Sean Doolittle could be out for several weeks; Giovanny Gallegos tightens his hold on the ninth

April 21, 2022

Seattle Mariners — Paul Sewald, who has retired all 11 batters he’s faced thus far in 2022, has been placed on the COVID IL. Fireballer Andres Muñoz will join a committee situation that didn’t get any clearer last night with Diego Castillo’s ninth-inning struggles.

Updated hierarchy: *Castillo | Steckenrider | Muñoz.
* = closer-by-committee

Washington Nationals — Sean Doolittle’s strong season — powered by a new breaking ball — has been interrupted by an elbow sprain that might keep him out for an extended period of time. Taking his place in the seventh inning will be Victor Arano, who has outpitched veteran Steve Cishek thus far.

Updated hierarchy: Rainey | Finnegan | Arano.

St. Louis Cardinals — As we suspected going into the year, Giovanny Gallegos has secured St. Louis’s closing job ahead of Genesis Cabrera and Ryan Helsley. Gallegos picked up his third save of the young season in a 2-0 win over the Marlins.

Updated hierarchy: Gallegos | Cabrera | Helsley.

San Francisco Giants — It’s two straight saves now for Jake McGee in the Giants’ closer committee, a situation that may end up becoming a true lefty/righty platoon.

Hierarchy remains: *Doval | McGee | Rogers.
* = closer-by-committee

Kansas City Royals — It was Scott Barlow’s turn to grab a save in the Royals’ two-headed closer committee. Kansas City has two excellent ninth-inning options in Barlow and Josh Staumont.

Hierarchy remains: *Staumont | Barlow | Garrett.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Thursday:
1. Jonathan Loaisiga (NYY) — Aroldis Chapman has gone in two straight and Loaisiga is the best-rested option behind him.

Friday:
1. Ryan Helsley (STL) — Gallegos has pitched in two straight games and Cabrera threw 21 pitches Wednesday.
2. Amir Garrett (KCR) — Both Staumont and Barlow have pitched in two straight and Garrett will likely get Thursday off after a long Tuesday outing.

Josh Staumont secures second straight save

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.

Dany Jimenez to see save chances after Lou Trivino’s COVID diagnosis

April 19, 2022

Oakland A’s — Lou Trivino was been placed on the COVID IL before Monday’s game, and Dany Jimenez had an eventful, but ultimately scoreless 9th inning in his stead. He was preceded by Justin Grimm in the 8th and Domingo Acevedo in the 7th — and that’s how we’ll line them up while Trivino is out, with the understanding (and, perhaps, expectation) that the A’s could take a committee approach in Trivino’s absence.

Updated hierarchy: *Jimenez | Grimm | Acevedo.
* = closer-by-committee.

Chicago Cubs – With saves on back to back days, the resurgent David Robertson has shaken his asterisk and is now the full-time stopper for the Cubs. Just note that, given his age and recent injury history, the Cubs might protect his usage more than most teams (he almost certainly will be unavailable today, for example).

Updated hierarchy: Robertson | Givens | Wick.

Colorado Rockies – Alex Colome picked up his first save of the season on Monday, and through 10 games, the surprising Rockies have the best bullpen ERA (1.88) in baseball. Daniel Bard’s absence was curious, but given his early success and the lack of any postgame notes, we’re assuming for now that the Rockies wanted to give the 36-year-old righty two consecutive days off after pitching him in 5 of their first 8 games. If Colome (or Carlos Estevez) picks up another save, however, the committee tag will return.

Hierarchy remains: Bard | Colome | Estevez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Mychal Givens – David Robertson has gone back to back.
2. Robert Suarez – Taylor Rogers has gone back to back.
3-6. Ian Kennedy/Kyle Finnegan/Jake McGee/Trevor May – The Diamondbacks, Nats, Giants, and Mets all have doubleheaders today.

Tomorrow
1. Ryne Stanek – If Hector Neris goes today, it’s back to back and three of four.
2. Blake Treinen – If Craig Kimbrel goes today, it’s back to back.
3. Jose Alvarado – If Corey Knebel goes today, it’s back to back.

David Robertson securing himself atop the Cubs hierarchy

April 18, 2022

Chicago Cubs – David Robertson picked up his third save of the season on Sunday, while Rowan Wick pitched a solid 8th to earn one of the odder wins we’ve seen recently. (The Cubs led all game long, but the starter failed to reach 5 innings, and the official scorer determined that the three relievers who came before Wick, including committee-participant Mychal Givens, were all undeserving of the win.) While Givens did get a save earlier this week, we’re getting close to removing Robertson’s asterisk here.

Hierarchy remains: *Robertson | Givens | Wick.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Mets – Given their track records, it’s probably a little early to be worrying about Seth Lugo and Trevor May. But the pair of righties, who were expected to be the main bridges to Edwin Diaz, have both struggled thus far. Meanwhile, Drew Smith, who spent the offseason tinkering with his secondary stuff, has been dominant through his 5.2 innings of work so far, and it was Smith who got the 8th ahead of Diaz in Sunday’s victory. We’ll shake this hierarchy up for the time being, with the expectation that Lugo can make his way back on quickly with even a short run of success.

Updated hierarchy: Diaz | May | Smith.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Chris Stratton – David Bednar has gone back to back.

Tomorrow
1. Devin Williams – If Josh Hader goes today, it’s two straight.
2. Mychal Givens – If David Robertson goes today, it’s two straight.
3. Trevor May – If Edwin Diaz goes today, it’s two straight.
4. Robert Suarez – If Taylor Rogers goes today, it’s two straight.