Instant emails for every closer change. Closer depth charts to keep you ahead.
June 12, 2023
St. Louis Cardinals – Ryan Helsley was placed on the injured list on Monday. Expect Giovanny Gallegos to lead this committee in his absence. It’s worth noting that Gallegos and Helsley have all 15 of the team’s saves, so it’s possible Gallegos has the closer gig outright with Helsley on the shelf.
Updated hierarchy: *Gallegos | VerHagen | Hicks.
* = closer-by-committee
June 12, 2023
Arizona Diamondbacks – After Andrew Chafin allowed two of the first three hitters to reach in the 9th inning, Scott McGough was summoned to bail him out. McGough (2.97 ERA, 0.87 WHIP) has not allowed an earned run in a month, a stretch of 14.2 innings. He may be entering the closer committee here and could be worth adding in deeper leagues.
Updated hierarchy: *Chafin | Castro | McGough.
* = closer-by-committee
Oakland A’s – Trevor May got roughed up in a non-save situation which subsequently turned into a save situation due to the aforementioned roughing. The beneficiary was Sam Long, who recorded the final out and picked up his second save of the season.
Updated hierarchy: *May | Lovelady | Long.
* = closer-by-committee
Boston Red Sox – After Kenley Jansen kept the game tied in the 9th, the Red Sox plated the automatic runner in the top of the 10th, allowing Chris Martin to pick up an impressive save.
Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.
Chicago White Sox – Liam Hendriks has been placed on the IL with right elbow inflammation. Kendall Graveman should lead this committee while Hendriks out with Joe Kelly and Renaldo Lopez also being in the mix.
Updated hierarchy: *Graveman | Kelly | Lopez.
* = closer-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Dylan Floro – AJ Puk has gone back to back.
2. Ian Gibaut – Same for Alexis Diaz and Lucas Sims…
3. Jake Bird/Daniel Bard – …and Justin Lawrence.
Tomorrow
1. Chris Martin/Josh Winckowski – If Kenley Jansen or Chris Martin goes today, it’s back to back and three of four.
2. Jason Foley – If Alex Lange goes today, it’s back to back.
3. Jose Alvarado – Same for Craig Kimbrel.
June 11, 2023
Chicago White Sox – Liam Hendriks has been placed on the IL with right elbow inflammation. Kendall Graveman should lead this committee while Hendriks out with Joe Kelly and Renaldo Lopez also being in the mix.
Updated hierarchy: *Graveman | Kelly | Lopez.
* = closer-by-committee
June 11, 2023
New York Yankees – Clay Holmes pitched a scoreless 9th inning with a pair of strikeouts yesterday to pick up his 8th save of the season. Tommy Kahnle recorded the 8th inning hold ahead of Holmes and he has four scoreless appearances since his debut at the beginning of June. Holmes has recorded the last two saves for the Yankees and four of the last five. Meanwhile, Michael King has not recorded a save since May 15th. We will move Clay Holmes to the head of this committee and see how the Yankees continue to manage the back-end of their bullpen.
Updated hierarchy: *Holmes | King | Peralta.
* = closer-by-committee
Los Angeles Dodgers – Andre Jackson pitched three scoreless innings to finish off a 9-0 Dodgers’ win and pick up his second save of the season. Jackson also pitched three scoreless innings for a save in his debut this season but has given up 13 runs in his other 5 appearances. Apparently Jackson struggles in non-save situations (of the three inning variety) like some closers so maybe the Dodgers would be best to try and use him in those three inning save situations.
Hierarchy remains: *Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.
* = closer-by-committee
Oakland A’s — Don’t look now, but the A’s have won four in a row and produced saves in three of those wins. Tevor May and Lucas Erceg both got the day off and Richard Lovelady pitched the 8th inning so that left Sam Long to pick up his first save of the season with a scoreless 10th inning.
Hierarchy remains: *May | Lovelady | Erceg.
* = closer-by-committee
Atlanta Braves — As predicted in the Vulture Save Watch yesterday, Raisel Iglesias got the day off and AJ Minter earned his 9th save of the season.
Hierarchy remains: Iglesias | Minter | Anderson.
Cleveland Guardians – The Guardians sent James Karinchak down to Triple-A. Sam Hentges and Eli Morgan should see more high leverage usage ahead of Emmanuel Clase and Trevor Stephan.
Updated hierarchy: Clase | Stephan | Hentges.
Los Angeles Angels — Ben Joyce has been placed on the IL. Jose Soriano has picked up two holds in his past two appearances and should see more time in the later innings for the Angels while Joyce is out.
Updated hierarchy: Estevez | Devenski | Soriano.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Hector Neris (HOU) – Ryan Pressly has pitched in two straight while Bryan Abreu has pitched in three of four.
2. Adam Ottavino (NYM) – David Robertson has pitched in two of three, throwing a total of 54 pitches.
3. Steven Wilson (SD) – Josh Hader has pitched in two straight and three of four while Nick Martinez has also pitched in two straight.
Monday
1. Aroldis Chapman (KC) – Scott Barlow threw 22 pitches yesterday so if he pitches again today he could get Monday off.
2. Chris Devenski (LAA) – If Carlos Estevez pitches today, it will be three of four and four of six.
June 10, 2023
Colorado Rockies — On Friday Bud Black made good on his promise to address the closer situation, kind of. He formally removed Pierce Johnson from the closer’s role, but wouldn’t name a consistent ninth inning arm going forward. The clear top pick is Justin Lawrence, who currently leads our committee, but if you believe Black will employ a committee going forward the other options are Jake Bird, who was named as a possible option, and Daniel Bard who has long time Colorado closing experience.
Updated hierarchy: *Lawrence | Bird | Bard.
* = closer-by-committee
Oakland A’s — Do we have a clear cut closer in Oakland?? It might take a few more weeks to determine, but Trevor May now has 2 straight saves for the A’s, finishing a 3 run game last night. Bridging the gap to May was Lucas Erceg, who also pitched in front of May on Wednesday. 2 in a row is plenty to get to the top of the A’s committee, and Erceg’s recent usage suggests he is on the hierarchy as well.
Updated hierarchy: *May | Lovelady | Erceg.
* = closer-by-committee
St. Louis Cardinals – The Cardinals stormed out to a 5 run lead last night, but when the tying run came to the plate in the 8th they turned to Giovanny Gallegos to shut the door. He got the last out of the 8th and stuck around for the 9th to earn his 8th save on the year. Ryan Helsley got the previous save on Wednesday and both Gallegos and Helsley are very much in the mix for save chances on any given night at this point.
Hierarchy remains: *Helsley | Gallegos | VerHagen.
* = closer-by-committee
Chicago Cubs — The Cubs are deploying Mark Leiter Jr. in a bit of a relief ace role lately. Last night it was to get the last out of the 7th inning, which left the 9th inning to Adbert Alzolay. Both did the job, which secured Leiter’s 10th hold and Alzolay’s 3rd save. Leiter has hit a little bit of a rough patch, giving up 4 runs over his last 4 appearances, but the Cubs still continue to deploy him in the high leverage spots so he remains on top of the hierarchy for now.
Hierarchy remains: *Leiter Jr. | Alzolay | Fulmer.
* = closer-by-committee
Los Angeles Angels — Ben Joyce felt some numbness in his fingers, and was removed from last night’s game. The speculation is that he will need an IL stint at this point, but he is set for an evaluation today. The Angels have every reason to be cautious with the young flamethrower, but we will leave him in the hierarchy until we get official word.
Hierarchy remains: Estevez | Devenski | Joyce.
Vulture Save Watch:
For Sunday:
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