Alex Colome becoming clear option at closer for Rays

April 22, 2016

Tampa Bay Rays — The days of Kevin Cash’s closer committee appear to be over, as Alex Colome has picked up a save in three straight games. Thursday, Colome was called upon in the middle of the ninth inning of a wild 12-8 game against the Red Sox. With two men on and one out, he retired Mookie Betts and Dustin Pedroia — and Tampa’s asterisk, at least for now.

Updated hierarchy: Colome | Cedeno | Farquhar.

Oakland A’s — Ryan Madson continues to solidify his role atop Oakland’s committee, getting a two-out save on Thursday and solidifying a road sweep of the Yankees. With six saves, Madson is now tied for the league lead, as everyone predicted.

Hierarchy remains: *Madson | Doolittle | Axford.
* = closer-by-committee

Miami Marlins — With the Marlins struggling, Don Mattingly treated a four-run game like it was even tighter, using David Phelps in the eighth and A.J. Ramos in the ninth. When it comes to Phelps getting more use late in games, Donnie Baseball is a man of his word.

Updated hierarchy: Ramos | Phelps | Morris.

Philadelphia Phillies — The Phillies called up former A’s closer Andrew Bailey from the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (book your workplace visit from Hambone or Chris P. Bacon here!) on Wednesday. You may see some speculative pickups in your leagues, but it’s too early to tell whether Bailey can bounce back from his late spring struggles and factor into manager Pete Mackanin’s late-inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: Gomez | Hernandez | Hinojosa.

Texas Rangers — Erstwhile setup man Keone Kela (7.11 ERA) was placed on the disabled list Thursday with a right elbow impingement. Kela will have surgery Friday to remove a bone spur in his elbow, putting him out of action for about three months.

Hierarchy remains: Tolleson | Dyson | Diekman.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Sam Dyson, Texas Rangers — Shawn Tolleson pitched in his third straight game Thursday, nailing down his third consecutive save. (Now his ERA is lower than catcher Bryan Holaday’s uniform number, which is a HUGE improvement.) Expect Sam Dyson to take the reins if Tolleson can’t go Friday.
2. Bryan Shaw, Cleveland Indians — Cody Allen pitched a clean ninth inning but was knocked around in the tenth, yielding two walks, a wild pitch, and a three-run go-ahead shot to Robinson Cano. He threw 30 pitches and should get a night off. Shaw has been bad lately, but he threw just two pitches Thursday and should be fresh. Zach McAllister could also be an option, though he threw 21 pitches yesterday.
3. Anyone, Cincinnati Reds — The Reds have the most volatile bullpen in baseball, and they showed it again in a 16-0 loss to the Cubs last night, allowing 11 runs over the final five innings. It’s a full-blown committee now, so although we expect to see Caleb Cotham (who did not pitch as his team was no-hit Thursday) to get the first crack at a save chance, it’s hard to be certain.
4. Sean Doolittle, Oakland A’s — Ryan Madson should be available after throwing only seven pitches, but manager Bob Melvin has said that he’ll choose a closer based on matchups. So Sean Doolittle could get the call on Friday.

Caleb Cotham to lead the committee in Cincinnati

April 21, 2016

Cincinnati Reds – In a meeting with manager Bryan Price, JJ Hoover was told that he would not be the closer going forward, but could still see some save chances. The Reds’ bullpen has a league-worst 6.04 ERA, so this is likely to be a wide-open committee. Our best bet to take the lead, and potentially hold the job, is Caleb Cotham, who came over from the Yankees in the Aroldis Chapman deal, and has yet to give up an earned run this year. Price seems oddly committed to the idea of Hoover as closer, so he might get some save chances and keep a little value. Also in the mix will be Tony Cingrani, Blake Wood, and Ross Ohlendorf, none of whom are particularly attractive options. Cingrani is the only lefty in the Reds bullpen and may be used situationally. Wood saved 29 games for AAA Indianapolis last year, but has just one major league save. Ohlendorf picked up the win yesterday, but he has struggled with command early and sports an 8.22 ERA. Expect this to be a volatile committee which we will monitor closely going forward.

Updated hierarchy: *Cotham | Cingrani | Hoover.
* = closer-by-committee

Seattle Mariners — Joel Peralta took the seventh inning for the Mariners on Wednesday and picked up his second hold of the year. Tony Zych has been used mainly in longer relief, so Peralta takes his spot in the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Cishek | Benoit | Peralta.

Oakland A’s – As predicted in yesterday’s Vulture Save Watch, Ryan Madson got the day off and it was Sean Doolittle who got the ball in the ninth to protect a three-run lead. He converted the save, throwing only eight pitches. This is still a committee in Oakland, but Madson has been the clear leader, taking the bulk of save opportunities in the early going.

Hierarchy remains: *Madson | Doolittle | Axford.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Mark Lowe, Detroit Tigers – Francisco Rodriguez struggled in picking up the save yesterday, throwing 29 pitches and giving up a pair of home runs. He may get the day off.
2. Sam Dyson, Texas Rangers – Shawn Tolleson has pitched in back-to-back games, throwing 36 pitches over that span.

Caleb Cotham likely to lead Cincinnati closer committee after Hoover’s demotion

April 20, 2016

Cincinnati Reds – JJ Hoover has been officially removed from the closer role following a dreadful start to the season. Bryan Price will use a closer-by-committee in the near future, which means any combination of Caleb Cotham, Tony Cingrani, Ross Ohlendorf, and Blake Wood could be used. We like Cotham best of this foursome. In deep leagues, Hoover should still be rostered as it sounds like he’ll still be part of the committee.

Updated hierarchy: *Cotham | Cingrani | Hoover.
* = closer-by-committee

J.J. Hoover on thin ice in Cincinnati

April 20, 2016

Cincinnati Reds — It was quite the day for the Reds’ bullpen. The biggest news came after their 4-3 win, when manager Bryan Price said he would “sleep” on the closer situation. J.J. Hoover struggled again on Tuesday, allowing two runs in the ninth to bloat his ERA to 15.19. Assuming Hoover is out as closer after Price wakes up, Tony Cingrani is most likely to take the job. It certainly won’t be Jumbo Diaz, who was optioned to AAA before the game. It appears as if Caleb Cotham will replace Diaz, after a successful eighth inning on Tuesday that earned him his third hold of the season.

Updated hierarchy: Hoover | Cingrani | Cotham.

Kansas City Royals — Joakim Soria has allowed a run in each of his last two outings. On Tuesday, he couldn’t get out of the eighth inning and was booed off the mound, paving the way for Kelvin Herrera to get the final two outs of the frame. Herrera has yet to allow an earned run and may get some more looks in the eighth if Soria continues to struggle.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Soria | Herrera.

Oakland A’s – Ryan Madson solidified his spot at the top of the Oakland committee on Tuesday, picking up the eleventh-inning save. Sean Doolittle pitched the eighth in a tie game, a role Doolittle should have more often than not, given Madson’s success so far.

Hierarchy remains: *Madson | Doolittle | Axford.
* = closer-by-committee

Tampa Bay Rays – Alex Colome recorded his second save and remains the number one option in Kevin Cash’s committee, though he and the team have only two saves.

Hierarchy remains: *Colome | Cedeno | Farquhar.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago White Sox — Nate Jones earned the first save of his career thanks to a pair of scoreless innings in a 5-0 victory.

Hierarchy remains: Robertson | Jones | Albers.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Tyler Clippard picked his first save of the season in a 3-0 win on Tuesday. Brad Ziegler had thrown in three of the last four days and Daniel Hudson tossed 38 pitches on Monday.

Hierarchy remains: Ziegler | Hudson | Clippard.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Koji Uehara, Boston Red Sox – Craig Kimbrel has pitched in two straight and four of the last five; Uehara was rested on Tuesday.
2. Tony Cingrani, Cincinnati Reds – As mentioned above, J.J. Hoover’s days as the Reds closer may be over.
3. Trevor May, Minnesota Twins – Kevin Jepsen has pitched four of the last five days.
4. Sean Doolittle, Oakland Athletics – Ryan Madson has appeared three times over the last four days, and this is still a committee.

Closer Hot Seat update: April 19, 2016

Welcome to our weekly Hot Seat column! Each week — usually on Mondays — we’ll update this space to give you an easy-to-reference guide on who might be closest to losing their jobs. Note that this isn’t necessarily a ranking of the best closers; rather, it’s a guide to job security.

—–

Latest update: April 19, 2016

Closers are beginning to secure their positions: Strong weeks from Shawn Tolleson and Francisco Rodriguez have gotten them off the “Hot” seat for now, while general ineptitude in the rest of the Houston and Toronto bullpens have elevated Luke Gregerson and Roberto Osuna to “Cool.” Committees remain worth watching, with Oakland’s being the most compelling at this point — Alex Colome and Arodys Vizcaino are pretty secure in their spots as top dogs. J.J. Hoover, meanwhile, continues to struggle, and might have already lost his job if the Reds had had anyone competent to replace him with.

Hottest – In a committee or on the verge of losing their job right now
30. Ryan Madson (Handcuff: Sean Doolittle)
29. Alex Colome (Handcuff: Xavier Cedeno)
28. Arodys Vizcaino (Handcuff: Jason Grilli)

Hot – Guys who could be in danger after their next blown save
27. J.J. Hoover (Handcuffs: Jumbo Diaz, Tony Cingrani)

Warmish – Two blown saves in a row and these players might be in trouble
26. Shawn Tolleson
25. Kevin Jepsen
24. Jeanmar Gomez
23. Fernando Rodney
22. Francisco Rodriguez
21. Santiago Casilla
20. Steve Cishek
19. Hector Rondon

Cool – These players would have to blow 3 consecutive saves for their jobs to be in jeopardy
18. Luke Gregerson
17. Jake McGee
16. Roberto Osuna
15. Jeremy Jeffress
14. Jonathan Papelbon
13. Brad Ziegler
12. AJ Ramos
11. Huston Street
10. Andrew Miller
9. Jeurys Familia
8. Mark Melancon
7. David Robertson
6. Cody Allen
5. Trevor Rosenthal
4. Craig Kimbrel

Sub-zero – These players would have to blow 4+ consecutive saves for their jobs to be in jeopardy
3. Zach Britton
2. Kenley Jansen
1. Wade Davis