Cleveland committee gets murkier; Jeurys Familia poised to seize closer role

May 12, 2014

Cleveland Indians – Marc Rzepczynski was struggling in the 8th inning, so Cody Allen came on to clean up the mess, but the de facto leader of Cleveland’s closer by committee struggled to throw a strike, ultimately hitting a batter and allowing a base hit and sacrifice fly before escaping the inning. With Allen having thrown 22 pitches, the 9th went to Bryan Shaw, who pitched a clean frame for the save. It’s hard to know what would have happened if Scrabble hadn’t needed the 8th inning bailout — had he gotten through the 8th, it might’ve been Allen who got the save opp. Regardless, managers tend not to mess with formulas they’ve had success with, so Shaw’s spotless outing inches him into the lead for saves in Cleveland. We suspect Allen could still get 9th inning chances while John Axford sorts himself out, though Francona’s tendency to summon him in high-leverage spots, regardless of the inning, might end up hurting his value.

Hierarchy change: Shaw | Allen | Atchison.

Toronto Blue Jays – Casey Janssen was activated from the disabled list on the same day that former fill-in closer Sergio Santos hit the DL. Janssen should resume closing immediately.

Hierarchy change: Janssen | Cecil | Delabar.

New York Mets – On the heels of another strong outing by Jeurys Familia, manager Terry Collins is getting close to giving the young righty the keys to the 9th inning, saying after Sunday’s game that “he’s real close” to winning the job from a struggling Kyle Farnsworth. This assertion comes as a bit of a surprise, as Collins has had a tendency to value experience in the 9th inning, especially this year, when he gave Jose Valverde, Farnsworth, and Daisuke Matsuzaka chances in the 9th inning before allowing either Familia or Gonzalez Germen a crack at closing. But for Familia, at least, that appears to be changing.

Hierarchy change: Farnsworth | Familia | Matsuzaka.

Atlanta Braves – David Carpenter pitched a clean 9th inning for the Braves on Sunday, earning his second save of the season. As mentioned in the Vulture Save Watch, Craig Kimbrel had thrown 43 pitches over the previous two days and got the night off.

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Carpenter | Varvaro.

Milwaukee Brewers – Will Smith picked up his 10th hold of the season on Sunday, pitching a clean 8th inning ahead of Francisco Rodriguez. We at Closer Monkey are excited about Smith’s ascension, as it gives us the ability to make more terrible jokes about his name.

Hierarchy change: Rodriguez | Smith | Kintzler.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Kenley Jansen allowed 5 baserunners to reach in the 10th inning on Sunday, and after 3 of them scored, saddling him with the loss, his ERA climbed to 4.58. Once considered a top closer in the game, Jansen has had a rough go of it so far this year, and with Chris Perez doing fine work in the 8th inning, the hard-throwing righty has reasons to be concerned about his job.

Kenley Jansen to Hot Seat.

San Francisco Giants – Jean Machi picked up a 10th inning save on Sunday after Sergio Romo had already pitched. Romo blew the save in the 9th, but it was his first blown save in 13 chances, and his job is not in jeopardy.

Hierarchy remains: Romo | Casilla | Lopez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Anthony Bass, Houston Astros – Chad Qualls has been more effective as of late, but Anthony Bass could get a 9th inning chance at any time.