Brett Cecil demoted; Joel Peralta returns from DL

June 24, 2015

Toronto Blue Jays – Brett Cecil was removed from the closer role, said John Gibbons on Tuesday afternoon. Roberto Osuna was unavailable last night but, along with Steve Delabar, will also get opportunities going forward. Gibbons did not want to define roles, but he did mention that he plans to move hard-throwing righty Bo Schultz to the late innings, giving the 29-year-old more responsibility.

Updated hierarchy: *Osuna | Delabar | Schultz.
* = closer-by-committee

Los Angeles Dodgers — Joel Peralta’s first game back from the DL did not go as smoothly as he would have liked. He loaded the bases without recording an out before Kenley Jansen was called on to put out the fire. Jansen got one out before surrendering the walk-off sac fly. Peralta’s return is a welcome sign in the beat-up Dodger bullpen, and he probably should have been given an easier first inning than the 10th in a 0-0 game.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Garcia | Peralta.

Chicago White Sox — Jake Petricka finished the 8th inning with a two-run lead, and when the White Sox ran the lead to four in the top of the 9th, he stayed on to pick up the save. Robertson was available, but the lack of a new save opportunity kept him out of this one.

Hierarchy remains: Robertson | Duke | Petricka.

Oakland Athletics – With Tyler Clippard unavailable after throwing nearly 60 pitches this past weekend, it was Drew Pomeranz who took the 8th inning and stayed on for the 9th to earn his first career save. Clippard should be available today after two days off to recover.

Hierarchy remains: Clippard | Scribner | Pomeranz.

New York Mets — Although the Mets lost last night, Jeurys Familia was available to pitch if called on after leaving with an injury last week. Because they were behind, Familia wasn’t used, but Bobby Parnell did put up a scoreless third of an inning to keep his ERA at 0.00 on the season.

Hierarchy remains: Familia | Parnell | Robles.

New York Yankees — Dellin Betances had a forgettable outing last night. After striking out two hitters in the 8th, he lost his command and surrendered four runs on two hits and two hit batsmen to take his first loss of the year. As a show of how good he has been, the four runs quintupled his ERA from 0.25 to 1.25. He should continue to get the 9th inning while Andrew Miller is out, but Miller plans to play catch today.

Hierarchy remains: Betances | Wilson | Shreve.

Tampa Bay Rays — Brad Boxberger continues to be the most valuable member of the Rays’ bullpen, as he locked down his fourth straight save despite allowing a solo home run. We’ll keep the asterisk because manager Kevin Cash can go to Jake McGee or Kevin Jepsen at any point, but Boxberger is the man to own in Tampa.

Hierarchy remains: *Boxberger | McGee | Jepsen.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. J.J. Hoover, Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman is out on paternity leave until Thursday.
2. Justin Wilson, New York Yankees – Dellin Betances threw 27 pitches last night and may need the afternoon off.

Roberto Osuna’s stellar outing has him in contention for more saves

June 23, 2015

Toronto Blue Jays – While the Blue Jays’ bullpen remains unsettled, 20 year-old Roberto Osuna is making a name for himself with his 100 mph fastball. Last night Osuna was called on to get the Jays out of a jam in the 8th, which he did by striking out three Tampa hitters around a walk. He then returned and struck out two more in the 9th for his first save. John Gibbons said after the game that “you can’t say enough about Osuna,” but did not name him the new closer, which leads us to believe that tonight’s game is vital. Osuna is likely unavailable after his 33-pitch outing, so if the Jays get a save opp, and Cecil converts it, he probably hangs on to his job for at least a little while longer. But if he pitches badly, or doesn’t pitch at all, then that opens up the chance for Osuna to seize control of the gig going forward. Steve Delabar, two years removed from an All Star game appearance, also lurks as a candidate, while the Jays continue to be mentioned in talks for Jonathan Papelbon and Francisco Rodriguez.

Hierarchy remains: *Cecil | Osuna | Delabar.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago Cubs – Joe Maddon, the Lord of the Closer Committee, continues to keep us guessing. Hector Rondon had been emerging as the leader of the pack until last night, when he and Pedro Strop pitched scoreless innings ahead of 33 year-old birthday boy Jason Motte.

Hierarchy remains: *Rondon | Strop | Motte.
* = closer-by-committee

Arizona Diamondbacks – In a somewhat surprising move, Addison Reed was sent to the minors on Sunday. He’ll work on his stuff and could return to a prominent role later this season. Fan favorite David Hernandez moves up to take his place.

Updated hierarchy: Ziegler | Hudson | Hernandez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. J.J. Hoover, Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman is out on paternity leave, so Hoover may get a save chance today.
2. Steve Delabar, Toronto Blue Jays – Brett Cecil hasn’t been publicly removed from the closer role yet, but if John Gibbons is planning on a demotion, then it’ll be Steve Delabar filling in for a recovering Roberto Osuna (33 pitches last night; 65 over the last four games) tonight.
3. Joba Chamberlain, Detroit Tigers – Joakim Soria has pitched in back to back games and has allowed a run in each appearance; he may get the day off.
4. Ken Giles, Philadelphia Phillies – Likewise, Jonathan Papelbon has gone in back to back games and allowed runs in each appearance. The Phillies may give him today off, as they likely don’t want to risk injuring one of their trade candidates.

Brett Cecil on the verge of losing his job

June 22, 2015

Toronto Blue Jays – Brett Cecil owners have had it rough. After going more than a month without so much as a save opportunity, Cecil has gotten a few more high-leverage chances in the past two weeks, and has responded by melting down. He began June with a 2.81 ERA, but after allowing 10 runs in his last six appearances (including a brutal outing yesterday), his ERA has shot to 5.96, and beat writers are speculating about whether he’s already lost his job. Cecil, for his part, thinks the issue might be that he’s tipping pitches, and his middle infielders fell on the sword for yesterday’s disaster, saying they should’ve turned a double play. But regardless of the reason, Roberto Osuna seems like a great add for speculators, while the Jays are also reportedly looking at Francisco Rodriguez.

Hierarchy remains: Cecil | Osuna | Delabar. 

Atlanta Braves – Jason Grilli had pitched in back to back games, so the Braves tapped Jim Johnson for the save chance on Sunday. Johnson converted his fourth save of the season, allowing Closer Monkey to brag about the Vulture Save Watch, as is our wont. Behind him, Nick Masset has supplanted Brandon Cunniff for the 2nd in line spot.

Updated hierarchy: Grilli | Johnson | Masset.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Andrew Chafin picked up a three-inning save on Sunday. He does not factor in to Arizona’s usual late-inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: Ziegler | Hudson | Reed.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jake Petricka, Chicago White Sox – David Robertson has pitched in three straight, and Zach Duke has pitched in two straight and five of six.
2. Roberto Osuna, Toronto Blue Jays – Even if he hasn’t lost the job, Brett Cecil threw 33 pitches last night, two days after throwing 32 pitches on Friday. He’ll likely need a night off.

Boxberger re-asserting himself in Tampa Bay

June 21, 2015

Tampa Bay Rays — Brad Boxberger ran into a little trouble on Saturday night, loading the bases in the 9th, but he was able to get out of it without allowing any runs, and picked up his 18th save of the season in the process.  After recording no saves in the first half of June, Boxberger has now gotten saves in each of the past three games.  Manager Kevin Cash has other good options to close out games with Jake McGee and Kevin Jepsen, but Boxberger seems to be re-asserting himself as the guy after a shaky start to the month.

Hierarchy remains: *Boxberger | McGee | Jepsen.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies — Tommy Kahnle got the call last night with the Rockies protecting a two run lead in the 7th inning and two men on base. He got a double play ball to get out the inning and then came back to pitch a scoreless 8th.  Kahnle was called up at the beginning of June and has recorded a couple holds to go along with an ERA under 1.

Updated hierarchy: Axford | Logan | Kahnle.

Chicago Cubs — Hector Rondon picked up his 12th save of the season on Saturday.  Pedro Strop and Jason Motte each threw scoreless innings in a tie game ahead of Rondon, with Motte getting the win.  Based on that usage, it seems like manager Joe Maddon was saving Rondon for the save opportunity.  Rondon has now converted two straight saves and could be moving towards removing that committee label.

Hierarchy remains: *Rondon | Strop | Motte.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Yankees — Bryan Mitchell pitched the last three innings of a blowout Yankees win to record the save last night.  Mitchell was just called up, and was an option to start yesterday, so he does not factor into the Yankees normal late inning bullpen plans.

Hierarchy remains: Betances | Wilson | Shreve.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jake McGee/Kevin Jepsen, Tampa Bay Rays
– Brad Boxberger has pitched in three games in a row.
2. Bobby Parnell, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia will likely be unavailable again on Sunday with his groin injury.
3. Jim Johnson, Atlanta Braves – Jason Grilli has pitched in two straight, and three of the last four.
4. Fernando Rodney/Charlie Furbush, Seattle Mariners – Carson Smith has pitched in back-to-back games and has yet to go three in a row this season.
5. Zach Duke, Chicago White Sox – David Robertson has appeared in two straight games, including a 28 pitch outing on Friday.