The “Dead Fish” is back in the bigs

May 9, 2023

Los Angeles Angels – An evening bereft of significant bullpen news allows us to use this space to highlight one of our favorite relievers in recent years. Cesar Valdez, the 38-year-old creator of the “Dead Fish” change-up — which he throws about 80% of the time, albeit with different grips and arm angles — was called up yesterday to the Angels’ major league roster. Last seen closing for the Orioles in early 2021, Valdez’s stint with Los Angeles marks his 13th organization across four countries in his 18-year career. His 7.27 ERA in AAA this season isn’t exactly promising, but his strikeout numbers (25 Ks in 26 IP) are perhaps more indicative of what the Angels were looking at when selecting his contract. Here’s hoping he sticks in the bigs.

Hierarchy remains: Estevez | Moore | Tepera.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Kevin Kelly/Jalen Beeks – Jason Adam (back to back and four of five) and Colin Poche (back to back and three of four) are likely both down today.
2. Giovanny Gallegos – Ryan Helsley has gone back to back and three of four.

Tomorrow
1. Matt Moore/Ryan Tepera – If Carlos Estevez and Matt Moore go today, it’s back to back.
2. Jose Leclerc/Jonathan Hernandez – Same for Will Smith.

Michael King, Mark Leiter Jr. take the lead in their respective committees

May 8, 2023

Philadelphia Phillies – Matt Strahm came on for the 8th inning to protect a 3-run lead, then stayed on for the 9th after the Phillies stretched their lead further, earning his first career save. But in what is potentially more relevant news, Jose Alvarado was used in the 7th against the heart of the Boston lineup, which makes it more likely we’re headed back to a committee situation here. Watch this space for updates.

Hierarchy remains: Alvarado | Kimbrel | Dominguez.

New York Yankees – In a tie game against the Rays, the Yankees went with Clay Holmes in the 7th, Wandy Peralta in the 8th, and Michael King in the 9th. This situation is still very fluid, but it’s probably safe to say that on any given night, King has a better chance at a save than Holmes, even if it’s still questionable whether he can pitch on back to back nights with any consistency. We’ll swap them accordingly.

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

Miami Marlins – Andrew Nardi, the 6th man out of the bullpen, picked up a 14th inning save on Sunday, the first of his career. Though we love him even more because his first name is Andy, the Nard Dog doesn’t factor in to the Marlins’ usual late-inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: *Puk | Floro | Scott.
* = closer-by-committee

Washington Nationals – Hunter Harvey got the save chance after the Nationals rallied to take the lead in the top of the 9th, and the righty converted for his first save of the season. We’ll shuffle him up to handcuff status as a reward.

Updated hierarchy: Finnegan | Harvey | Edwards.

Seattle Mariners – With Paul Sewald seeing a good bit of action lately, the Mariners gave the ball to Justin Topa in the 9th inning with a 2-run lead. Topa converted and is cementing himself as the best alternative on nights when Sewald is unavailable.

Hierarchy remains: Sewald | Topa | Brash.

Chicago Cubs – Another shaky outing pushed Brad Boxberger’s ERA to 4.50; meanwhile, Mark Leiter Jr. tossed two solid innings in extras to drop his to 1.13. He’s clearly been the most effective arm in the Cubs’ bullpen, so we’re shuffling him up to the top of the committee.

Updated hierarchy: *Leiter Jr. | Boxberger | Alzolay.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Clay Holmes/Ian Hamilton – Until Michael King proves he can pitch on back to back days, Holmes and Hamilton will be in this space the day after his appearances.
2. Colin Poche – Jason Adam has pitched on four of the last six days.
3. Trevor Stephan – Emmanuel Clase and James Karinchak have both pitched on back to back days.
4. Aroldis Chapman – Same for Scott Barlow.
5. Dylan Floro – Same for AJ Puk.
6. Brusdar Graterol – Same for Evan Phillips.

Tomorrow
1. Brad Boxberger/Adbert Alzolay – If Mark Leiter Jr. goes today, it’s back to back and three of four.
2. Giovanny Gallegos – Same for Ryan Helsley.
3. Peter Strzelecki – If Devin Williams goes today, it’s back to back.

Ian Hamilton, Adbert Alzolay, and Zach Jackson record saves

May 7, 2023

New York Yankees – Clay Holmes pitched a scoreless 8th inning with the Yankees down 2-0.  After the Yankees rallied for three runs in the top of the 9th, Ian Hamilton pitched a scoreless bottom of the 9th to pick up his first career save.  Hamilton and Michael King have both pitched much better than Clay Holmes this season, and with King working to be available more often moving forward, we think Holmes is losing his grip on the closer role.  We will throw an asterisk on this for now and see if anybody can establish himself as the primary closer moving forward.

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

Chicago Cubs – The Cubs rallied for three runs in the bottom of the 8th inning to take a two run lead and Adbert Alzolay came out for the 9th to try and close it out.  Alzolay pitched a perfect inning for his first save of the season.  This bullpen is wide open right now and we will monitor this to see what everybody’s usage will be moving forward.

Updated hierarchy: *Boxberger | Leiter Jr. | Alzolay.
* = closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s – Don’t look now, but those feisty A’s have won two games in a row and this one even ended in a save! Zach Jackson pitched a scoreless 9th inning for his first save of the season.  Jackson should see the majority of save chances and if the A’s actually keep winning some games, we might get a better idea of what the back-end of their bullpen will look like moving forward.

Hierarchy remains: *Jackson | Moll | Lovelady.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies — Pierce Johnson pitched a scoreless 9th inning with a pair of strikeouts for his 5th save of the season.  Daniel Bard still has not allowed a run since returning but continues to be used in low-leverage situations.  Johnson is clearly the guy to own right now but we will see if Bard can work his way back to save situations or if Johnson will run away with the job.

Hierarchy remains: *Johnson | Bard | Lawrence.
* = closer-by-committee

Los Angeles Dodgers – Evan Phillips struck out the side to pick up his 4th save of the season.  Brusdar Graterol recorded the 8th inning hold ahead of Phillips.  Phillips now has the last two Dodgers’ saves and should continue to be the best bet for saves in this committee.

Hierarchy remains: *Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.
* = closer-by-committee

Kansas City Royals – Josh Staumont pitched a perfect 8th inning, including two strikeouts, with the Royals down one.   Staumont now has seven straight scoreless appearances and has only given up three hits against twelve strikeouts during that time.

Updated Hierarchy: Barlow | Chapman | Staumont.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Chris Martin – Kenley Jansen has pitched in two straight.
2. Richard Lovelady – Zach Jackson and Sam Moll have both pitched in two straight and three of four.
3. Carl Edwards – Kyle Finnegan blew the save yesterday and has pitched in four of five.
4. Scott McGough – Andrew Chafin has pitched in two straight and three of four.
5. Tyler Rogers – Camilo Doval has pitched in two straight and four of five.

Monday
1. Justin Topa – If Paul Sewald pitches on Sunday, it will be two straight and three of four.
2. Dylan Floro – Same with AJ Puk…
3. Daniel Bard/Justin Lawrence – …and Pierce Johnson.

Iglesias Activated and Windy City Updates.

May 6, 2023
Chicago Cubs – With a 3 run lead in the 9th the Cubs handed the ball to Mark Leiter Jr. for the save chance. He put a couple guys on base, but a double play helped him secure his first save of the year. Leiter has been an excellent option for the Cubs this season, sporting a 1.69 ERA and his hot start is being rewarded with high leverage innings. It’s not quite Leiter’s coronation day, but he makes for a good speculative add if you have the room, as he is outperforming both Brad Boxberger and Michael Fulmer at this point.

Updated hierarchy: *Boxberger | Leiter Jr. | Fulmer.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago White Sox — A couple days ago Reynaldo Lopez had been dealing with a “bit of dead arm” in his bicep, and was hoping to avoid an IL stint. Last night the White Sox gave him the ball in a 1 run game, and with the help of a lineout double play, he converted for his team leading 4th save of the year. This performance lowered his ERA from a woeful 8.78 to a morose 8.16 (thanks Thesaurus.com). The Vulture Save Watch predicted that Kendall Graveman would get the night off, so he’s sticking at the top of the committee for now, but if Lopez is healthy, it appears he is a viable choice on the South Side, at least until Liam Hendriks is able to return. 

Updated hierarchy: *Graveman | Lopez | Middleton.
* = closer-by-committee


Tampa Bay Rays — The last time we removed an asterisk from the Tampa Bay Rays was April 19, 2021. Diego Castillo had just picked up the first 4 saves of the season. He spent 2 glorious weeks riding high as the first pitcher in 2 years to have sole possession of the Rays closer job before hitting the IL … on May 5, 2021. Nice try baseball gods, we learned our lesson last time. The asterisk stays despite Jason Adam recording 3 saves in the past 4 days. 

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

New York Mets — MLB banned the shift this year, so only 2 defenders can be on the right side of the infield. They foolishly let baserunners remain there, so line drives which would tie the game end up as outs. You know who would not have let this slide? Kennesaw Mountain Landis. He would’ve banned baserunners like they had fixed the world series. Also, Adam Ottavino got the save. 

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

Atlanta Braves — The Braves activated Raisel Iglesias from the IL yesterday. Although he didn’t find his way into the game last night. Interim closer A.J. Minter had started off the season well, but a miserable end of April ballooned his ERA to 8.53, and probably ruined any chance for him to stick at the top of the hierarchy. We’ll drop Iglesias into the top spot immediately, but he may get a low leverage look or two before he takes over full time. 

Updated hierarchy: Iglesias | Minter | Anderson.

Vulture Save Watch:

  1. Jason “Axel” Foley (DET) — Alex Lange has now pitched in 3 straight games.
  2. Colin Poche (TB) — *Jason Adam has pitched in back to back and 3 of 4.
  3. Jorge Lopez/Griffin Jax — (MIN) Jhoan Duran has pitched in back to back games. Lope has too, but has kept his pitch count lower.
  4. Matt Moore (LAA) — Carlos Estevez has pitched 3 of 4 and 4 of 6.
  5. Jose Leclerc (TEX) — The day after being declared the closer, Will Smith struggled in a 27 pitch blown save. He might get the day off.

For Sunday:

  1. Sam Moll (OAK) — Today would be back to back and 3 of 4 for Zach Jackson.
  2. Giovanny Gallegos (STL) — Same for Ryan Helsley.
  3. Scott McGough (ARI) — Same for Andrew Chafin.
  4. Tyler Rogers (SF) — Same for Camilo Doval.
  5. C.J. Edwards (WAS) — Kyle Finnegan got the night off last night, but any work today would still be 4 of 5 for him.

Jason Adam notches save; Colin Holderman has immaculate outing

May 5, 2023

Tampa Bay Rays — Jason Adam notched his second save in three days on Thursday. He allowed a hit and a walk and two unearned runs but also struck out the side. With Pete Fairbanks on the IL, Adam should see the bulk of the chances moving forward.

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

Oakland A’s – As we alerted about Thursday, Jeurys Familia and Domingo Acevedo were designated for assignment by Oakland. There won’t be many save chances for the worst team in baseball, but we suspect Zach Jackson will likely get the bulk of them.

Hierarchy remains: *Jackson | Moll | Lovelady.
* = closer-by-committee

Texas Rangers – Bruce Bochy thinks Closer Monkey should remove the asterisk for Will Smith. OK, he didn’t specifically say that, but as an old school manager, he felt it necessary to publicly proclaim Will Smith as his closer this week. So, we will act accordingly here.

Updated hierarchy: Smith | Leclerc | Hernandez.

Boston Red Sox – Closer Kenley Jansen would have been available if he was needed on Thursday, according to manager Alex Cora, so it’s safe to stick him back in your lineups.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

Pittsburgh Pirates — Congratulations are due for Colin Holderman, who threw an immaculate inning on Thursday, striking out the side in the seventh inning on nine pitches, all strikes. Incredibly, there were only 31 immaculate innings in the 114 seasons from 1876 to 1989, but there have been dozens more in the decades since, amounting to 113 overall in baseball history.

Hierarchy remains: Bednar | Holderman | Underwood.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Carl Edwards Jr. (WAS) – Kyle Finnegan has pitched in three straight and four of five.
2. Jason Foley (DET) – Alex Lange has gone in two in a row.
3. Keynan Middleton (CHW) – Kendall Graveman has also pitched in two consecutive days.
4. Nick Anderson (ATL) – A.J. Minter has pitched in two straight and three of four.
5. Daniel Bard (COL) – Pierce Johnson threw 31 pitches Thursday and has gone in two of three.

Saturday:
1. Colin Poche (TB) – A Friday outing would be three of four and four of six for Jason Adam.
2. Justin Topa (SEA) – Same as above for Paul Sewald.
3. Matt Moore (LAA) – A Friday outing would be four of six for Carlos Estevez.
4. Carl Edwards Jr. (WAS) – Kyle Finnegan could need a second straight off day after working in four out of five entering Friday.
5. Chris Martin (BOS) – Kenley Jansen is back, but if he goes Friday, he might not be ready to go back-to-back yet.