Chris Hatcher hits DL; Orioles, Brewers see changes

June 18, 2015

Los Angeles Dodgers — The injury struggles continue for the Dodgers, as Chris Hatcher was put on the DL, retroactive to Monday, with a strained oblique. Help may be on the way soon, as Joel Peralta, Brandon League, Paco Rodriguez and Pedro Baez are all on rehab assignments, but until then look for the banged up J.P. Howell to fill in as the emergency option in the Dodgers bullpen.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Garcia | Howell.

Baltimore Orioles — Chaz Roe finished the 7th inning ahead of Zach Britton on Wednesday. Nobody is racking up the holds in Baltimore, but Roe has been very impressive since joining the club, sporting a tidy 1.13 ERA and 0.88 WHIP thanks to a great slider as well as a strong sinker. His 17 strikeouts and four walks have helped him edge out Tommy Hunter, who has had an up and down year.

Updated hierarchy: Britton | O’Day | Roe.

Milwaukee Brewers — Will Smith bailed out Jonathan Broxton, finishing the 8th inning for him, presumably while reminding Broxton that if you wanna ball with the kid, you should watch your step in case you fall trying to do what he did. Broxton has had a miserable season, and this latest outing ran his ERA to 7.20. Meanwhile, Jeremy Jeffress has taken the 8th inning ahead of K-Rod twice in the last week. While Broxton has the always valuable “closing experience” to fall back on, his dismal numbers would need to improve before he could really be considered ahead of Smith or Jeffress at this point.

Updated hierarchy: Rodriguez | Smith | Jeffress.

Seattle Mariners – Charlie Furbush got the call to start the 9th inning in a two-run game, but Lloyd McClendon was simply playing the matchups, as he yanked Furbush after he got the lefties in the lineup out. Carson Smith struck out the only batter he faced to snag an easy save. Smith continues to lead the Seattle committee, but this could easily have been Furbush’s save had the last batter been a lefty.

Hierarchy remains: *Smith | Lowe | Furbush.

Texas Rangers – As predicted in yesterday’s Vulture Save Watch, it was Keone Kela who converted the save chance for the Rangers last night as Shawn Tolleson needed a night off.

Hierarchy remains: Tolleson | Kela | Scheppers.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. J.J. Hoover, Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman has posted back-to-back 17-pitch outings.
2. Blaine Boyer, Minnesota Twins – Glen Perkins tossed 29 pitches on Wednesday.
3. Justin Wilson, New York Yankees – Dellin Betances may need a night off after a five-out save on Wednesday.
4. Jake McGee, Tampa Bay Rays – With the Rays in a committee, McGee may get the next call for a save.

Trevor Rosenthal remains day-to-day; Bobby Parnell is back

June 17, 2015

St. Louis Cardinals – Trevor Rosenthal was held out once again because of tightness in his pitching arm, meaning Kevin Siegrist grabbed another save. Rosenthal remains day-to-day and said after the game that he’s feeling better, while manager Mike Matheny said that a DL stint is not part of the plan. That’s good news for the Best Hackers In Baseball, because Rosenthal leads the National League in saves.

Hierarchy remains: Rosenthal | Siegrist | Maness.

New York Mets — As predicted in the Vulture Save Watch, old friend Bobby Parnell got the call for the Mets on Tuesday, recording an impressive five-out save, his first since July 13, 2013. Jeurys Familia desperately needed a night off, and he may see another night of rest after throwing 87 pitches over the last six days.

Hierarchy remains: Familia | Parnell | Robles.

Texas Rangers – While we officially named Shawn Tolleson the Texas closer on May 25, manager Jeff Banister waited until June 16 to finally call the right-hander just that. How did Tolleson respond? By preserving a 2-2 tie and picking up the win after the Rangers scored in the bottom half of the 9th. Banister did reiterate that the innings leading up to Tolleson in the 9th will be “all hands on deck.”

Hierarchy remains: Tolleson | Kela | Scheppers.

Oakland Athletics – Former starter Drew Pomeranz has joined the Oakland bullpen and picked up his second hold in as many chances on Tuesday. He’s moved past Eric O’Flaherty, who sports an 8.38 ERA and no holds since April 14.

Updated hierarchy: Clippard | Scribner | Pomeranz.

Houston Astros – If the Astros protected passwords as well as Luke Gregerson protected leads, they wouldn’t have so many security breaches! Gregerson recorded his 17th save of the year and his second straight in as many chances, bouncing back well after a bad blown save almost 10 days ago.

Hierarchy remains: Gregerson | Neshek | Qualls.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Hansel Robles, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia could use another night of rest and Bobby Parnell threw 25 pitches last night.
2. Keone Kela/Tanner Scheppers, Texas Rangers – Shawn Tolleson has pitched in three straight and four of the last five.
3. Joaquin Benoit, San Diego Padres – Craig Kimbrel has appeared in three of the last four games, including a 26-pitch outing last night.
4. Kevin Siegrist/Seth Maness, St. Louis Cardinals – With Trevor Rosenthal day-to-day and Kevin Siegrist having pitched each of the last two games, Seth Maness may get the call on Wednesday.

Trevor Rosenthal hurting; Greg Holland’s struggles continue

June 16, 2015

St. Louis Cardinals – Up one run in the 9th, Kevin Siegrist slammed the door for the Cards, picking up his second save of the year. After the game, Mike Matheny told reporters that closer Trevor Rosenthal has been experiencing “tightness” in his throwing arm. While Rosenthal has not been placed on the DL and remains the closer in St. Louis, owners desperate for saves may want to pick up Siegrist, who has been phenomenal this year.

Hierarchy remains: Rosenthal | Siegrist | Maness.

Kansas City Royals – Royals closer Greg Holland made a mess of the 9th inning against the Brewers last night, giving up four hits and three runs without recording an out before getting yanked. Uber-handcuff Wade Davis bailed out Holland for his 8th save of the year. Royals manager Ned Yost blamed himself for Holland’s struggles, noting that he has not used Holland in six games. For his part, Holland said he has never felt better, though he’s still got some really ugly ratios (13 Ks vs 10 BBs) this season.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

Cincinnati Reds – The Reds placed Tony Cingrani on the 15-day DL on Monday. The left-hander has struggled recently and an MRI confirmed swelling in his pitching shoulder. Fellow left-hander Manny Parra will replace Cingrani in our hierarchy. While a LOOGY, Parra has a sterling 0.93 ERA and 1.02 WHIP on the season. Also expect Ryan Mattheus to pick up some more holds.

Updated hierarchy: Chapman | Hoover | Parra.

Miami Marlins – Carter Capps has been used in very high-leverage situations recently, including pitching the 8th inning in last night’s one-run game against the Yankees, striking out the side and picking up his third hold of the year. With the Marlins mixing and matching in the late innings, we think Capps has the best chance of running with the set-up man job. Sam Dyson, meanwhile, has been used more sparingly of late, and will bow out of our hierarchy for now.

Updated hierarchy: Ramos | Capps | Dunn.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Bobby Parnell, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia has thrown 87 pitches in the last 5 days, including 29 in a mess of an outing last night.
2. Keone Kela/Tanner Scheppers, Texas Rangers – Shawn Tolleson has pitched in the last 3 out of 4 games for the Rangers, including 2 straight.
3. Roberto Osuna, Toronto Blue Jays – The Blue Jays bullpen has been worked-over recently, with Osuna avoiding the brunt of the workload.
4. Kevin Siegrist, St. Louis Cardinals – Siegrist is the best bet for another save chance if Trevor Rosenthal needs another day off.

Daniel Hudson snags a save; Sean Doolittle moved to 60-day DL

June 15, 2015

Tampa Bay Rays – Kevin Jepsen picked up another save for the Rays on Sunday. Brad Boxberger had thrown 28 pitches Saturday, while Jake McGee had pitched in three of the last four. Still, the way this bullpen is managed, any of these three guys could get a save on any given night at this point.

Hierarchy remains: *Boxberger | McGee | Jepsen.
* = closer-by-committee

Boston Red Sox – Matt Barnes was sent back to the minors to work on his stuff; Alexi Ogando will see more hold opportunities as a result. Barnes will be joined in AAA by the possible closer of the future for the Red Sox, Pat Light, who has shot through the minors after being converted to a reliever this year.

Updated hierarchy: Uehara | Tazawa | Ogando.

Oakland Athletics – The A’s don’t expect Sean Doolittle to return any time soon; they just transferred him to the 60-day DL to clear a roster spot.

Hierarchy remains: Clippard | Scribner | O’Flaherty.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Daniel Hudson picked up the save on Sunday, as Arizona gave Brad Ziegler the day off after the closer had pitched on two straight. It’s interesting that this opportunity went to Hudson rather than Addison Reed, who has been decent since moving out of the closer role and hadn’t pitched in five days. But if Chip Hale was playing the hot hand, it certainly makes sense — Hudson has only allowed one earned run in his past 13 innings. We’ll monitor usage going forward to see if Hudson has surpassed Reed for good.

Hierarchy remains: Ziegler | Reed | Hudson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Pedro Strop, Chicago Cubs – The Cubs are still in all-out committee mode (Hector Rondon got the 8th in a tie game yesterday; Jason Motte got the 9th), but if Rondon isn’t used for the save chance tonight, it’ll almost certainly be Strop, as Motte is likely unavailable after pitching in three straight.
2. Hansel Robles, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia was used across multiple innings again yesterday, and has now thrown 58 pitches over the last four days. Bobby Parnell, meanwhile, probably won’t go in a third straight game this soon after his activation. That likely leaves the Mets in mix-and-match mode tonight, with Robles being the most likely candidate to snag a save chance.
3. Joaquin Benoit, San Diego Padres – Craig Kimbrel has pitched in two straight and three of four (51 total pitches).
4. Jake McGee, Tampa Bay Rays – Anything goes in the Tampa bullpen.

Jake McGee records another save for Rays, Mets struggle without Familia

June 14, 2015

Tampa Bay Rays — Jake McGee recorded his third save of the season on Saturday after Brad Boxberger pitched the 8th inning.  Boxberger replaced starter Chris Archer after he gave up a leadoff walk to start the 8th.  After giving up the tying homerun to the first batter he faced, Boxberger was able to get out of the inning without anymore runs.  Kevin Cash had good things to say about him since he went through the heart of the White Sox order to finish the 8th and helped them win the game.  This looks like a full committee right now, with the Rays using Boxberger in big spots before the 9th if they need to.  We will leave Boxberger as head of the committee for now, but if McGee gets the next save opportunity, he would likely move to the top.

Hierarchy remains: *Boxberger | McGee | Jepsen.

New York Mets — With Jeurys Familia away from the team on paternity leave, the Mets were unable to hold a late inning lead.  Manager Terry Collins mentioned Bobby Parnell as an option to close while Familia is away, but instead used the righty to get the last out of the 8th inning.  Collins went with rookie Hansel Robles to start the 9th inning.   He got two outs but also gave up a run and left two runners on.  Lefty Alex Torres came on to try and get Freddie Freeman to end the game but instead gave up the game tying run.  Familia is clearly the closer when he comes back, but we will see if Collins actually gives Parnell a chance or if he goes back to Robles when Familia is not available.

Updated hierarchy: Familia | Parnell | Robles.

Atlanta Braves — Williams Perez picked up his first career save in extra innings last night.  Jim Johnson and Jason Grilli each pitched a scoreless inning earlier in the game, and Grilli ended up with the win.

Hierarchy remains: Grilli | Johnson | Cunniff.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joe Smith, Los Angeles Angels – Huston Street has pitched in three straight
2. Bobby Parnell/Hansel Robles, New York Mets – Jeurys Familia is on paternity leave so Terry Collins could use former closer Bobby Parnell or give rookie Hansel Robles another chance on Sunday.
3. Roberto Osuna, Toronto Blue Jays – Brett Cecil has pitched in two straight, including a 30 pitch outing on Friday.