May 29, 2023
Tampa Bay Rays – Pete Fairbanks’ hip “locked up” during his warmup on Sunday and he limped to the dugout for further tests. An IL stint isn’t a certainty, but if he needs to miss some time, watch this space for an alert. In his absence, Jason Adam picked up a 2-inning save and will be the committee leader if Fairbanks needs to miss time.
Hierarchy remains: *Fairbanks | Adam | Poche.
* = closer-by-committee
Chicago White Sox – Liam Hendriks returns to the big leagues today. We’ve touched on his medical journey following his cancer diagnosis, and perhaps most notable is how far ahead of schedule he is in terms of his return to baseball. Whether he pitches in high-leverage spots right away isn’t really the story here, but of course, we will dutifully track his usage and update this hierarchy when appropriate. Welcome back, Liam.
Hierarchy remains: *Graveman | Lopez | Kelly.
* = closer-by-committee
Miami Marlins – After pitching in three straight, Dylan Floro wasn’t going to appear on Sunday, and with Tanner Scott and Matt Barnes used bridging the gap to the 9th, that left JT Chargois for the save. It wasn’t the most inspiring outing, (3 baserunners, 0 Ks), but Chargois has had a fine season (2.79 ERA, 0.83 WHIP) so we’ll focus on the fact that he got the job done.
Updated hierarchy: Floro | Scott | Chargois.
Arizona Diamondbacks – Andrew Chafin came on in a tight spot during the 7th, meaning the 9th was again left to Miguel Castro, who converted for his 5th save. Chafin still has more saves on the year, but Castro has four of the last six, so consider them basically co-closers at this point.
Hierarchy remains: *Chafin | Castro | McGough.
* = closer-by-committee
St. Louis Cardinals – After yesterday’s loss, Ryan Helsley now has four blown saves — as many as he had all of last season. Meanwhile, Giovanny Gallegos’ strong start (2.08 ERA, 0.97 WHIP), coupled with his success whenever Helsley has needed a day off (still more often than most closers) has meant that the two actually have the same number of saves on the season with six. We’re not asterisking this yet, but it could happen soon.
Hierarchy remains: Helsley | Gallegos | VerHagen.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Aroldis Chapman – Scott Barlow has gone back to back.
2. Colin Holderman – Same for David Bednar…
3. Giovanny Gallegos – …and Ryan Helsley.
Tomorrow
1. Yennier Cano – If Felix Bautista goes today, it’s back to back.
2. Jason Foley – Same for Alex Lange…
3. Justin Topa – …and Paul Sewald.
4. Tyler Rogers – Camilo Doval threw 29 pitches on Saturday; if he goes again today, he might need Tuesday off.
