July 1, 2023
Texas Rangers — Aroldis Chapman was traded to the Texas Rangers last night in the first major move of trade deadline season. Chapman re-discovered some of the fire that made him the top closer in the game a few years ago, sporting a 16.45 K/9 and a 2.45 ERA. This would normally be good enough to immediately seize a closers role, but Will Smith is having an excellent season as well and hasn’t given up any runs since June 14, although he hasn’t pitched since June 23. GM Chris Young said it would ultimately be up to Bruce Bochy how he deploys the back end of the bullpen, but that Young envisioned it being “sort of matchup based to start and we will see how it evolves after that.” If you’re comparing the two: Chapman has better underlying raw numbers in terms of K/9, whiff rate, and FIP, but has mainly been used in a set up role. Smith has been extremely successful in the closers role in Texas (14 saves, 1 blown) and has done nothing to indicate his job is in jeopardy. We think that Chapman has more upside and will be given a real chance to take over the 9th inning, but it probably requires Will Smith to falter. This looks like a committee for now, and the first few save chances will give us a lot more to go off of, but both Chapman and Smith are worth owning until it all shakes out.
Updated hierarchy: *Chapman | Smith | Sborz.
Kansas City Royals — The Royals traded Aroldis Chapman yesterday to the Texas Rangers. Chapman had a resurgence in Kansas City, and quickly became an attractive trade piece for the Royals. The new handcuff for Scott Barlow is Taylor Clarke and the recently activated Amir Garrett returns to the hierarchy. It may not be too long before Barlow is shipped out as well, so keep an eye on the Royals bullpen as a possible source of cheap saves come trade deadline time.
Updated hierarchy: Barlow | Clarke | Garrett.
Colorado Rockies — After being removed from the closers role a few weeks back, Pierce Johnson has rebounded nicely for the Rockies. Over his last 4 appearances he has a win, 2 holds and a clean save from last night, where he came in to protect a 3 run lead. It wasn’t the most difficult of save chances, but that does give him 13 total saves on the year, and he is consistently pitching in the late innings with leads, which is enough to get back into the hierarchy.
Updated hierarchy: *Lawrence | Bard | Johnson.
* = closer-by-committee
Los Angeles Dodgers – The Dodgers activated Daniel Hudson from the IL yesterday, after missing nearly a year with an ACL injury. The Dodgers immediately gave him the ball in the 8th inning of a 6 run game. He pitched a clean frame with 2 strikeouts and is a welcome addition to the back end of the Dodgers bullpen. Hudson was one of the most reliable set up men before his injury last year, and we will see if he can return to form. Don’t be surprised if he starts moving up the hierarchy quickly, but we will wait to see how he is deployed before making a move.
Hierarchy remains: *Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.
* = closer-by-committee
Vulture Save Watch:
- Adam Ottavino (NYM) — David Robertson has pitched in back to back, including 29 pitches last night.
- Buck Farmer (CIN) — Alexis Diaz has thrown in 3 of 4 including a 13 pitch blown save last night.
- Tommy Kahnle (NYY) — The Yankees have a double-header today…
- Giovanny Gallegos (STL) — …against the Cardinals.
For Sunday:
- Joel Payamps/Elvis Peguero (MIL) — Today would be 3 of 4 for Devin Williams (and 4 of 6 and 5 of 7).
- Kyle Finnegan (WAS) — Today would be back to back and 4 of 5 for Hunter Harvey.
- Bryan Abreu (HOU) — Today would be back to back and 3 of 4 for Ryan Pressly
