Wandy Peralta and Kendall Graveman record saves

May 14, 2023

New York Yankees — Wandy Peralta pitched a scoreless 9th inning to pick up his second straight save. The Yankees bullpen is wide open right now and two straight saves are enough to get Peralta back on the hierarchy.  We will continue to monitor this situation to see if anybody can emerge as the primary closer moving forward.

Updated hierarchy: *King | Peralta | Holmes.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago White Sox — Kendall Graveman closed out a 3-1 White Sox victory to record his second save of the season.  Graveman should continue to be the best bet for saves on any given night until Liam Hendriks is able to return.  Hendriks is currently on a rehab assignment and is expected to pitch today and again Tuesday or Wednesday before being re-evaluated. 

Hierarchy remains: *Graveman | Lopez | Middleton.
* = closer-by-committee

Cleveland Guardians – After the Guardians scored six runs in the bottom of the 8th to take a two run lead, Trevor Stephan came out for the save opportunity in the top of the 9th.  Stephan put a couple runners on but was able to work a scoreless inning for his second save of the season.  Stephan also got the 8th inning on Friday ahead of closer Emmanuel Clase and seems to have moved ahead of James Karinchak on the Guardians’ hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Clase | Stephan | Karinchak.

Philadelphia Phillies — As the Vulture Save Watch predicted, Craig Kimbrel got the day off yesterday and Gregory Soto pitched a perfect 9th inning for his first save of the season. 

Hierarchy remains: *Kimbrel | Soto | Dominguez.
* = closer-by-committee

St. Louis Cardinals — Ryan Helsely got the day off after throwing 28 pitches on Friday and that allowed Giovanny Gallegos to earn his third save of the season with a scoreless 9th inning.

Hierarchy remain: Helsley | Gallegos | VerHagen.

Los Angeles Dodgers – The Dodgers’ flip-flopped Evan Phillips and Brusdar Graterol last night with Phillips getting the 8th inning and Graterol getting the 9th.  Phillips pitched a scoreless inning and Graterol recorded outs on the first two batters he faced, but after allowing back-to-back singles, Caleb Ferguson came on in relief of Graterol.  Ferguson struck out the only batter he faced and picked up his first save of the season.  We will see if this sort of usage continues and pushes this back towards a committee. 

Hierarchy remains: Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Yennier Cano – Felix Bautista has pitched in two straight.
2. Chris Martin – Kenley Jansen has pitched in two straight and three of four.
3. Lucas Sims – Alexis Diaz has pitched in two straight, including a 41 pitch outing yesterday.
4. Miguel Castro – Andrew Chafin has pitched in two straight and three of four.
5. Brusdar Graterol – Evan Phillips has pitched in two straight.

Monday
1. Bryan Abreu – If Ryan Pressly pitches Sunday, it will be two of three and four of six.
2. Adam Ottavino – David Robertson threw 40 pitches on Friday so if he pitches on Sunday, he will likely get Monday off.
3. Lucas Sims/Ian Gibault – Alexis Diaz could get a couple days off after his 41 pitch outing on the second night of a back-to-back on Saturday.

A Wandy Peralta sighting and some short outing saves.

May 13, 2023

New York Mets — David Robertson was brought in to face the 3-4-5 hitters in the bottom of the 8th in a 1 run game. He stuck around for the 9th but when he issued his second walk of the inning the Mets turned the game over to Drew Smith. Smith got the final out to earn his first save on the year. No reason to shake up the hierarchy based on last night, but it does emphasize this is a committee. 

Hierarchy Remains: *Robertson | Ottavino | Smith.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Yankees — The Yankees were en route to a bullpen loss after Michael King gave up a go ahead homer in the top of the 8th. When the Yankees retook the lead in the bottom half, they turned to proven closer Wandy Peralta for the tough save chance. Peralta converted for his first save on the season, giving him 10 on his career. Peralta is riding an 8 game scoreless streak and has some solid numbers on the season, but the rest of the Yankees hierarchy had already pitched, so no shakeups just yet. We will see if Peralta can ride this save opportunity into a more consistent late inning role. 

Hierarchy remains: *King | Holmes | Hamilton.
* = closer-by-committee

Arizona Diamondbacks – Andrew Chafin was called on with 1 out in the 8th inning. He let an inherited runner score, but got 2 outs and maintained the lead.  After 1 out in the 9th and with a couple righty’s coming up Arizona brought in Miguel Castro. Castro closed the door for his second save on the season. This was a highly matchup based save opportunity and doesn’t warrant a change in the hierarchy, but its useful to keep in mind that there are other options besides Andrew Chafin in Arizona.  

Hierarchy remains: Chafin | McGough | Castro.

Tampa Bay Rays — Jason Adam blew a save last night but the real news for Tampa is that Pete Fairbanks was sent on a rehab assignment. Fairbanks was having an excellent season before hitting the IL, so when he is back expect him to jump right back into the high leverage spots. 

Hierarchy remains: *Adam | Poche | Kelly.
*=closer-by-committee

Vulture Save Watch:

  1. Drew Smith (NYM) — After a 40 pitch outing, David Robertson has earned a rest, while Adam Ottavino has gone in back to back and 3 of 4, maybe giving Drew Smith a chance for back to back saves.
  2. Gregory Soto (PHI) — Craig Kimbrel threw 21 pitches last night, and has gone in 3 of 4.
  3. Chris Martin (BOS) — Kenley Jansen has thrown in 2 of 3, including 22 pitches last night.
  4. Rafael Montero/Bryan Abreu (HOU) — Ryan Pressly only threw 10 pitches last night, but has gone in 3 of 4, while Montero is well rested.

For Sunday:

  1. Clay Holmes (NYY) — Today would be back to back for Michael King, and he threw 27 pitches last night.
  2. James Karinchak/Trevor Stephan (CLE) — The same is true for Emmanuel Clase.
  3. Matt Moore/Ryan Tepera (LAA) — Carlos Estevez only threw 23 pitches last night, but another long outing could earn him a rest on Sunday.
  4. Giovanny Gallegos (STL) — Ryan Helsley threw 28 pitches last night.
  5. Scott McGough/Miguel Castro (ARI) — Today would be back to back and 3 of 4 for Andrew Chafin.

Twins’ Jorge Lopez picks up his third save

May 12, 2023

Minnesota Twins — Jhoan Duran did not pitch in a save situation Thursday, presumably because he tossed 2.0 innings (just 17 pitches) the night before, though that Wednesday appearance was his first since the previous Friday. Jorge Lopez, instead, struck out two for his third save. There’s a committee label here for a reason, folks.

Hierarchy remains: *Duran | Lopez | Jax.
* = closer-by-committee

Cincinnati Reds — In a bullpen game Thursday, four Reds relievers combined to shut out the Mets 5-0. The last reliever to appear, Kevin Herget, tossed the final three innings for his first career save. We don’t expect Herget to factor much in the saves discussion moving forward.

Hierarchy remains: Diaz | Sims | Gibaut.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Jose Leclerc (TEX) – Will Smith threw just four pitches Thursday, but he has now gone in back-to-back days and three of four.

Saturday:
1. Tyler Rogers (SF) – If he goes Friday, that would be two straight and three of four for Camilo Doval.
2. Reynaldo Lopez (CWS) — Kendall Graveman will have gone in three of five with an appearance Friday.

Craig Kimbrel and Gregory Soto tapped for the closer role in Philly

May 11, 2023

Philadelphia Phillies — As we alerted you yesterday afternoon, Jose Alvarado went on the injured list Wednesday, but an MRI showed nothing more than inflammation. Craig Kimbrel looked effective in the tenth inning against Toronto on Wednesday, and Rob Thomson will use him and Gregory Soto in the way he had been using Kimbrel and Alvarado. Seranthony Dominguez is also in the late-innings mix, with Matt Strahm — not yet able to pitch on back-to-back nights — also an occasional option.

Updated hierarchy: *Kimbrel | Soto | Dominguez.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies — Pierce Johnson picked up his sixth save of the season on Wednesday, and Justin Lawrence seems to be his full-time setup man at this point. One more save for Johnson and we’ll probably pull his asterisk. 

Updated hierarchy: *Johnson | Lawrence | Bard.
* = closer-by-committee

Boston Red Sox — Kenley Jansen earned his 400th career save on Wednesday, becoming only the seventh reliever ever to reach that milestone. Craig Kimbrel, at 397, should be next, but after that, only Edwin Diaz (205 at age 29) has any chance to hit 400 by 2030.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

New York Yankees — The Yankees called up 23-year-old Deivi Garcia for Wednesday afternoon’s game; he made his first career relief appearance in a three-inning save (the only type you can earn in an A’s game) and was promptly sent back to Scranton with a pat on the back for a job well done.

Hierarchy remains: *King | Holmes | Hamilton.
* = closer-by-committee

Baltimore Orioles — The Vulture Save Watch correctly projected Yennier Cano’s third save of the season on Wednesday. The word “hero” is thrown around a lot these days, but I think we can all agree: this is where it fits.

Hierarchy remains: Bautista | Cano | Baker.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Jose Leclerc (TEX) — Will Smith has pitched in two of three, as has Jonathan Hernandez.

Friday:
1. Reynaldo Lopez (CWS) — Kendall Graveman will have gone in three of four with an appearance today.
2. Scott McGough (ARI) — Andrew Chafin threw 22 pitches Wednesday.

Phillies’ Jose Alvarado placed on injured list

May 10, 2023

Philadelphia Phillies – Jose Alvarado hit the injured list on Wednesday with left elbow inflammation. We’ll slide Craig Kimbrel to the lead spot and slap on a committee tag. Serathony Dominguez and Gregory Soto could be in the mix, too, but it’s worth noting Matt Strahm has the most-recent save after beginning the year in the starting rotation, so we’ll give Strahm the second-in-line spot and monitor this situation moving forward.

Updated hierarchy: *Kimbrel | Dominguez | Strahm.
* = closer-by-committee