Chris Martin out with a cramped forearm

May 3, 2018

Texas Rangers — When you try your best, but you don’t succeed, well, you’re probably the Rangers, and you’re placing Chris Martin on the disabled list with forearm irritation. It’s unclear whether the treatment plan will involve bone ignition or just a humble jade gemstone, but we’re fully confident that they will try . . . to fix him. Jake Diekman (hit by a 112 mph line drive on Tuesday), Jose Leclerc, and Kevin Jepsen should get more play in Martin’s absence.

Updated hierarchy: Kela | Claudio | Diekman.

St. Louis Cardinals — Bud Norris is hanging onto the closer’s role for now, picking up his sixth save on Wednesday. Maybe it shouldn’t be that big a surprise: St. Louis has a long history of preferring Bud to the products of Holland.

Hierarchy remains: *Norris | Holland | Hicks.
* = closer-by-committee

Milwaukee Brewers — Jeremy Jeffress isn’t nearly as dominant as Josh Hader, but he’s suddenly piling up multi-inning saves like the lefty. The Brewers bullpen has been phenomenal even without Corey Knebel, ranking #1 in MLB in ERA after the seventh inning.

Hierarchy remains: *Hader | Jeffress | Albers.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Santiago Casilla — After not pitching for nine days, Blake Treinen threw 37 pitches last night.
2. Joe Kelly — Craig Kimbrel has gone in three of four, and Kelly had a successful return on Wednesday.
3. Warwick Saupold — Who? Check this out: Shane Greene has pitched in three straight and four of five. Joe Jimenez has gone in two straight, four of five, and six of eight! Alex Wilson has pitched in three of four, as has Daniel Stumpf. The Tigers’ bullpen needs a vacation, and we hear Warwick is lovely this time of year. Plus the Aussie pitcher is pretty well-rested and has a weird vulture save already.
4. Juan Nicasio/Nick Vincent — Nicasio and Edwin Diaz have each pitched in three of four.

Friday:
1. Addison Reed — Fernando Rodney has gone in two straight.
2. Josh Fields — So has Kenley Jansen.

Keynan Middleton’s DL stint should be short

May 2, 2018

Los Angeles Angels — Keynan Middleton was placed on the DL with elbow inflammation, retroactive to Sunday. Mike Scioscia did not seem too worried about it and expects Middleton to be available when his DL time is up. Cam Bedrosian got the first save chance in Middleton’s stead and promptly blew a 2-0 lead, though he had been pitching well leading up to Tuesday. Justin Anderson recorded the final two outs of the seventh while Jose Alvarez and Jim Johnson combined to complete the eighth inning. We’ll see if Scioscia goes back to Bedrosian for the next save chance or tries a different route.

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

Atlanta Braves — Shane Carle threw just two pitches before he left Tuesday’s game after experiencing numbness in his right index finger and thumb. Daniel Winkler took over and completed the seventh inning, recording his fourth hold of the year in the process. Winkler (1.29 ERA, 0.71 WHIP) has been terrific this year, allowing just two earned runs in 14.0 IP. Tuesday was his seventh straight scoreless appearance, and Winkler will be in line for even more high-leverage work if Carle heads to the DL. Manager Brian Snitker said after the game that they’ll know more about Carle in a day or so.

Hierarchy remains: *Vizcaino | Minter | Carle.
* = closer-by-committee

Milwaukee Brewers – With Josh Hader unavailable after Monday’s ridiculous performance, Jeremy Jeffress retired all five batters he faced on Tuesday to pick up his first save of the season. Jeffress has been terrific this year for Milwaukee, posting a 0.57 ERA and 0.70 WHIP over 15.2 IP, and he received plenty of praise from his manager after the game. He hasn’t allowed an earned run since April 6 and should be getting more high-leverage looks for the Brewers. Meanwhile, Corey Knebel will begin a rehab assignment today and could potentially rejoin the team later this month.

Updated hierarchy: *Hader | Jeffress | Albers.
* = closer-by-committee

Houston Astros — The Yankees weren’t the only ones hitting Ken Giles hard on Tuesday, as Giles’ streak of eight straight scoreless appearances (and seven straight without allowing a hit) came to an end thanks in part to a Gary Sanchez three-run homer in the ninth that broke a 0-0 tie. We’ll see if Giles can bounce back from this rough outing and protect both a lead and himself.

Hierarchy remains: *Giles | Devenski | Peacock.
* = closer-by-committee

San Francisco Giants — Will Smith is expected to be activated today. We’ll wait to see how he is used before sliding him into the hierarchy, but he could end up being a nice addition to the Giants’ bullpen after missing all of last season because of Tommy John surgery.

Hierarchy remains: Strickland | Watson | Dyson.

Kansas City Royals – After Kelvin Herrera blew his chance in the 12th, Brian Flynn finished the 13th inning to collect his first career save.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Keller | Flynn.

Detroit Tigers – We highlighted Shane Greene’s struggles in yesterday’s update, but we’re balanced so we’ll highlight his strong outing today. After allowing three runs and taking the loss on Monday, Shane Greene bounced back with a 1-2-3 inning on Tuesday that included two strikeouts.

Hierarchy remains: Greene | Jimenez | Wilson. 

Boston Red Sox — Joe Kelly will return to the Boston bullpen today after serving his suspension. In other news, Tyler Thornburg will make his second rehab appearance with Triple-A Pawtucket today.

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Kelly | Barnes.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Craig Stammen/Adam Cimber – Brad Hand threw 37 pitches on Monday and 11 more on Tuesday. Craig Stammen had a 20-pitch outing yesterday, which was his second straight outing. Kirby Yates has made three straight appearances, so Cimber may be a deep vulture option.
2. Yoshihisa Hirano – Both Brad Boxberger and Archie Bradley have pitched in three of four and four of five.
3. Joe Jimenez/Alex Wilson – Shane Greene has appeared in two straight and three of four. Jimenez pitched yesterday, which was his third outing in four days, though he had the most recent day off of the duo.
4. Ryan Tepera/Seung Hwan Oh – Same situation for Toronto, as Roberto Osuna’s six-pitch appearance on Tuesday was his second straight and third in four days. Tepera has also pitched in three of four.

Tomorrow
1. Joe Kelly – If Craig Kimbrel pitches on Wednesday, that will be his third appearance in four days.
2. Chris Martin – Keone Kela labored through a 29-pitch effort on Tuesday and may get Thursday off depending on his Wednesday usage.

Keynan Middleton to the DL

May 1, 2018

Los Angeles Angels — Keynan Middleton was placed on the DL with elbow inflammation. No other information was released. In his stead, we bet Cam Bedrosian will lead the committee to start, but this is a fluid situation. One beat writer likes Justin Anderson as the next closer, while old friend Blake Parker could factor into the late-inning plans, too.

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

Drinking the Haderade amidst a night of vulture saves

May 1, 2018

Cleveland Indians – The Indians picked an interesting spot for Cody Allen yesterday, summoning him with 1 out in the 8th inning AFTER they had already relinquished their lead a batter earlier. But if the idea was to keep the game close, the move was prescient, as they went on to rally for 4 runs in the bottom half of the inning. Allen returned and got 2 outs in the 9th, but two hits and a walk pushed his pitch count to 41, and the Indians brought on lefty Jeff Beliveau to retire Joey Gallo. It was the second save of Beliveau’s career, and he does not factor into Cleveland’s usual late inning plans. However, with Andrew Miller on the shelf, Allen might be in for a few more extended outings, which means vulture saves might become more common in this bullpen in the immediate future.

Hierarchy remains: Allen | Goody | Olson. 

Chicago Cubs – Brandon Morrow and CJ Edwards had pitched in three of the previous four games, so they both got the night off on Monday, and the Cubs patched their way through the game’s final 3 innings, culminating in a 2-out save for veteran Steve Cishek. Even on nights when Edwards is available, Cishek might occasionally be the one to spell Morrow due to his past experience in the role.

Hierarchy remains: Morrow | Edwards | Cishek.

Washington Nationals – With Sean Doolittle getting a day of rest, the Nationals used Ryan Madson in the 8th and Brandon Kintzler in the 9th. It was Kintzler’s first save on the season (Madson has two), and Madson has been the 8th inning man pretty consistently thus far, so we’ll leave the hierarchy as is for now and see if this signals a change going forward.

Hierarchy remains: Doolittle | Madson | Kintzler.

Milwaukee Brewers – Josh Hader recorded 8 outs on Monday night, ALL BY STRIKEOUT. No one had ever done that before, and Hader remains firmly atop a Brewers committee that is only a committee because the lefty’s long outings mean he usually can’t pitch in back to back games. At any rate, hopefully the appearance helped Brewers fans recover from what was apparently a puke-filled weekend.

Hierarchy remains: *Hader | Albers | Barnes.
* = closer-by-committee

Detroit Tigers – Shane Greene took the loss after allowing three runs on Monday night, his third appearance in his last six in which he’s been scored upon. Righty Joe Jimenez, who started his season with 11 straight scoreless appearances before a hiccup last week, is the handcuff here for those looking to speculate.

Hierarchy remains: Greene | Jimenez | Wilson. 

Tampa Bay Rays – Jose Alvarado got the last two outs of the game on Monday night to pick up his first career save. Alex Colome and Sergio Romo had each pitched in three of the previous four.

Hierarchy remains: Colome | Romo | Alvarado.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Craig Stammen – Brad Hand threw 37 pitches last night in a rough outing which crossed two innings.
2. Nick Goody – Cody Allen threw 41 pitches last night, also across two innings.

Tomorrow
1. Ryan Tepera – If Roberto Osuna goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
2. Kyle Barraclough – If Brad Ziegler goes tonight, it’ll be three straight.

Darren O’Day looking like the guy in Baltimore

April 30, 2018

Baltimore Orioles – Darren O’Day has collected the last two saves in the Baltimore bullpen, with the rather looming caveat that they’ve come 9 days apart. O’Day has given up three HRs in 11.2 IP this year, which obviously isn’t ideal for a closer, but he’s also got 15 Ks (and only 2 BBs), and an ERA/WHIP of 3.86 and 1.03, and with Brad Brach’s uninspiring start (5.73 ERA, 1.64 WHIP) and Mychal Givens’s struggles with command (8 BBs in 12.1 IP), O’Day will probably continue on as the first choice for saves in Baltimore. Another save or two, and we’ll consider removing his asterisk.

Updated hierarchy: *O’Day | Brach | Bleier.
* = closer-by-committee

Miami Marlins – Brad Ziegler picked up a crucial save on Sunday, striking out two hitters in a clean 9th inning. The outing should buy Ziegler another opportunity or two, though Kyle Barraclough, who logged Saturday’s save, continues to loom. Drew Steckenrider, meanwhile, remains the darkhorse to seize this job despite probably having the best numbers of the three thus far.

Hierarchy remains: Ziegler | Barraclough | Steckenrider.

St. Louis Cardinals – Our ritualistic “Greg Holland still isn’t quite there yet” update begins its fourth week with three more hits and another earned run in a game the Cardinals were losing by 4. Greg Holland still isn’t quite there yet, you guys.

Updated hierarchy: *Norris | Holland | Hicks.
* = closer-by-committee

Kansas City Royals – Coming into Sunday’s game, Blaine Boyer had logged 8 innings this season, scattering 14 hits and walking 6 batters in support of a tidy 16.88 ERA. So, with Kelvin Herrera getting the day off after appearing in three straight, of COURSE it was Boyer who was tapped for the save against the White Sox. Normally we don’t offer this for saves of the 1-inning variety, but this save was just so unlikely that we’re giving away a year of Closer Monkey Premium to the first person who can prove, via screenshot, that they had Boyer in their active lineup yesterday.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Keller | Flynn.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Ryan Madson – Sean Doolittle has pitched in three straight.
2. Tony Watson – Hunter Strickland has pitched in three straight.

Tomorrow
1. Sergio Romo – If Alex Colome goes today, it’ll be back to back and four of five.
2. CJ Edwards – If Brandon Morrow goes today, it’ll be back to back and four of five.
3. David Robertson – If Aroldis Chapman goes today, it’ll be back to back and three of four.