Jeurys Familia DFA’d

May 4, 2023

Oakland A’s – Jeurys Familia, ostensibly the committee leader in Oakland, was designated for assignment. Look for Zach Jackson to take the lead here, with contributions from Sam Moll and Richard Lovelady also possible.

Updated hierarchy: *Jackson | Moll | Lovelady.
* = closer-by-committee

Keynan Middleton picks up a save for the White Sox

May 4, 2023

Chicago White Sox — Cancer survivor Liam Hendriks gave a triumphant news conference in preparation for four or five rehab outings at AAA. Until his return, the White Sox bullpen will remain unsettled. Keynan Middleton picked up the save on Wednesday, following up on scoreless innings by Gregory Santos and Kendall Graveman. We don’t know who’ll get the next save chance, but it’s not likely to be Reynaldo Lopez, who is trying to stay off the IL with a biceps injury. We give Graveman a slight edge for now, but Middleton has a 15.1 K/9 rate and could be allowed to build on recent success.

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

Tampa Bay Rays — When he woke up on Wednesday, 35-year-old Chase Anderson was on Cincinnati’s AAA team, a starting pitcher whose last outing included two home runs, 10 baserunners, four runs allowed in three innings, and an eventual 18-16 loss. So it only makes sense that Anderson’s next three innings were (a) scoreless, (b) in the Rays organization, (c) in the majors, and (d) his first career save in 200 games. You can’t make this stuff up, but if you did, you’d at least know which team to make it up for. As we alerted you yesterday, Pete Fairbanks hit the IL with forearm inflammation, and Jason Adam is best-positioned to close.

Updated hierarchy: *Adam | Poche | Kelly.
*=closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies — Daniel Bard pitched in the seventh on Wednesday with a four-run lead, and that’s enough for us to swap him with Pierce Johnson at the top of the Colorado closer committee. Justin Lawrence (four holds, 1.65 ERA) and lefty Brent Suter are also in the mix, along with Bard and Brad Hand.

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

Philadelphia Phillies — Jose Alvarado has been excellent this year, but when called on in the eighth on Wednesday, he gave up several hits and blew a one-run lead. The Phillies tied it up in the top of the ninth, though, setting the table for Craig Kimbrel, who promptly flipped it over. Two walks and a single loaded the bases for Max Muncy, and he delivered a walk-off grand slam. It’s not clear why Rob Thomson decided to flip Alvarado and Kimbrel’s roles, but it could be a while before he tries it again.

Hierarchy remains: Alvarado | Kimbrel | Dominguez.

Los Angeles Angels — Unfortunate news for the Angels and Jose Quijada, as the 27-year-old will undergo Tommy John surgery and be out through summer 2024.

Hierarchy remains: Estevez | Moore | Loup.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Matt Moore (LAA) — Carlos Estevez has pitched in three of four.
2. Carl Edwards Jr./Hunter Harvey (CHC) — Kyle Finnegan has gone in two straight and three of four. If Edwards and Harvey are also tired (two straight), Mason Thompson could get the call.

Friday:
1. Nick Anderson (ATL) — A.J. Minter has pitched in two of three.
2. Chris Martin (BOS) — Kenley Jansen is available Thursday, but might not go back-to-back yet.

Clay Holmes gets vote of confidence

May 3, 2023

New York Yankees – After Monday’s blown save, Clay Holmes received a vote of confidence from manager Aaron Boone prior to Tuesday’s game. However, last night’s save chance went to Michael King, who tossed a scoreless ninth inning to preserve a 4-2 win. Holmes may very well rebound from his struggles, but stashing King may be a prudent move if he’s still available.

Hierarchy remains: Holmes | King | Peralta.

Boston Red Sox – With Kenley Jansen still unavailable on Tuesday, Josh Winckowski, who was supposed to also be unavailable, recorded his first MLB save with a seven-pitch ninth inning. John Schreiber was used in the seventh during a tie game to face the top of the Toronto order, and while that’s a big spot, we can’t ignore manager Alex Cora’s willingness to go back to Winckowski in the ninth inning for the second straight night.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

Tampa Bay Rays — Despite being back in Tampa, Pete Fairbanks remained unavailable on Tuesday, which left the save chance to Jason Adam, who preserved the win.

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

Colorado Rockies — Save chances have been few and far between for the Rockies, but when they got one last night it went to Pierce Johnson, who recorded his fourth save of the season. Daniel Bard has only pitched four times since his return from the injured list, and while he has allowed just one hit in 4.1 scoreless innings, didn’t seem to be available last night with a lead to protect. We’ll slap an asterisk on this hierarchy for now and hope for some more clarity on this bullpen, but Johnson appears to be the guy to own in Colorado right now.

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

Texas Rangers – Will Smith recorded the final four outs of Tuesday’s win for his fourth save of the season. Jonathan Hernandez secured the last out of the seventh and the first two outs of the eighth ahead of Smith. Jose Leclerc, who hasn’t pitched since Thursday, was warming up when Smith ran into trouble in the ninth. With Smith likely unavailable on Wednesday after throwing 27 pitches last night, we’ll get a good sense into what Bruce Bochy thinks of Leclerc if the Rangers have a late-inning lead.

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

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Chris Martin (BOS) – Kenley Jansen may still be unavailable.
2. Aroldis Chapman (KC) – Scott Barlow threw 24 pitches yesterday.
3. Jose Leclerc (TEX) – As mentioned above, Will Smith threw 27 pitches last night.

Tomorrow
1. Justin Topa/Matt Brash (SEA) – If Paul Sewald goes today, that’s two straight and four of five. Same is true of Topa.

Red Sox win ugly in Kenley Jansen’s absence

May 2, 2023

Boston Red Sox – In Kenley Jansen’s absence, the Red Sox went with Chris Martin in the 7th — who pitched a scoreless, albeit shaky frame for his 4th hold — followed by Josh Winckowski, who pitched the 8th and 9th. Through minimal fault of his own, Winckowski’s outing was adventurous, as two 8th-inning errors allowed the tying runs to score, but Winckowski stayed on for the 9th and, with some better defense behind him, pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Winckowski then earned the win when the Red Sox walked off in the bottom half. This situation remains fluid until Jansen is available again.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

San Diego Padres – Domingo Tapia pitched the 8th inning with the Padres up by 3, then stayed on for the 9th once they stretched the lead even further to earn his first career save.

Hierarchy remains: Hader | Martinez | Wilson.

New York Yankees – Clay Holmes was staked to a 2-0 lead, but allowed three runs in the top of the 9th and took the loss. He’s not necessarily on the hot seat yet — it was only his second blown save of the year and the runs were unearned due to a throwing error — but it’s worth noting that he has a 5.29 ERA across 34 innings since the All Star Break in 2022.

Hierarchy remains: Holmes | King | Peralta.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. James Karinchak – Emmanuel Clase has pitched in three of the last four.
2. Erik Swanson – Jordan Romano only threw three pitches yesterday, but it was his third outing in the last four days.
3. Bryan Abreu – Ryan Pressly and Rafael Montero have both gone back to back.
4. Adam Ottavino – David Robertson threw 35 pitches across two innings yesterday.

Tomorrow
1. Nick Anderson – If AJ Minter goes today, it’s back to back.