Alex Colome hits DL, forces Rays into committee

June 29, 2016

Tampa Bay Rays – Alex Colome was placed on the 15-day DL Tuesday with biceps tendinitis. It’s retroactive to June 19, so Colome may not miss much more time, but in his stead, manager Kevin Cash will mix and match in the late innings based on matchups. Xavier Cedeno is the best bet to lead that committee, with Cash also mentioning righties Matt Andriese and Erasmo Ramirez as candidates.

Updated hierarchy: Cedeno | Ramirez | Andriese.

St. Louis Cardinals – It wasn’t a save situation, but with the Cardinals ahead over the final three innings on Tuesday, Jonathan Broxton, Kevin Siegrist and Seung Hwan Oh came out in that order to finish the game. It’s still a committee, especially with none of the three pitchers having recorded a save since Trevor Rosenthal’s demotion, but all indications so far are that Oh will be the ninth-inning guy for the Cardinals.

Hierarchy remains: *Oh | Siegrist | Broxton.
* = closer-by-committee

Seattle Mariners — Edwin Diaz, a starter-turned-reliever, was called up from Double-A on June 4 and picked up his fourth hold of the season on Tuesday. He showed off his plus fastball to get the final out of the eighth, striking out Gregory Polanco while hitting 100, 101 and 99 on the radar gun. With two strikeouts on Tuesday, Diaz has now fanned 21 of the 58 batters he has faced (36.2%) this season. He earned praise from manager Scott Servais after the game, and with the stuff he has, Diaz should get more high-leverage looks for the Mariners.

Updated hierarchy: Cishek | Benoit | Diaz.

Oakland A’s – Ryan Madson was needed for a six-out save on Tuesday, going two innings for the first time since 2009. Sean Doolitle was unavailable, sore from a 33-pitch outing on Saturday. He’ll be evaluated on Wednesday, but if he is unavailable again look for John Axford to get a save chance.

Hierarchy remains: Madson | Doolittle | Axford.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Kevin Siegrist/Jonathan Broxton, St. Louis Cardinals – Seung Hwan Oh threw 25 pitches last night, and the Cardinals are technically in a committee until further notice.
2. John Axford, Oakland Athletics  – As mentioned above, Ryan Madson went two innings last night, throwing 43 pitches. If Sean Doolittle is still sore, Axford should get the call.
3. Jim Johnson, Atlanta Braves – Arodys Vizcaino threw 30 pitches in a tough outing on Tuesday.
4. Pedro Strop, Chicago Cubs – Hector Rondon has appeared in back-to-back games, including a 26-pitch outing last night in which he blew a save, leading to a taxing night for the rest of the bullpen. Strop was a rare Chicago pitcher to not take the mound in the 15-inning contest.
5. Ross Ohlendorf, Cincinnati Reds – Tony Cingrani went 1.2 innings last night and has thrown 37 pitches over the last three days.

Jonathan Papelbon on his way back

June 28, 2016

New York Yankees – Aroldis Chapman had a save opportunity snatched away from him by Mother Nature last night – a rain delay in the ninth held him to only nine pitches. When play resumed hours later, Kirby Yates was given the unenviable task of warming up at 2 am to close out a game. He didn’t, giving up 3 runs and blowing his second save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Miller | Betances.

Washington Nationals – Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless, 10-pitch inning for the Nationals last night – the single-A Potomac Nationals, that is – before joining the big club later in the evening. Amazingly, it was Papelbon’s first ever rehab start in his long career. According to Pap, he “felt great” and is expected later this week. Until then, Shawn Kelley is the closer in DC.

Hierarchy remains: Kelley | Rivero | Treinen.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Kevin Siegrist/Jonathan Broxton, St. Louis Cardinals – The Cardinals remain in committee mode until further notice.

Cam Bedrosian living up to his potential

June 27, 2016

Los Angeles Angels – He was armed with an overpowering fastball and a good deal of hype, but Cam Bedrosian was still pretty green when he made his debut two years ago — which is understandable given that he was just 22 years old. Now, with two years of major league experience under his belt, Bedrosian has figured things out, and currently boasts a 1.33 ERA. He hasn’t allowed an earned run all month (12 appearances), and last night, he got the 8th inning in a close game. Look for him to get more late game action while Joe Smith is on the shelf.

Updated hierarchy: Street | Salas | Bedrosian.

Texas Rangers – Speaking of relievers who are having a good June, look who trotted out of the bullpen in the 9th inning for the Rangers last night! Why, it’s our old pal Shawn Tolleson! It was a 4-run game, and if it had been a save situation, Sam Dyson surely would have gotten the call, but with Tolleson starting to round into form (1 ER in 9 innings since returning to the bigs), he could start challenging Jake Diekman and Matt Bush for some holds.

Hierarchy remains: Dyson | Diekman | Bush.

St. Louis Cardinals – We got our first look at the post-Rosenthal Cardinals bullpen last night, and it was Kevin Siegrist who was first out of the gate, inheriting a sticky spot in the 6th inning. Seung Hwan Oh was not used, as the Cardinals padded their lead and went on to win by 5, but he clearly would have been the guy last night if there had been a save situation. Early indications continue to be that Oh is at the top of the committee.

Hierarchy remains: *Oh | Siegrist | Broxton.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jason Motte, Colorado Rockies – Carlos Estevez continues to face an abusive workload — he’s pitched in 13 of the Rockies’ 24 games in June, including 5 of the last 7.

Rosenthal out as closer, Ryan Dull putting up historic numbers

June 26, 2016

St. Louis Cardinals — Mike Matheny confirmed yesterday that Trevor Rosenthal will no longer be the team’s closer.  He also said that he would use a three-pitcher committee instead of naming one closer.  We still like Seung Hwan Oh the best but Matheny said that he would rotate through Oh, Siegrist and Broxton based on availability and matches.

Updated hierarchy: *Oh | Siegrist | Broxton.
* – closer-by-committee

June 26, 2016
Colorado Rockies – Gonzalez Germen recorded his first save of the season yesterday.  Germen came on to get the last out the eighth inning and stayed on for the ninth after the Rockies added some insurance runs.  Boone Logan has been used as a LOOGY lately, he has gone less than a full inning in his last seven appearances so German could continue to see more time in the later innings for the Rockies until Jake McGee returns.

Updated hierarchy: Estevez | Motte | Germen.

Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle pitched out a bases loaded, one out jam in the ninth inning yesterday in a non-save situation.  However, the bigger news may be that Ryan Dull stranded two more inherited runners.  Dull has now stranded all 32 inherited runners this season.  Dull is still behind Madson, Doolittle, and Axford when it comes to saves chances but he is having a great season for the A’s bullpen.

Hierarchy remains: Madson | Doolittle | Axford.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Mychal Givens, Baltimore Orioles – Zach Britton has pitched in two straight and four of the last five.  Brad Brach has also pitched in two straight and three of the past four.
2. Tyler Thornburg, Milwaukee Brewers – Jeremy Jeffress has pitched in back-to-back games.
3. Addison Reed, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia has pitched in two straight and four of the past five.
4. Kirby Yates, New York Yankees – The big three of Chapman, Miller, and Betances has all pitched in two straight and three of the past four.
5. Kevin Siegrist/Jonathan Broxton, St. Louis Cardinals – Matheny said he will mix and match between Oh, Siegrist and Broxton