Jerry Blevins injured; Neftali Feliz knocked around

April 20, 2015

New York Mets – Jerry Blevins broke his forearm fielding a comebacker on Sunday, and will likely miss at least the next month or two. Vic Black, meanwhile, had a setback in his recovery, meaning the Mets will have to rely on Alex Torres and Buddy Carlyle in the 7th inning going forward. Bobby Parnell can’t get back soon enough.

Updated hierarchy: Familia | C.Torres | A.Torres.

Texas Rangers – It wasn’t exactly a banner night for the Texas bullpen, which saw its top three relievers get knocked around in a late game collapse against the Mariners. Shawn Tolleson pitched the 7th and fared the best, only allowing one run on two hits. Tanner Scheppers got the 8th and only recorded one out while surrendering three runs. Then, summoned for a five-out save, Neftali Feliz allowed two inherited runners to score in the 8th, then two more of his own in the 9th. Since everyone looked bad in this one, Feliz shouldn’t have too much to worry about yet. But with his peripherals looking shady, another blown save could land him on the Hot Seat.

Hierarchy remains: Feliz | Scheppers | Tolleson.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Jared Hughes picked up his fifth hold of the season on Sunday, which places him among the league leaders. Though Arquimedes Caminero has the better raw stuff, Hughes has been excellent so far this year, so we’ll nudge him into the hierarchy, while acknowledging that he and Caminero are essentially neck and neck behind Mark Melancon and Tony Watson.

Updated hierarchy: Melancon | Watson | Hughes.

San Diego Padres – Joaquin Benoit picked up his first save of the year on Sunday. Craig Kimbrel was unavailable after pitching back to back nights and three of four. Score another one for the Vulture Save Watch.

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Benoit | Thayer.

St. Louis Cardinals – Jordan Walden picked up the save on Sunday night. After the game, Mike Matheny said that Trevor Rosenthal has had a high workload in the early going, and that he wanted to give him two consecutive days off. Walden, tied for the league lead in holds, remains the handcuff.

Hierarchy remains: Rosenthal | Walden | Belisle.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Chad Qualls, Houston Astros – Luke Gregerson has pitched in back to back games.

Miguel Castro blows save, Wade Davis replaces Holland as closer

April 19, 2015

Toronto Blue Jays – Miguel Castro blew his first save of the season yesterday.  This was the first earned run given up by Castro, who has gotten off to a good start to the season much to the delight of the scout who signed him.   Brett Cecil pitched a scoreless 10th and picked up the win after Josh Donaldson hit a walk-off homer in the bottom of the inning.  This all comes just one night after Cecil had a terrible outing, and it looked like Castro had the chance to solidify himself as the closer.  With Castro and Cecil pitching on back-to-back days, Osuna could get the call on Sunday if there is a save opportunity and further complicate things in the Blue Jays bullpen.

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

Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland has been placed on the 15-day disabled list with a right pectoral strain.  The injury does not appear to be serious, but Holland will be rested for about a week.  Wade Davis will take over closing duties in his absence, with Kelvin Herrera handling the 8th inning.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Herrera | Frasor.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Joel Peralta recorded his third save of the season last night.  Chris Hatcher got the last out of the 7th and J.P. Howell pitched the 8th.  Peralta has not given up a hit in his last four appearances and looks to be asserting himself as the primary closer until Kenley Jansen returns.

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

New York Mets — Alex Torres came on to get the last out of the 9th inning and record his first career save.  With Jeurys Familia and Jerry Blevins getting the night off, Carlos Torres made a mess of a 4 run lead to start the 9th.  He gave up three runs and had the tying run on first base, before A. Torres struck out Christian Yelich to end the game.

Hierarchy Remains: Familia | C.Torres | Blevins.

Oakland A’s — Jesse Chavez recorded a save yesterday by pitching the last 3.2 innings after starter Jesse Hahn left with an injury.  Chavez does not factor into the A’s late inning plans but Sean Doolittle will when he returns and he is making progress.

Hierarchy remains: Clippard | O’Flaherty | Otero.

Tampa Bay Rays — Grant Balfour gave up 3 runs last night, and the Rays decided they have seen enough.  Balfour was designated for assignment after the game.

Updated hierarchy: Boxberger | Jepsen | Frieri.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Roberto Osuna, Toronto Blue Jays – Miguel Castro and Brett Cecil have both pitched in two straight
2. Joaquin Benoit, San Diego Padres – Craig Kimbrel has pitched on back-to-back days and three of the last four.
3. Pedro Strop/Jason Motte, Chicago Cubs – Hector Rondon blew the save yesterday and has appeared in two straight games, throwing a total of 48 pitches.  Pedro Strop has also pitched in two straight so the Cubs could go to Motte if they want to give Strop the day off as well.

Still Andrew Miller time for the Yankees

April 18, 2015

New York Yankees — Joe Girardi might still call it a closer committee in the Bronx, but Andrew Miller is the one running all the meetings. Dellin Betances took care of business in the seventh and eighth last night before giving way to Miller, who earned his third save with three strikeouts.

Hierarchy remains: *Miller | Betances | Carpenter.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago Cubs — Neil Ramirez left Wednesday’s game with right shoulder discomfort, and Friday’s MRI revealed inflammation, but no structural damage. Later that day, Joe Maddon went to Brian Schlitter with two on and a two-run lead in the seventh, and Schlitter immediately gave up the go-ahead home run — right after a would-be strikeout pitch that wound up leading to Maddon’s ejection. We might have gone to Jason Motte instead, but Maddon (correctly) noted that Schlitter is great at inducing ground balls (not to mention scatological puns). Three-run homers tend to weigh on the mind, however, and we think Motte will have the edge when the next late/close opportunity arrives.

Updated hierarchy: Rondon | Strop | Motte.

Texas Rangers — Tanner Scheppers, recovered from his sprained ankle, immediately returned to high-leverage work for the Rangers, holding on through a rocky eighth inning in relief of Shawn Tolleson. One place Scheppers won’t be used anytime soon is the Double-A Texas League, which fined and suspended him after he was ejected from a rehab appearance for throwing behind a batter in defense of a teammate.

Updated hierarchy: Feliz | Scheppers | Tolleson.

New York Mets — The Mets sent Rafael Montero down to the minors to stretch him out for a planned spot start on April 28; if the outing goes well, Montero could challenge Dillon Gee for the fifth starter role. Manager Terry Collins used the move to advocate a new roster format that would allow teams to deactivate players, as in the NFL and NBA. Jerry Blevins, who got the eighth-inning hold in Friday’s game, is in line for more high-leverage work.

Updated hierarchy: Familia | C.Torres | Blevins.

Boston Red Sox — Junichi Tazawa, who has yet to give up a run this season, has gained the edge over Alexi Ogando in the Boston bullpen.

Updated hierarchy: Uehara | Mujica | Tazawa.

Minnesota Twins — Brian Duensing is headed to the disabled list for the first time in his career, with a strained intercostal muscle. Paul Molitor sees fellow lefty Aaron Thompson, who pitched two scoreless innings in a tie game on Friday, sliding into Duensing’s role.

Updated hierarchy: Perkins | Fien | Thompson.

San Diego Padres — It’s been Dale Thayer, not Shawn Kelley, getting high-leverage work ahead of Benoit and Kimbrel for the Padres.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Benoit | Thayer.

Toronto Blue Jays – Things continue to be unsettled in the Jays’ pen; last night, Roberto Osuna pitched the fifth and sixth and Brett Cecil gave up three runs on two homers in the eighth. Miguel Castro continues to look like the best Toronto reliever to own — he pitched a scoreless ninth in the losing effort.

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

St. Louis Cardinals — Kevin Siegrist got a save for pitching the final two innings of a 5-1 win on Friday. And if you read this, you must really love bullpens.

Hierarchy remains: Rosenthal | Walden | Belisle.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joba Chamberlain, Detroit Tigers — Joakim Soria got a late win on Friday and has now pitched on three of the last four days, and six of the last eight. Meanwhile, Detroit’s penchant for shutouts has left Joba with one appearance all year.
2. Carlos Torres/Jerry Blevins, New York Mets — Jeurys Familia (five outings in six days; 62 pitches) has to take a break sometime.
3. Casey Fien, Minnesota Twins — Glen Perkins has pitched in three straight and four of five.

Jake McGee on the road to recovery

April 17, 2015

Tampa Bay Rays — Injured closer Jake McGee, working his way back after arthroscopic elbow surgery in December, tossed an inning in an extended spring training game on Thursday. The Rays will decide the next step in McGee’s recovery process on Friday; he may return to the big club within two weeks.

Hierarchy remains: Boxberger | Jepsen | Balfour.

New York Mets — In a rehab outing for Class A St. Lucie, Bobby Parnell allowed two runs on two hits and a walk in one inning of work. If this outing is any indication, Parnell may have a long way to go. Original estimates had Parnell returning to the Mets sometime in May; assuming he gets his act together, he could return to the late-inning mix. In the meantime, Jeurys Familia continues to get the job done for the Mets. He recorded his fourth save in as many chances Thursday, closing the door on the Marlins with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.

Hierarchy remains: Familia | C.Torres | Montero.

Arizona Diamondbacks — In a game neither side seemed to want to win, Addison Reed took the hill in the ninth with a 4-3 lead, but blew the save after allowing a two-out triple to San Francisco’s Joe Panik. Reed was yanked after giving up two hits and two walks. These were the first runs Reed has allowed all year, so it’s not time to panic yet; recall, though, that he wasn’t very good last year (4.25 ERA, 1.21 WHIP) and was injured for much of this spring.

Hierarchy remains: Reed | Marshall | Ziegler.

San Francisco Giants — Closer Santiago Casilla entered a tie game in the tenth with two outs and immediately surrendered the go-ahead home run. When Arizona squandered the lead again, Casilla got a chance to redeem himself — but he loaded the bases before getting the hook. Casilla has now allowed six baserunners and two runs over his last two appearances.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Romo | Affeldt.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Buddy Carlyle/Jerry Blevins, New York Mets — Jeurys Familia and Carlos Torres have pitched on four days out of five, and Rafael Montero threw 29 pitches on Thursday. The Mets could wind up going to one of their backup relievers if the need arises on Friday.
2. Chris Hatcher, Los Angeles Dodgers — Joel Peralta was dealing with a stiff neck earlier in the week, so Hatcher could be in line for some work in a save opportunity on Friday, especially given the committee situation.
3. Roberto Osuna/Brett Cecil, Toronto Blue Jays — Miguel Castro hasn’t officially been named the closer in Toronto, so until that happens, pay attention to Osuna and maybe even the demoted Cecil.