April 16, 2014
Oakland A’s — Sean Doolittle blew a save late Tuesday night, courtesy of a Mike Trout home run. No instant alert for this one — they were even anyway — but we’re ready to shuffle Luke Gregerson to the top of the Oakland closer committee. Note also the resurgence of Jim Johnson, who’s pitched five scoreless innings since he was moved out of the ninth inning. Hierarchy change: Luke Gregerson to Closer, Sean Doolittle to Set-up.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2015 Closer | . | Updated | |
| OAK | Luke Gregerson | Sean Doolittle | Ryan Cook | Ryan Cook | 4/16/14 |
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Colorado Rockies – Rex Brothers has been awful this year, and Walt Weiss has decided to give the lefty a few days off. Boone Logan, who escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh on Tuesday night, should reap some high-leverage rewards. For his part, Adam Ottavino has been practically unhittable. Hierarchy change: Adam Ottavino to Set-up, Boone Logan to 2nd in line.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2015 Closer | . | Updated | |
| COL | LaTroy Hawkins | Adam Ottavino | Boone Logan | Rex Brothers | 4/16/14 |
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Cincinnati Reds — Jonathan Broxton picked up his first save of the year on Tuesday night, cementing his hold on Cincy’s closer job until the return of Aroldis Chapman. On Monday, Chapman threw off a mound for the first time since his injury, and the Reds are cautiously optimistic. No hierarchy change.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2015 Closer | . | Updated | |
| CIN | Jonathan Broxton | Sam LeCure | Manny Parra | Aroldis Chapman | 4/16/14 | |||||
| Aroldis Chapman (DL) | Sean Marshall (DL) |
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Chicago White Sox — The Sox signed ex-closer Frank Francisco on Monday and assigned him to their AAA team in Charlotte. With the struggles in the White Sox pen so far, Francisco has a good shot at being this year’s Kevin Gregg. That might be the saddest sentence I’ve ever typed. No hierarchy change.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2015 Closer | . | Updated | |
| CHW | Matt Lindstrom | Daniel Webb | Maikel Cleto | Nate Jones | 4/16/14 | |||||
| Nate Jones (DL) |
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Toronto Blue Jays — Casey Janssen pitched a scoreless inning for class-A Dunedin on Tuesday; he’s expected to make two more minor league appearances before returning in about a week. What role he’ll have upon his arrival is still unknown. No hierarchy change.
| . | Closer | . | Set-Up | . | 2nd in line | . | 2015 Closer | . | Updated | |
| TOR | Sergio Santos | Brett Cecil | Steve Delabar | Sergio Santos | 4/16/14 | |||||
| Casey Janssen (DL) |
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VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. David Carpenter/Jordan Walden, Atlanta Braves — Craig Kimbrel is still day-to-day with a sore shoulder.
2. Kevin Jepsen, Los Angeles Angels — Ernesto Frieri has pitched in four of the last five games, as has Joe Smith, who got blasted on Tuesday.
3. Chad Qualls/Anthony Bass, Houston Astros — It’s Houston, what are you gonna do?
4. Pedro Strop, Chicago Cubs — Rick Renteria might call on Strop after demoting Jose Veras. Heck, he might call on Kevin Gregg, or Gregg Olson.
5. Ryan Cook/Dan Otero, Oakland Athletics — Luke Gregerson is most likely to get an A’s save on Wednesday, but these two have a shot.
6. Brian Wilson/J.P. Howell, Los Angeles Dodgers — Kenley Jansen has thrown in three of the last four games, including a 25-pitch outing yesterday, and Brian Wilson has returned from the disabled list.
