Tuivailala.
* = closer-by-committee

Washington Nationals – It was a tough night for the Nationals’ bullpen on Tuesday, as Wander Suero and Daniel Hudson failed to protect a 1-0 lead in the eighth inning. Suero began the frame by allowing all three hitters he faced to reach base. Hudson then entered and made sure all three runs crossed the plate thanks to a sac fly and a three-run homer. Meanwhile, Hunter Strickland broke his nose in a weightlifting accident before the game. Dave Martinez insisted afterwards that Strickland was available and that he simply liked Suero in that spot.

Hierarchy remains: *Hudson | Strickland | Rodney.
* = closer-by-committee

Philadelphia Phillies — Lefty Jose Alvarez was the first Phillies reliever out of the ‘pen on Tuesday to face a pair of left-handed hitters to start the eighth inning. After retiring a pinch hitter and allowing a single, Mike Morin came in and recorded the final two outs of the frame. It was Morin’s seventh straight scoreless appearance; he also has three holds during that stretch. Alvarez meanwhile has allowed just two earned runs over his last 16.0 IP.

Updated hierarchy: Neris | Morin | Alvarez.

Chicago Cubs – Craig Kimbrel earned his first save since returning from the IL, striking out a batter in a 1-2-3 ninth inning. This came after Rowan Wick completed a perfect eighth inning. In other good news, the Cubs activated Steve Cishek from the IL. We’ll see how quickly Cishek can get back into form before moving him into the hierarchy, but at least the Cubs have all their options heading into the final month of the season.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Wick | Strop.

Baltimore Orioles – Mychal Givens recorded his 10th save of the season Tuesday night, which means the Orioles now have the same amount of saves as the Red Sox (24). More exciting than that though was the 1-2-3 eighth-inning performance by rookie Hunter Harvey, who breezed through the frame thanks to plenty of 99-100 mph stuff. Harvey has been beleaguered by injuries but has now thrown two straight scoreless innings to open his big-league career. We won’t be surprised if Harvey gets a few more high-leverage innings down the stretch.

Hierarchy remains: *Givens | Armstrong | Fry.
* = closer-by-committee

Arizona Diamondbacks — The Diamondbacks called on rookie Kevin Ginkel to protect an 8-6 lead with a runner on in the eighth inning, and Ginkel did just that for his second hold in as many appearances. Ginkel has struck out 12, walked three and allowed just two earned runs in nine innings of work since joining the big-league club. He’s still behind Yoan Lopez and Andrew Chafin for save chances that don’t go to Archie Bradley, but Ginkel may be arm worth watching as the Diamondbacks fight to stay in the NL wild card race.

Hierarchy remains: *Bradley | Lopez | Chafin.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Yoan Lopez/Andrew Chafin – Archie Bradley has pitched in three straight and four of five. Lopez has tossed 12 pitches over two consecutive days of work, but the Diamondbacks can always elect to use Chafin in a matchup-based role in the ninth.
2. Ryan Pressly – Roberto Osuna has made three straight appearances.
3. Noe Ramirez – The Angels bullpen has been extremely busy lately. Hansel Robles and Cam Bedrosian have gone in two straight and three of four while Ty Buttrey has pitched in three consecutive contests. Noe Ramirez was one of the few guys to not pitch during yesterday’s doubleheader. Good luck.
4. Rafael Montero – Both Jose Leclerc (44 pitches) and Shawn Kelley (28 pitches) have gone in two straight, with Kelley having worked in three of the last four games.
5. Andres Munoz/Craig Stammen – As we mentioned yesterday, it’s conceivable that the Padres give Kirby Yates two days off after he threw 67 pitches over the last three nights.

Tomorrow
1. Shawn Armstrong – If Mychal Givens pitches tonight, that will be two straight and three of four.
2. Rowan Wick/Pedro Strop – Same goes for Craig Kimbrel.
3. Kyle Crick – Felipe Vazquez threw 16 pitches over 1.1 innings last night.

Wade Davis’s nightmare season continues

August 20, 2019

St. Louis Cardinals – Carlos Martinez got the day off on Monday after a 21-pitch outing Sunday, allowing Andrew Miller to capture his fifth save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Martinez | Miller | Gallegos.

Texas Rangers – Rafael Montero pitched the 10th and 11th innings on Monday, earning the win and lowering his ERA to 1.20 over 15 innings with the Rangers. Montero, who earned his second hold earlier this week, has joined Emmanuel Clase as late-inning options in the lead-up to Shawn Kelley and Jose Leclerc.

Updated hierarchy: Leclerc | Kelley | Montero.

Colorado Rockies – Summoned in a tie game in the 8th inning, Wade Davis gave up 3 earned runs for the second straight night. Jake McGee got the final out of the inning. We’re bumping Davis from this hierarchy temporarily until he has a good outing.

Updated hierarchy: *Estevez | Diaz | Shaw.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Andres Munoz – Kirby Yates has gone three straight.
2. Ryan Pressly – Roberto Osuna has gone back to back and three of four.
3. Yoan Lopez – Archie Bradley has gone back to back and three of four.

Tomorrow
1. Andres Munoz/Craig Stammen – It’s conceivable that the Padres give Kirby Yates two days off after he threw 67 pitches over the last three nights.
2. Ty Buttrey – If Hansel Robles goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
3. Scott Barlow – Ian Kennedy labored through a 26-pitch save last night; another long outing tonight and he’ll be off Wednesday.

Scott Oberg and Sean Doolittle on IL; Craig Kimbrel returns

August 19, 2019

New York Mets – Taking a 6-run lead into the 9th inning, the Mets went to Edwin Diaz to close it out, and Diaz posted his first 1-2-3 inning since July 21. Given recent usage, it seems the Mets’ plan going forward is that Lugo will get save chances if he’s available, while Diaz is probably the first option if he isn’t. As mentioned before, Lugo has trouble going on back to back nights, so Diaz is probably still in line for a handful of save chances down the stretch.

Updated hierarchy: *Lugo | Diaz | Wilson.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies – On Sunday morning, the Rockies placed Scott Oberg on the IL with a blood clot in his arm — reportedly, his season is over — and it took all of several hours for his replacement, Wade Davis, to blow the first subsequent Rockies save chance. We figured Davis would get the first look, but what happens now is anyone’s guess. Jake McGee, Carlos Estevez, and Bryan Shaw have all closed at various points in their career; of those three, only Estevez has pitched well as of late. Jairo Diaz could also get a look, as he’s got a high strikeout rate. We’ll slide Estevez to the top of the committee for now with the caveat that this is an educated guess at best. Complicating matters is that Estevez has gone three innings in the last two days and won’t pitch today; if someone else has success then they could easily vault him.

Updated hierarchy: *Estevez | Diaz | Davis.
* = closer-by-committee

Miami Marlins – Ryne Stanek got the 9th inning for the Marlins on Sunday, but gave up two runs and blew the save. He was a little unlucky, as one of the runs was unearned, but Stanek hasn’t been sharp since joining the Marlins (9.64 ERA over 5 appearances) so there’s no reason to think he’s the favorite for more saves going forward. We’ll continue to monitor this situation, but only owners in deep leagues should be rostering a Marlins reliever at this point.

Hierarchy remains: *Garcia | Quijada | Stanek.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago Cubs – Craig Kimbrel was activated from the IL on Sunday morning, and immediately got the 9th inning, albeit with the Cubs up by 7 runs. Kimbrel got the first two outs of the inning, also allowing a solo home run and a hit by pitch, before Pedro Strop got the last out. It seems likely that the Cubs, which have had a rather disastrous bullpen stretch in recent weeks, will ease Kimbrel back into the role sooner rather than later.

Updated hierarchy: *Kimbrel | Strop | Wick.
* = closer-by-committee

Washington Nationals – The Nationals placed Sean Doolittle on the IL on Sunday with right knee tendinitis. Daniel Hudson has been the most effective arm in the bullpen lately and is likely the best bet for saves in the near future. Hunter Strickland could also get a look.

Updated hierarchy: *Hudson | Strickland | Rodney
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today/tomorrow
1. Andres Munoz/Craig Stammen – Kirby Yates has thrown 45 pitches over the last two days and could get today off. If he does go, watch for usage to predict tomorrow’s closer; if Andres Munoz goes tonight, it’ll be three straight for him, too.

Tomorrow
1. John Gant – Carlos Martinez threw 21 pitches yesterday; another extended outing and he’ll be off Tuesday.
2. Ryan Pressly/Will Harris – If Roberto Osuna or Ryan Pressly go tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.

Scott Oberg placed on IL with blood clot

August 18, 2019

Colorado Rockies – The Rockies placed Scott Oberg on the IL with a blood clot in his arm. It seems likely that Wade Davis will return to the closer role in Oberg’s absence, though Bryan Shaw or Jake McGee could also factor in.

Updated hierarchy: *Davis | Shaw | McGee
* = closer-by-committee