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.

Weekly Hot Seat Update: April 16, 2015

April 16, 2015

Since last week, LaTroy Hawkins has lost his job, and Chris Hatcher and Dellin Betances are no longer the head of their committees.  Who else is in danger of losing their job and what’s going on with all those committees?

Fernando Rodney, Seattle Mariners
It’s probably not a good sign for a closer when your local newspaper is running a poll asking whether or not they are concerned about you.  Rodney has given up 7 hits and 6 runs in his last 2 outings.  Manager Lloyd McClendon has already said that Rodney is still the guy.  However, the Mariners have other options with Yoervis Medina, who already has a save this season, and Danny Farquhar, who had 16 saves just two seasons ago.

Miguel Castro, Toronto Blue Jays
Miguel Castro has converted both of his save opportunities since Brett Cecil was removed as closer.  He also has given up zero earned runs on the young season (though he did give up an unearned run and took the loss on Tuesday).  So why is he on this list?  One reason is Cecil has pitched well since his opening night struggles, throwing two scoreless innings with three strikeouts.  The other reason is Castro entered in the 7th inning the other night, which is not typical for a traditional closer.  Castro has pitched well enough so far to keep the job, but the Blue Jays might want to give Roberto Osuna and Cecil some save chances as well.

Andrew Miller, New York Yankees
After David Robertson left in the off-season, most people figured Dellin Betances would slide right in and dominate hitters in the 9th inning, like he did in the 7th and 8th inning last year.  Unfortunately for Betances’ fantasy owners, that has not happened.  Betances has struggled to throw strikes, as he has 6 walks against 5 strikeouts in only 4.1 innings.  Andrew Miller, on the other hand, has picked up right where he left off last season.  Miller has made three scoreless appearances, earning two saves, and has yet to give up a hit.  Betances had an encouraging outing last night as he threw a scoreless inning with two strikeouts, and more importantly, no walks.  Miller is the better bet to get saves in the short-term, but Betances could still factor in long term, especially if he can get his walks under control.

Jeurys Familia, New York Mets
The Mets have already changed closers once this season, after Jenrry Mejia got hurt (and then suspended).  Jeurys Familia has stepped up and recorded three saves, while only giving up a couple runs in five outings.  The Mets could have a new closer returning from injury soon.  Bobby Parnell, who saved 22 games for the Mets two years ago, has started a rehab assignment.  Manager Terry Collins said before the season that the closer’s role would be Bobby Parnell’s to lose once he returns from injury so if he sticks to that, Familia’s days as closer could be numbered.