June 24, 2021
Philadelphia Phillies — Hector Neris is about to lose his job, and Jose Alvarado will be the one taking it. A third blown save in five outings for Neris led Joe Girardi to say he’ll take Thursday’s off day to “think about” making a change. It’s all but official, though, and with the way Girardi was praising Alvarado on Wednesday, the next guy up is pretty clear. Make the move while you can, and we’ll issue an official alert when Joe finishes mulling things over.
Hierarchy remains: Neris | Alvarado | Coonrod.
Arizona Diamondbacks — Arizona didn’t just move Stefan Crichton out of high-leverage spots; it dumped him from the 40-man roster entirely, designating the 29-year-old for assignment. With Crichton (and Kevin Ginkel) gone, Joakim Soria should have a solid grasp on the ninth inning, for whatever that’s worth on the worst team in baseball. Ryan Buchter joins the hierarchy.
Updated hierarchy: Soria | Ramirez | Buchter.
Texas Rangers — Ian Kennedy was sick Wednesday, so the Rangers called on Joely Rodriguez for his first career save. Rodriguez has been getting the eighth inning ahead of Kennedy this week, and this cemented his move back into the setup role.
Updated hierarchy: Kennedy | Rodriguez | Sborz.
Washington Nationals — Kyle Finnegan hit the IL with a strained hamstring right when we were thinking he might get a vulture save shot. Instead, after Austin Voth and Tanner Rainey blew the lead in the eighth (and Hector Neris handed it right back in the top of the ninth), the Nats called on Paolo Espino to lock down the ninth. Espino came through for his first career save, but expect Rainey and Wander Suero to fill out the hierarchy for now.
Updated hierarchy: Hand | Rainey | Suero.
St. Louis Cardinals — Daniel Ponce de Leon was placed on the IL with shoulder discomfort, saddening all but those who long for symmetry in our closer chart. Lefty Genesis Cabrera pitched ahead of the big two today and probably has an edge over Ryan Helsley and Andrew Miller.
Updated hierarchy: Reyes | Gallegos | Cabrera.
Chicago White Sox — 22-year-old Garrett Crochet has struggled lately, but there’s no obvious candidate to take his spot in the seventh inning. Evan Marshall, Cody Heuer, and Ryan Burr are lurking, but to no great effect. The long-term plan for Crochet remains the starting rotation, at which point he will be dead to us.
Hierarchy remains: Hendriks | Bummer | Crochet.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Scott Barlow (KC) — Greg Holland, Barlow, and Kyle Zimmer have all pitched in three of four, and Josh Staumont threw 32 pitches Wednesday. Jake Brentz has thrown 53 pitches over the last two days. It’s either a tired Barlow or, uh, Anthony Swarzak?
2. AJ Minter (ATL) — Will Smith didn’t pitch Wednesday, but has still gone in three of four.
Friday:
1. Tyler Chatwood (TOR) — Jordan Romano has pitched back-to-back.
2. Tejay Antone (CIN) — It’ll be three of four if Lucas Sims pitches Thursday.
3. Sam Coonrod (PHI) — It should be Jose Alvarado’s job by Friday and the Phillies have a doubleheader.