Greg Holland getting his groove back; Roberto Osuna on paternity leave

September 12, 2017

Toronto Blue Jays – Roberto Osuna has left the team for a few days, returning to Mexico to be on hand for the birth of his child. Dominic Leone got the save in his place last night; look for Leone and Ryan Tepera to share opportunities for the next couple days in Osuna’s absence.

Hierarchy remains: Osuna | Tepera | Leone.

Texas Rangers – Matt Bush returned from the DL over the weekend, and got his first action Monday night, throwing a clean 7th inning and picking up his 8th hold. We suspect that’s about how he’s used for the rest of the season.

Updated hierarchy: *Claudio | Barnette | Bush.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies – After being temporarily demoted to committee status, Greg Holland seems to have worked out his issues and last night collected his fourth save in seven days. Given his recent issues, a few hiccups could lead to a quick re-installation of the committee, but for the time being, we don’t see anyone else in the Colorado bullpen getting save opps as long as Holland is rested.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | McGee | Neshek.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Ryan Tepera/Dominic Leone – Roberto Osuna is on paternity leave and will miss a few days.
2. Jake McGee – Greg Holland has gone in three of four and didn’t look quite as sharp last night as he had looked in his previous outings. He could potentially get the night off.

Tomorrow
1. Dellin Betances – If Aroldis Chapman goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
2. Jake McGee – See above. If Greg Holland goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and four of five.

The Angels return to a closer-by-committee

September 11, 2017

Los Angeles Angels – Sporting a three-run lead, the Angels went Bedrosian-Parker-Petit to get through the final three innings. So the committee is back — maybe it never really left — though we still think Parker is the best bet at this point to get a save on any given night.

Updated hierarchy: *Parker | Bedrosian | Petit.
* = closer-by-committee

Arizona Diamondbacks – A day after Fernando Rodney got smacked around, Archie Bradley got the 9th inning and picked up his first save of the season. However, after the game, Torey Lovullo was quick to say there was no closer controversy — Rodney was just getting the day off. Still, given how dynamite Bradley has been all season, we think that the would-be controversy may be on if Rodney has another bad outing or two.

Hierarchy remains: Rodney | Bradley | Hernandez.

Toronto Blue Jays – Luis Santos got his first career save on Sunday afternoon, pitching the final three innings of a Blue Jays blowout win. Through three big league outings, Santos has been rock solid (8.1 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 7 Ks, 1 BB), and given that the Blue Jays bullpen isn’t exactly a model of consistency, they might be willing to give him a look in some higher leverage spots down the stretch.

Hierarchy remains: Osuna | Tepera | Leone.

Washington Nationals – Sean Doolittle got a second consecutive day off after pitching four of the previous five, so the Nationals instead clinched the NL East on the back of an extremely shaky Ryan Madson save. But the fact that Madson converted — and the fact that Brandon Kintzler was ostensibly available and stayed on the bench — suggests that Madson will get future chances when Doolittle is unavailable.

Updated hierarchy: Doolittle | Madson | Kintzler. 

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Joe Smith – The Indians are probably invested in keeping their record-long win streak alive, but since they have a 13-game lead in the division, they might give Cody Allen a day off after his back to back outings on Saturday and Sunday.

Tomorrow
1. Joe Smith – See above. If Cody Allen goes tonight, it’ll be three straight.
2. Anthony Swarzak – If Corey Knebel goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.

Roberto Osuna unavailable due to a bad neck, Nicasio moves to top of Cardinals’ committee

September 10, 2017

St. Louis Cardinals — The Cardinals went right back to their newest bullpen piece last night, and Juan Nicasio responded by striking out two in a scoreless inning for the save.  Nicasio has been pitching well and racking up reliever stats (2 wins, 2 holds, and 2 saves in his last 7 appearances).   Seung Hwan Oh has not been particularly effective at the top of the committee, and now the Cardinals look ready to use the veteran Nicasio in that spot.

Updated hierarchy: *Nicasio | Lyons | Oh.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays – Ryan Tepera got the call in the ninth inning yesterday, and despite giving up a couple runs, he was able to record his second save of the season.  Regular closer Roberto Osuna was unavailable due to a bad neck.  The Blue Jays hope Osuna will only miss a day or two, but we will continue to monitor the situation to see if the injury becomes more serious.  Ryan Tepera should close while Osuna is out.

Hierarchy remains: Osuna | Tepera | Leone.

Kansas City Royals — Brandon Maurer pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up the first save since Kelvin Hererra’s demotion.  Mike Minor pitched 1.2 scoreless innings ahead of Maurer and got the win.  Maurer should get the majority of save chances, and could have a chance to kick the asterisk if he can pitch well down the stretch.

Hierarchy remains: *Maurer | Alexander | Minor.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Yankees — The Yankees are hoping Aroldis Chapman can return to form as a dominant closer down the stretch, and yesterday he certainly looked the part.   In his first 1-2-3 save since July 25th, Chapman was efficient throwing strikes while also electric, striking out Mike Napoli on a 102 MPH fastball to finish the game.  This outing might be enough to solidify Chapman in the closer’s role again, but we will wait to see one more before removing the committee.

Hierarchy remains: *Chapman | Betances | Robertson.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Ryan Tepera – Roberto Osuna may get another day off to deal with his bad neck.

Monday
1. Jake McGee – If Greg Holland pitches Sunday, it will be three in a row
2. Tony Barnette/Ricardo Rodriguez – Alex Claudio threw 30 pitches yesterday so if he goes again today, he could get Monday off.

 

Brandon Maurer and Scott Alexander best-positioned in KC

September 9, 2017

Kansas City Royals — The Royals announced Friday afternoon that Kelvin Herrera was being removed from the closer’s role, and his performance in that night’s game didn’t cause any regrets. Brought in with the team down a run, he gave up two extra-base hits that eventually yielded two more runs. As we told you yesterday, Ned Yost mentioned Brandon Maurer, Mike Minor, and Scott Alexander as potential replacements. We still think Maurer is the favorite, but Alexander has an impressive 15-game scoreless streak going, and has become a bit of a specialist at finishing innings that other pitchers have started, earning three saves in the process. Mike Minor has been a reliable eighth-inning arm, and has put up solid numbers, but he seems to be behind Maurer and Alexander for the moment.

Updated hierarchy: *Maurer | Alexander | Minor.
* = closer-by-committee

Minnesota Twins — Matt Belisle pitched a perfect ninth inning for his seventh save. Belisle has pitched very well since taking over as the head of the Minnesota committee, and has gotten the last five save chances for the Twins. That’s enough for us to remove the asterisk, as it seems that Belisle will be the closer for the team’s playoff push. Backing him up should be Trevor Hildenberger, who has set up the last three outings.

Updated hierarchy: Belisle | Hildenberger | Rogers.

St. Louis Cardinals — Things are wide open in the Cardinals bullpen, and the newly acquired Juan Nicasio is right in the thick of it. His first appearance for the team found him successfully protecting a three-run lead against the Pirates, who traded him to the Phillies in a bizarre salary dump on August 31, only to see him moved to a fellow playoff contender. Nicasio hasn’t given up a run in eight outings (in three different uniforms), and though he won’t be eligible to pitch in the playoffs, he could play a big part getting the Cardinals there.

Updated hierarchy: *Oh | Lyons | Nicasio.
* = closer-by-committee

Detroit Tigers — Daniel Stumpf pitched the last two outs of the seventh inning to snag his sixth hold and lower his ERA to a tidy 2.90. Meanwhile, Joe Jimenez saw his ERA balloon to 12.83 after giving up five runs in his last outing. Detroit seems happy with Shane Greene’s work as the closer, but it’s clear they don’t trust Jimenez to get the ball to him at this point.

Updated hierarchy: Greene | Wilson | Stumpf.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Brandon Kintzler/Ryan Madson — Sean Doolittle has pitched in back-to-back games and four of the last five. Brandon Kintzler has also gone in two straight, leaving Ryan Madson comparatively rested.
2. Taylor Rogers/Tyler Duffey — Belisle and Hildenberger have each gone in three straight. Rogers has pitched in three of four himself, so the Twins might call on Tyler Duffey — or, if they’re desperate, Glen Perkins.
3. Chris Devenski — The Astros have a doubleheader today and Ken Giles blew last night’s save.
4. Santiago Casilla — It’s the same doubleheader for Oakland, and Blake Treinen pitched an inning on Friday.

Sunday:
1. Anthony Swarzak — If Corey Knebel pitches today, it’ll be two straight and three of four.
2. Alex Wilson — Same with Shane Greene.
3. Nick Vincent — And Edwin Diaz.