Addison Reed out as Diamondbacks closer

May 15, 2015

Arizona Diamondbacks — Manager Chip Hale announced today that Addison Reed will no longer be used in the ninth inning. Hale also said he will mix and match situationally late in games, but we expect Brad Ziegler to have the inside track on save opportunities while Reed works out his problems in earlier innings. Oliver Perez, Enrique Burgos, or maybe even converted starter Daniel Hudson could factor in. In addition, Hale said that he expects Reed to move back into the closer’s role at some point, so while he is off our hierarchy for now, Reed may see usage in the late innings again before regaining his job.

Updated hierarchy: *Ziegler | Perez | Burgos.
* closer-by-committee

Jake McGee back in the mix for Tampa; Carson Smith worth watching

May 15, 2015

Tampa Bay Rays — Matt Andriese had a rare four-inning save Thursday night against the Yankees, before getting sent down to make room for the returning Jake McGee. Brad Boxberger (2-1, 1.29 ERA, 10 saves in 10 chances, 12.86 K/9) has been excellent in McGee’s absence, so for now, Kevin Cash will play the matchups. McGee could grab the job for good later this summer, however.

Updated hierarchy: *Boxberger | McGee | Jepsen.
* closer-by-committee

Los Angeles Dodgers — The most volatile bullpen in baseball lived up to its reputation Thursday night, with Yimi Garcia coughing up a three-run homer in a rough 9th inning, blowing the save and taking the loss against the Rockies. Garcia has now allowed five runs in his last two outings, inflating his ERA from 0.63 to 3.38. Pedro Baez was likely next in line before he was placed on the disabled list with a strained pectoral muscle. Manager Don Mattingly said Baez could be out the next few weeks. Kenley Jansen, meanwhile, is healthy at the right time; he’s likely to be activated on Saturday, with a Friday return still possible. Stay tuned.

Updated hierarchy: *Garcia | Hatcher | Howell.
* closer-by-committee

Seattle Mariners — Earlier this week, we learned that setup man Danny Farquhar (5.29 ERA) is trying to figure out what’s gone wrong this season. While he does, rookie Carson Smith continues to impress at the back end of the bullpen, tossing a clean eighth inning ahead of Fernando Rodney on Thursday night. Rodney himself was not so clean, allowing the go-ahead run to take the loss in a 2-1 game. Rodney (5.65 ERA, 1.60 WHIP) has now allowed runs in three of his last four appearances. He’s still the Mariners’ closer, but Smith has earned the right to be next in line if Rodney continues to struggle.

Updated hierarchy: Rodney | Smith | Farquhar.

Boston Red Sox — Rookie Matt Barnes was thrown into a high-leverage situation Thursday night against the Mariners, pitching the eighth inning in a 1-1 game. He picked up the win after Fernando Rodney gave up the go-ahead run, and should continue to see late-inning opportunities moving forward.

Updated hierarchy: Uehara | Tazawa | Barnes.

Houston Astros — Chad Qualls picked up the save for the Astros Thursday night, as regular closer Luke Gregerson had to miss another game due to a family emergency. Manager A.J. Hinch said Gregerson would be back Friday and shouldn’t need to leave the team again.

Hierarchy remains: Gregerson | Qualls | Neshek.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Junichi Tazawa, Boston Red Sox — Koji Uehara has pitched in four of the last five games and is 40 years old, so Junichi Tazawa could get a look in a save situation.
2. Ken Giles/Luis Garcia, Philadelphia Phillies — Congrats to Jonathan Papelbon, who became the all-time saves leader (113) for the Phillies, passing Jose Mesa. Papelbon is also the all-time leader for the Red Sox (219). Papelbon (34 years old) has pitched in three straight games, though, and may get a night off to celebrate. Ken Giles has also pitched in three straight but he’s only 24 and could still be available. If not, Luis Garcia could possibly get the nod.
3. Jumbo Diaz/J.J. Hoover, Cincinnati Reds — All of the Reds’ top three pitchers have pitched on four out of the last five days. Jumbo Diaz threw only four pitches on Thursday, but if the team digs a little deeper, the chance could go to J.J. Hoover.
4. Chris Hatcher, Los Angeles Dodgers — If Kenley Jansen is not activated, look for Hatcher to get a Friday save opportunity.
5. Jake McGee/Kevin Jepsen, Tampa Bay Rays — It’s a cliche, but manager Kevin Cash will play the matchups, so it’s possible McGee or Jepsen get some action in the ninth.

Weekly Hot Seat Update: May 15, 2015

Hot Seat quick hits:

Mark Melancon, Pittsburgh Pirates
Most disturbing stats? — 41% decrease in K/9 from 2014; 69% increase in BB/9 from 2014; 2015 FIP and ERA each higher than his 2013 and 2014 versions combined.
Harbinger of doom? — Melancon has made 16 appearances in 32 games, including the first two back-to-back-to-back save chances of his career.
How’s his velocity? — Down 3.3 MPH on average.
Handcuff? — Tony Watson (0.74 WHIP, 1.89 ERA, 22.1 K-BB%).

Addison Reed, Arizona Diamondbacks
Most disturbing stats? — 7.20 ERA; eye-popping .412 BABIP even with below average (17%) line-drive rate; dead last in ERA+ among closers with 20 or more saves since April 2014.
Signatures on the petition to send him to Reno? — 226 and climbing.
Handcuff? — Brad Ziegler (69% GB, 0.91 WHIP, but 3.77 K/9).
Others getting press? — Daniel Hudson; Enrique Burgos; David Hernandez; Jake Barrett of the Reno Aces.

Cody Allen, Cleveland Indians
Most disturbing stats? — 8.25 ERA; 6.75 BB/9; WHIP higher than last year’s ERA.
Handcuff? — Bryan Shaw (2.31 ERA, but 4.22 BB/9).
Possible sleeper? — Zach McAllister (10.89 K/9, 2.22 FIP).

Jason Grilli, Atlanta Braves
Surprisingly positive stats? — .391 BABIP means his FIP is less than half of his ERA; exceptional 14.81 K/9 ratio.
Why is he here? — Back spasms and bad luck are a bad combination for a 38-year-old with a “proven closer” behind him.
Who’s that now? — Jim Johnson (3.31 ERA; but is Jim Johnson).

Other notes: although Jake McGee won’t supplant the excellent Brad Boxberger immediately, the leash will get much shorter in Tampa; don’t worry about Craig Kimbrel, whose high ERA seems more a function of bad luck (and pickoff throws to ghosts) than disappearing command; Tyler Clippard will be back in the eighth soon, although Sean Doolittle gave up back-to-back homers at Single-A Stockton on Thursday; Fernando Rodney seems safe for now, if only because Danny Farquhar has been so bad; Brett Cecil and his 6.05 FIP and 41.4% hard contact rate are slowly improving, but still pretty lousy; Kenley Jansen won’t replace Yimi Garcia immediately, but it shouldn’t take long; we think A.J. Ramos will hold onto the job in Miami, but he’s not out of the woods (swamp?) yet.

Addison Reed struggles; Kenley Jansen’s return impending

May 14, 2015

Arizona Diamondbacks –Addison Reed has had a woeful start to the year, and yesterday was no different. He came in to protect a one-run lead, and left after giving up a grand slam, blowing the save and boosting his ERA to an ugly 7.20. Reed has just two saves this year, but after the game he got a half-hearted vote of confidence from Chip Hale. For now, with Hale backing his man, Reed still has the job but is on a blazing hot seat, especially with Brad Ziegler sporting a tidy 1.26 ERA after another scoreless inning on Tuesday.

Hierarchy remains: Reed | Ziegler | Perez.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Kenley Jansen was due back on Saturday, but his return may get moved up a day after Pedro Baez left Wednesday’s game with a right pectoral injury. Don Mattingly said Jansen won’t be activated Thursday, but if Baez’s MRI on Thursday isn’t promising, that Friday return seems extremely likely. If Baez does indeed hit the DL, keep an eye on rookie Adam Liberatore. He took the loss on Wednesday, but had entered the game with 9.2 scoreless innings, retiring 28 of the first 29 batters he faced.

Hierarchy remains: *Garcia | Hatcher | Baez.
* = closer-by-committee.

Miami Marlins -A.J. Ramos picked up his first save as the head of the Marlins committee, pitching a scoreless ninth inning and striking out two. Dunn and Morris both got holds in the game, so the new committee is off to a great start. It’s a committee that won’t be adding Rafael Soriano, however, as the Marlins are no longer considering Soriano for their bullpen despite multiple reports earlier in the week.

Hierarchy remains: *Ramos | Dunn | Morris.

Kansas City Royals — Kelvin Herrera returned from his six-game suspension on Wednesday, allowing one hit in a scoreless ninth inning. He will slide back into his usual seventh-inning role.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

Oakland A’s –Sean Doolittle is set to begin a rehab assignment today. Manager Bob Melvin didn’t say how many minor-league outings Doolittle will need, but the sooner the A’s bullpen can get him back, the better. He should slide back into the closer’s role upon his return.

Hierarchy remains: Clippard | Scribner | Otero.

Baltimore Orioles — Darren O’Day picked up his first save of the season in a 6-1 Baltimore win.

Hierarchy remains: Britton | O’Day | Hunter.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Steve Geltz, Tampa Bay Rays – Both Brad Boxberger and Kelvin Jepsen have pitched in back-to-back games, and Geltz may snag a save in the Rays’ committee.

Marlins in talks with Rafael Soriano; Jason Grilli returns

May 13, 2015

Miami Marlins – As we suspected yesterday, A.J. Ramos will get the bulk of the save opportunities in Mike Redmond’s newly-formed committee. Redmond will indeed mix and match, however, so Mike Dunn and Bryan Morris are also options to save games for the Marlins. In addition, the team is in talks with free agent Rafael Soriano, whose last save came on Sept. 21 against…you guessed it, the Marlins. Soriano’s agent, Scott Boras, has said that he is getting closer with “a few teams.”

Hierarchy remains: *Ramos | Dunn | Morris.
* = closer-by-committee

Atlanta Braves – Jason Grilli took the loss in his first outing in six days, though he said after the game that his back is fine and that he was just a little rusty. With Jim Johnson continuing to pitch well, the Braves may be more willing to give Grilli an extra day of rest here and there, especially if his back isn’t truly fine.

Hierarchy remains: Grilli | Johnson | Avilan.

Arizona Diamondbacks –Evan Marshall was optioned to AAA on Monday to make room for a much-needed long reliever. Marshall had pitched three straight scoreless innings despite some struggles this year and should be back with Arizona at some point. In the meantime, two guys that should see some late-inning chances are Oliver Perez and Enrique Burgos. The latter is 24 years old and was recently called up while Perez, 33, has just one hold in LOOGY duty this year. Perez may get the edge for now if both Addison Reed and Brad Ziegler are unavailable, but Burgos is a youngster to watch with 11 strikeouts in six innings of big-league work.

Updated hierarchy: Reed | Ziegler | Perez.

Kansas City Royals –Greg Holland proved he is indeed human on Tuesday as he blew his first save chance since July 24. The Royals retook the lead in the 10th, however, and Holland stayed on to earn the win.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Madson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Tony Cingrani, Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman earned a win after two straight losses, but he’s now pitched in three straight games.
2. Wade Davis, Kansas City Royals – Greg Holland threw 26 pitches over two innings on Tuesday and has racked up 56 pitches over the last three days.