Fernando Salas appears secure; A.J. Ramos is back

August 22, 2016

Los Angeles Angels – Over the past few weeks, the Los Angeles Angels have been an insult to “shambles” everywhere, and save chances have been scant. But when they occur, they’ve belonged to Fernando Salas. He picked up his fourth save last night, and we’ll remove the asterisk until someone else gets one. In other Angels news, Huston Street is out for the year.

Hierarchy remains: Salas | Ramirez | Guerra. 

Miami Marlins – In his first action since being activated, A.J. Ramos pitched the 8th inning ahead of Fernando Rodney. Ramos is being worked back in slowly, but he should be closing again soon, perhaps as soon as his next appearance.

Updated hierarchy: Ramos | Rodney | Barraclough.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Andrew Miller, Cleveland Indians – If Cody Allen needs a day off after his 30-pitch outing yesterday, Miller will get the call.

 

Enrique Burgos moves to head of committee in Arizona

August 21, 2016

Arizona Diamondbacks — Enrique Burgos recorded his first save of the season, striking out two in the ninth inning.  Jake Barrett started the eighth inning, but was removed after giving up a hit and recording no outs.  Barrett has really struggled in August, giving up nine runs in only six innings.  Burgos has been pitching better in August and should continue to see some save chances down the stretch for the Diamondbacks.  Daniel Hudson also had an impressive outing on Saturday night. Hudson entered the game in the eighth inning with the bases loaded and no outs trying to protect a one run lead.  Hudson got two pop outs and a line out to get out the jam allowing no runs.  We will slide him back on the hierarchy, but we expect the back-end of the Diamondbacks’ bullpen to continue to be fluid until someone really steps up.

Updated hierarchy: *Burgos | Barrett | Hudson.
* = closer-by-committee

San Diego Padres — Ryan Buchter was sent down to Triple-A on Saturday afternoon.  Buchter got off to a great start this season but has faded a little bit recently and the Padres want him to get some rest.  We will move recently called up Kevin Quackenbush to second in line for now, but Brandon Morrow might be another guy to watch.  The former starter has made four scoreless appearances out of the Padres bullpen over the past couple weeks.

Updated hierarchy: Maurer | Hand | Quackenbush. 

New York Mets – The Mets activated Jim Henderson on Saturday.  Hansel Robles has struggles recently and Jerry Blevins is more of a lefty specialist so we expect Henderson to return to his seventh inning role.

Updated hierarchy: Familia | Reed | Henderson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH:
1. Daniel Hudson, Arizona Diamondbacks – Enrique Burgos has gone in three straight and Jake Barrett has gone in three of the past four.
2. C.J. Edwards, Chicago Cubs — Aroldis Chapman is expected to get a second day off after his blown save on Friday.
3. Edubray Ramos, Philadelphia Phillies – Jeanmar Gomez and Hector Neris have both appeared in three games in a row
4. Mike Dunn, Miami Marlins – Fernando Rodney has pitched in two straight while Kyle Barraclough has pitched in three straight
5. Shawn Kelley, Washington Nationals – Mark Melancon has pitched in three straight games.

Alex Reyes could get some St. Louis holds down the stretch

August 20, 2016

Chicago Cubs — The Cubs bullpen lost yet another arm when Hector Rondon was placed on the DL with a triceps injury. Rondon joins Joe Smith and Pedro Strop on Chicago’s crowded disabled list. In the meantime, look for the Cubs to hold the line with Travis Wood and C.J. Edwards, although that combination managed to blow a four-run lead last night. If they continue to falter, keep an eye on 2013 second-round pick Rob Zastryzny, who — in addition to having a 33-point Scrabble name — pitched a scoreless inning in his MLB debut last night.

Updated hierarchy: Chapman | Edwards | Wood.

Seattle Mariners — Steve Cishek didn’t get into a close game after he returned from the DL Friday. Meanwhile, Edwin Diaz struggled (three walks, two runs) but managed to pick up his ninth save of the year. The Mariners are likely to be cautious with Cishek coming off a hip injury, but he should be back into the late-inning mix before long.

Updated hierarchy: Diaz | Wilhelmsen | Cishek.

Los Angeles Dodgers — Adam Liberatore returned from the DL and pitched a scoreless inning in a loss last night. He’ll replace Pedro Baez, who has had a rough stretch of games, giving up seven runs over his last five appearances. Don’t be surprised if Liberatore presses Joe Blanton for the eighth inning; before his injury, Liberatore had put in an excellent season.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Blanton | Liberatore.

St. Louis Cardinals — Seung Hwan Oh pitched two scoreless innings in a tie game, so when the Cardinals took the lead in the eleventh, it fell to 21-year-old rookie Alex Reyes to close the game out. He worked around a single and a walk to lock up his first career save. Reyes is one of the best starting pitching prospects in baseball, and the Cardinals have a history of using prospects as relievers early in their careers (see Adam Wainwright and Carlos Martinez). Mike Matheny trusts the youngster and, with Reyes living up to the hype so far (0.00 ERA, 9 K, 7 IP), we will slot him into the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Oh | Siegrist | Reyes.

Cincinnati Reds — Seventh-inning man Michael Lorenzen returned from bereavement leave on Friday following the death of his father. Lorenzen escaped a bit of a jam in the seventh, hit his first career home run on a 97 MPH fastball, and then finished the night off with a scoreless eighth. MVP.

Hierarchy remains: *Cingrani | Iglesias | Lorenzen.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. C.J. Edwards, Chicago Cubs — Aroldis Chapman has gone in two straight and three of four.
2. Tom Wilhelmsen/Steve Cishek, Seattle Mariners — Edwin Diaz needed 34 pitches to close out the game last night, and this may be Cishek’s chance to re-establish himself.
3. Mauricio Cabrera, Atlanta Braves — Jim Johnson has been used in two straight (43 pitches).
4. Shawn Kelley, Washington Nationals — Mark Melancon has pitched in back-to-back games, throwing 41 pitches.
5. Hector Neris, Philadelphia Phillies — Jeanmar Gomez has also gone back-to-back (31 pitches).

Papelbon Watch reaches Day Six

August 19, 2016

Free Agency — There’s still no news on Jonathan Papelbon. The longtime closer has been tied to at least the Red Sox and Cubs, which makes sense given the pitcher’s connection to both clubs. It’s now been more than 24 hours since we were expected to learn his decision, so who knows what’s up. He’s still the best free agent reliever available, we think (see hierarchy for other guesses). We would have included Joe Nathan, but he inked a minor-league deal with the Giants this week after he was DFA’d by the Cubs.

Hierarchy remains: Papelbon | M. Rivera | L. Hawkins.

Boston Red Sox — Junichi Tazawa was charged with three runs to take the loss Thursday afternoon against the Tigers. Manager John Farrell went with Tazawa to begin the eighth inning of a 3-1 game, but the righty’s August struggles continued. Tazawa has allowed seven runs in his last four appearances (2.0 IP) to send his season ERA to 4.58 and WHIP to 1.30. Tazawa has had a tendency to fade a bit in the second half throughout his career, so it appears we have reached that stage. Farrell, though, still seems to trust Tazawa a bit. We don’t. P.S. – Where’s Jonathan Papelbon?

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Ziegler | Barnes.

San Francisco Giants — The Giants recalled reliever Cory Gearrin Thursday from a rehab assignment after he went on the disabled list in early July. In his first game back, he allowed two singles in the sixth inning and was pulled after recording just one out. New Giant Will Smith didn’t do him any favors, allowing both inherited runners to score. We’ll monitor Gearrin’s use. Smith, meanwhile, hasn’t been very good since coming over from the Brewers (4.2 IP, 6 ER). It appears Bruce Bochy also noticed that Smith was struggling, as Derek Law has emerged as a late-inning option for SF. Law pitched a clean eighth Thursday ahead of Santiago Casilla.

Updated hierarchy: Casilla | Romo | Law.

Arizona Diamondbacks — Jake Barrett has been shaky at the top of a bad Arizona committee, and his stretch of rough outings continued Thursday. Barrett was charged with three runs in the eighth inning after entering with a one-run lead. There was no word on a closer change after the game, but perhaps Chip Hale planned to go with Barrett in the eighth and possibly Enrique Burgos in the ninth? We’ll have to wait and see where this one goes as the “Reign of Error” in Arizona continues.

Hierarchy remains: *Barrett | Burgos | Delgado.
* = closer-by-committee

Atlanta Braves – Arodys Vizcaino was activated off the disabled list Thursday and will be eased back into the closer’s role, which seems like a great idea after he was charged with four runs (3 ER) in the seventh inning without recording an out Thursday night. For now, look for Jim Johnson and Mauricio Cabrera to handle the duties in the 8th and 9th innings. In related Braves news, lefty Ryan O’Flaherty shocked no one (6.94 ERA, 1.74 WHIP) when he cleared waivers. He can now be traded.

Updated hierarchy: Johnson | Cabrera | Vizcaino.

Kansas City Royals – Righty Joakim Soria has cleared waivers and is able to be traded to any club. It’s no surprise that he cleared after he signed a $25 million deal in the offseason. His numbers don’t seem to meet the expectations that came with the contract.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Soria | Moylan.

Cincinnati Reds — The Vulture Save Watch correctly predicted a night off for Tony Cingrani, who had pitched in two straight and three of the last four. Raisel Iglesias did the honors for the Reds on Thursday, pitching a clean ninth to collect his second save.

Hierarchy remains: *Cingrani | Iglesias | Lorenzen.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. J.C. Ramirez, Los Angeles Angels — Fernando Salas has pitched in three of the last four and threw 26 pitches Thursday night.
2. Hector Rondon, Chicago Cubs — Aroldis Chapman has pitched three times in the last three days (both games of a doubleheader Tuesday and 24 pitches in a day game Thursday).
3. Enrique Burgos, Arizona Diamondbacks — Jake Barrett has appeared in two straight games, including Thursday’s implosion, and he’s not very good.

Jonathan Papelbon could return to the Red Sox Thursday

August 18, 2016

Exile — Just when you thought you were safe from the DL DC Strangler, the Red Sox look like they’re ready to bring him home. John Farrell evidently called him. David Ortiz wants to give him a hug. GM Mike Hazen was good for a backhanded compliment on the radio (“a little crazy goes a long way”). Although the Cubs are also in the mix, the Red Sox have the bigger need and valuable years of experience handling Papelbon’s, uh, quirks. If he does sign with Boston, Papelbon is likely to share the set-up role with Brad Ziegler.

Colorado Rockies — We knew Adam Ottavino was likely to get a night off, but it was a bit surprising to see Scott Oberg earn the save. It’s been a revolving door in front of Ottavino, with Oberg, Jake McGee, and Carlos Estevez each pitching an eighth inning in front of the closer this past week. Oberg’s numbers aren’t great — and he gave up a home run on Wednesday night — but we’ve got to put him somewhere. Just know that we don’t recommend anyone in this pen past Ottavino.

Updated hierarchy: Ottavino | Oberg | Logan.

Chicago Cubs — Joe Smith went to the DL Wednesday with a strained hamstring. C.J. Edwards had one terrible outing last Friday, but we still give him the edge over Justin Grimm and Travis Wood.

Updated hierarchy: Chapman | Rondon | Edwards.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Andrew Miller, Cleveland Indians — Cody Allen has pitched on four of the last five days, including a bubblicious blown save on Wednesday night.
2. Raisel Iglesias, Cincinnati Reds — Tony Cingrani has gone in two straight and three of four.