More bullpen trouble in Texas

August 31, 2023

Texas Rangers — Will Smith had a bounce-back outing on Wednesday, retiring five batters and allowing only one walk in a tie game. Unfortunately for the Rangers, after they failed to score in the top of the tenth, Aroldis Chapman ended things with an intentional walk, an unintentional walk, and a bases-loaded hit by pitch. The game was tied, by the way, because Jose Leclerc gave up a two-run homer in the eighth before Smith came on. With Texas in the thick of races for the division and the wild card, now is not the time for bullpen uncertainty.

Hierarchy remains: *Chapman | Smith | Leclerc.

San Diego Padres — Steven Wilson was placed on the injured list with right hip inflammation, giving Scott Barlow another chance at high-leverage work. Barlow pitched a solid seventh and eighth with a one-run lead on Wednesday, only to see a rare Josh Hader blown save in the ninth. 

Updated hierarchy: Hader | Suarez | Barlow.

Pittsburgh Pirates — Thomas Hatch, who picked up his third hold in the seventh inning last night, has moved into the Pirates’ hierarchy behind David Bednar and Colin Holderman.

Updated hierarchy: Bednar | Holderman | Hatch.

New York Yankees — Don’t look now, but the Yankees have reeled off three wins in a row and could be making an improbable push for the — just kidding, they’re still totally cooked. But Ian Hamilton did pick up a nice three-inning save for them last night.

Hierarchy remains: Holmes | Kahnle | Peralta.

Los Angeles Dodgers — For the second time in two weeks, Ryan Yarbrough earned a super-sized save. Wednesday he gave the rest of the bullpen the night off by powering through four innings of scoreless ball in a 7-0 win.

Hierarchy remains: Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Robert Suarez (SD) — Josh Hader’s blown save came on his third straight day of work.
2. A.J. Minter (ATL) — Raisel Iglesias has pitched back-to-back.

Friday:
1. Tyler Kahnle (NYY) — If Clay Holmes pitches Thursday, that will be three games in four days.
2. Mark Leiter Jr./Julian Merryweather (CHC) — The Cubs play a doubleheader Friday…
3. Lucas Sims (CIN) — …against the Reds.

A tour around the AL West

August 30, 2023

Texas Rangers – With both Aroldis Chapman and Will Smith available, the Rangers went to Smith in the eighth inning to protect a 1-0 lead against the top of the Mets order. Smith needed just seven pitches to retire the side, leaving the final three outs for Chapman. The Rangers added an insurance run in the top of the ninth to make it a 2-0 game, which turned out to be huge as Chapman allowed a two-out homer that cut the lead to 2-1. Chapman rebounded by inducing a groundout to earn the save. There’s still a possibility that Smith gets another save chance or two, but Chapman appears to have the inside track based on what we’ve seen so far this week.

Hierarchy remains: *Chapman | Smith | Leclerc.
* = closer-by-committee

Los Angeles Angels – The Angels placed a bunch of guys on waivers yesterday, including relievers Reynaldo Lopez and Matt Moore. We’ll wait to see where Lopez and Moore land, but it’s safe to say there should be a few contenders interested in their services.

Hierarchy remains: Estevez | Lopez | Moore.

Houston Astros – Ryan Pressly was unavailable in the Astros’ 6-2 win over the Red Sox on Tuesday because he was sick, but Dusty Baker hopes to have Pressly available today.

Hierarchy remains: Pressly | Abreu | Neris.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Tommy Kahnle (NYY) – Clay Holmes has pitched in two straight.
2. Austin Cox (KC) – So has Carlos Hernandez.
3. Hector Neris (HOU) – If for some reason Ryan Pressly is still sick, Neris is the best bet to fill in on Wednesday as Bryan Abreu threw 25 pitches on Tuesday.
4. Giovanny Gallegos (STL) – JoJo Romero completed two innings of work yesterday.
5. Steven Wilson/Scott Barlow (SD) – Both Josh Hader and Robert Suarez have pitched in two straight.

Tomorrow:
1. AJ Minter/Kirby Yates (ATL) – If Raisel Iglesias pitches today that will be two straight. An appearance today for AJ Minter would be three in a row.
2. Hunter Harvey/Mason Thompson (WAS) – Each member of the Washington hierarchy threw over 20 pitches last night, so if any of them pitch today they will likely be down on Thursday.

Jose Leclerc — and not Will Smith — earns save for Rangers

August 29, 2023

Texas Rangers – After Aroldis Chapman worked in back-to-back games over the weekend, he was apparently unavailable Monday. But that meant Will Smith did the job in a save situation, right? Well, no. Enter old friend Jose Leclerc, who mixed in a walk with two strikeouts to earn his second save. Reading between the lines, recent usage would indicate Chapman is the committee leader and Leclerc is a part of the mix with Smith. Smith not being used in an obvious situation for a closer Monday is very telling. It’s also worth noting Rangers beat writer Evan Grant said that Leclerc got the save chance after Chapman and Brock Burke had worked in the previous two days — and he did not mention Smith. We’ll make the swap in our hierarchy now and this situation is definitely worth monitoring.

Updated hierarchy: *Chapman | Smith | Leclerc.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Mets – For the first time since undergoing patellar tendon surgery, Edwin Diaz threw a bullpen session. He maintains that his goal is to return to pitch for the Mets before the end of the season even though the club is out of contention, so if he happens to be available in your league (only 16% rostered in Yahoo!, for example), he could be worth stashing if you have IL space.

Hierarchy remains: *Ottavino | Raley | Smith.
* = closer-by-committee

St. Louis Cardinals — Ryan Helsley expects to be activated from the injured list on Wednesday. Whether he jumps right back into the saves mix upon his return remains to be seen.

Hierarchy remains: *Romero | Gallegos | Pallante.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays – As predicted by the Vulture Save Watch, Jordan Romano did not appear Monday after throwing 36 pitches Sunday, leaving Jordan Hicks there to earn his fourth save since being traded to Toronto.

Hierarchy remains: Romano | Hicks | Garcia.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Evan Phillips did not pitch Monday, as projected by the Vulture Save Watch, but it was Caleb Ferguson and not Brusdar Graterol who got the opportunity in the ninth, earning his third save. He has been used as an opener recently, but this save chance proves he still belongs in the hierarchy. Graterol last worked Friday, throwing 31 pitches, so perhaps manager Dave Roberts wanted an additional day of rest to keep him fresh.

Hierarchy remains: Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.

Minnesota Twins – The Vulture Save Watch correctly predicted an off-day for Jhoan Duran, but it certainly did not foresee Josh Winder pitching three hitless innings to earn his first career save. He won’t normally factor into the late-inning plans.  

Hierarchy remains: Duran | Jax | Pagan.

Houston Astros – Jose Urquidy covered the final four innings (4 hits, 1 ER, 2 walks 1 strikeout) of what became a blowout Astros win Monday to earn his first career save.

Hierarchy remains: Pressly | Abreu | Neris.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Jose Alvarado (PHI) – Craig Kimbrel has pitched in two straight.
2. Taylor Rogers (SF) – Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers have each gone in two consecutive games.
3. Andrew Nardi (MIA) – The Marlins were off Monday but Tanner Scott has been busy lately (he pitched in both weekend games).

Wednesday:
1. Shintaro Fujinami (BAL) – If he goes Tuesday, that would be three of four for Yennier Cano.
2. Brooks Raley (NYM) – Same as above for Adam Ottavino.
3. Griffin Jax (MIN) – The above is also true for Jhoan Duran.

Miami’s Tanner Scott notches save, further cementing role as Marlins closer

August 28, 2023

Miami Marlins – As we alerted, David Robertson was removed from the closer’s role before Sunday’s game, and the new closer, Tanner Scott, pitched well Sunday to earn his third save of the season.

Updated hierarchy: Scott | Nardi | Puk.

Texas Rangers – Will Smith notched a clutch strikeout against the only batter he faced to finish off the eighth inning in Sunday’s game, leaving Aroldis Chapman to handle the ninth inning in a save situation. Chapman did not deliver, though, allowing the tying run to send the game to extras. The Rangers eventually lost, which is something happening a lot lately. Texas has lost nine of 10, and the struggles in the late innings are a big part of it. It appears manager Bruce Bochy is starting to play the matchups again in the ninth inning, so we’ll slap on the committee tag with Smith still in the lead role, for now. 

Updated hierarchy: *Smith | Chapman | Sborz.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays – Erik Swanson was placed on the injured list with thoracic spine inflammation. Expect Yimi Garcia and maybe Tim Mayza to vie for saves when the Jordans (Romano and Hicks) aren’t available.

Updated hierarchy: Romano | Hicks | Garcia.

Boston Red Sox – Manager Alex Cora said Kenley Jansen was available to pitch Sunday. The Red Sox lost, so there was no save situation and Jansen did not play, but he should be presumed to be available moving forward.  

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

St. Louis Cardinals — Ryan Helsley resumed a rehab assignment on Sunday after his first one was paused over concerns about continued forearm discomfort. New imaging came back clean, allowing his return to action, though there is no timetable for his return to the majors. For what it’s worth, he did not pitch well in the rehab outing, allowing a couple of runs. 

Hierarchy remains: *Romero | Gallegos | Pallante.
* = closer-by-committee

Tampa Bay Rays – The Vulture Save Watch projected a day off Sunday for Pete Fairbanks, but instead of turning to Colin Poche, manager Kevin Cash went with Jason Adam for the third time in four games. Adam nailed down his 12th save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Fairbanks | Adam | Poche.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Paul Sewald did not pitch Sunday, as forecast by the Vulture Save Watch, but it was Ryan Thompson who earned the save in his first game for Arizona, not Kevin Ginkel, who had already pitched Friday and Saturday. 

Hierarchy remains: Sewald | Ginkel | McGough.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Brooks Raley (NYM) – Adam Ottavino has gone in two straight.
2. Shintaro Fujinami (BAL) – Yennier Cano has also gone in two in a row.
3. Griffin Jax (MIN) – Same as above for Jhoan Duran.
4. Brusdar Graterol (LAD) – Evan Phillips has pitched in three of four.
5. Jordan Hicks (TOR) – Jordan Romano threw 36 pitches to record five outs Sunday and could need a breather.

Tuesday:
1. Andrew Nardi (MIA) – Miami is off Monday but new closer Tanner Scott might need a second day of rest after pitching Saturday and Sunday.
2. Trevor Stephan (CLE) – If he goes Monday, that would be two straight and three of four for Emmanuel Clase.
3. Matt Brash (SEA) – A Monday outing would be three of four for Andres Munoz.