April 20, 2022
Kansas City Royals — Josh Staumont recorded his second save in as many chances on Tuesday, with Scott Barlow pitching a perfect eighth inning. We’ll swap these two at the top of the hierarchy, but don’t be surprised if the Royals continue to mix and match with Staumont and Barlow in the final two innings.
Updated hierarchy: *Staumont | Barlow | Garrett.
* = closer-by-committee
Boston Red Sox — Alex Cora said after Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Toronto that he managed like it was a playoff game. That included using Garrett Whitlock in the ninth inning to close out the contest, though Cora did say that it wasn’t the perfect situation to use him. Whitlock is Boston’s best reliever, but is he going to consistently get save chances? It’s hard to say based on Cora’s comments tonight and Whitlock’s previous usage. We’ll put Jake Diekman, who got the final out of the eighth, at the top of this hierarchy for now and see how Cora decides to use Whitlock.
Updated hierarchy: *Diekman | Whitlock | Robles.
* = closer-by-committee
Seattle Mariners — Drew Steckenrider was the first man out of the bullpen on Tuesday, protecting a two-run lead in the seventh. The Mariners added two more runs in the bottom of the frame to rob Paul Sewald of a hold and Diego Castillo of a save chance. Castillo has now pitched the ninth in each of his last two appearances, both of which were lopsided wins. We’ll adjust the hierarchy based on last night’s usage and see if anyone truly separates themselves in this three-man committee.
Updated hierarchy: *Castillo | Sewald | Steckenrider.
* = closer-by-committee
New York Mets – The Mets bullpen came up big against the Giants on Tuesday. Seth Lugo, Edwin Diaz and Adam Ottavino got the eighth, ninth and 10th innings, respectively, in game one of Tuesday’s doubleheader, all throwing scoreless frames in a Mets win. In game two, Drew Smith preserved an eighth-inning lead to allow Trevor May to earn his first save of the season.
Hierarchy remains: Diaz | May | Smith.
Oakland A’s — We told you yesterday that the A’s will likely take a committee approach in Lou Trivino’s absence, and they sure did yesterday. None of the guys who pitched on Monday appeared in Tuesday’s win. In the ninth inning, the Orioles announced a lefty to start the frame, so the A’s brought in southpaw Sam Moll. Despite the O’s then switching batters, the A’s left Moll in for the first two hitters (the other one being a lefty) and then pulled him for Zach Jackson. Jackson picked up his first MLB save by securing the final out. Ryan Castellani joined Moll in earning a hold on Tuesday, while Zach Logue earned the win in his MLB debut thanks to four outs in the sixth and seventh. It’s pretty clear manager Mark Kotsay will play the matchups right until the very end of the game, which makes this hierarchy a muddy one until Trivino returns.
Updated hierarchy: *Jimenez | Acevedo | Jackson.
* = closer-by-committee.
Washington Nationals – Tanner Rainey has three straight saves for the Nationals, which means we’re saying goodbye to the asterisk.
Updated hierarchy: Rainey | Finnegan | Doolittle.
Texas Rangers — The Rangers designated Greg Holland for assignment, which means we welcome Spencer Patton to the hierarchy for the two-win Rangers.
Updated hierarchy: *Barlow | Bush | Patton.
* = closer-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Thursday
1. Genesis Cabrera – If Giovanny Gallegos pitches today, it’s back to back.
2. Trevor May and Friends – The same is true of Edwin Diaz and the rest of the Mets’ high-leverage options, including Trevor May.
3. Jonathan Loaisiga – It’s also true for Aroldis Chapman.
4. Kyle Finnegan/Sean Doolittle – Both Tanner Rainey and Kyle Finnegan threw over 20 pitches on Tuesday. If either pitches today, Sean Doolittle may get a chance on Thursday.
