June 21, 2013
Milwaukee Brewers – With an 8th-inning blown save last night, Jim Henderson is adding some intrigue into the closer debate in Milwaukee. Since returning from the DL, he’s pitched five innings, allowing three runs and two home runs, while Francisco Rodriguez has strung together six straight scoreless appearances to lower his season ERA to 0.68. Given their respective numbers, it’s no longer a guarantee that Henderson gets the job back once K-Rod gets to 300 saves. Also last night, John Axford pitched the 9th inning in a tie game, and has been used in higher-leverage spots than Brandon Kintzler as of late. Hierarchy change: John Axford to 2nd in line, replacing Brandon Kintzler.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2014 Closer | . | Updated |
MIL | | Jim Henderson | | Francisco Rodriguez | | John Axford | | Jim Henderson | | 6/21/13 |
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Detroit Tigers – Before yesterday’s game, Jim Leyland said that Joaquin Benoit would be his closer for “tonight,” but the Tigers skipper continued to refuse to name any one player as the go-to stopper (Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski is fine with this, by the way). This looks like a full out platoon now, with Jose Valverde, Drew Smyly, Benoit, and possibly Phil Coke all involved. No hierarchy change.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2014 Closer | . | Updated |
DET | | Jose Valverde | | Joaquin Benoit | | Drew Smyly | | Bruce Rondon | | 6/21/13 |
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Pittsburgh Pirates – Tony Watson picked up a two-inning save on Thursday. Jason Grilli, Mark Melancon, and Justin Wilson had all received pretty heavy workloads this week, and all three were given the night off. No hierarchy change.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2014 Closer | . | Updated |
PIT | | Jason Grilli | | Mark Melancon | | Justin Wilson | | Jason Grilli | | 6/21/13 |
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Boston Red Sox — After yet another blown save by Andrew Bailey, John Farrell finally announced that he was ready to try another option at closer. Although Farrell says that they will discuss the identity of the replacement “internally,” we again believe that the Sox will turn to Junichi Tazawa, while keeping 38-year-old Koji Uehara — whose workload Farrell has limited — in a setup role. Hierarchy change: Junichi Tazawa to Closer, Koji Uehara to Set-Up, Andrew Miller to 2nd in line.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2014 Closer | . | Updated |
BOS | | Junichi Tazawa | | Koji Uehara | | Andrew Miller | | Junichi Tazawa | | 6/20/13 |
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VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Kevin Jepsen, Los Angeles Angels – Ernesto Frieri has gone three straight.
2. Francisco Rodriguez, Milwaukee Brewers – K-Rod continues his quest for save #300.
3. Joaquin Benoit, Detroit Tigers – The VSW is likely to be littered with Tigers until their platoon shakes out. Tonight’s save opp, if there is one, will go to Valverde or Benoit, while Drew Smyly needs a day or two off after throwing 39 pitches last night.