Bautista to IL and a Late Night Balk.

August 27, 2023
Baltimore Orioles – As we alerted yesterday, Felix Bautista has been placed on the IL with “some degree of injury” to his UCL. The severity of the injury isn’t yet known, but any UCL injury is likely to keep Bautista out for the rest of the regular season. Yennier Cano, already one of the best relievers in the game, got the save chance in Bautista’s spot last night, and is an immediate must add in any league where he is available. Meanwhile, the Orioles called up DL Hall to take the roster spot, and he immediately got an 8th inning save. The Orioles are fortunate to have a few good options going forward, but Cano is clearly at the top of this hierarchy. 

Updated hierarchy: Cano | Fujinami | Coulombe.

Boston Red Sox – Boston was still without Kenley Jansen, but in a back and forth battle that saw Chris Martin and Josh Winckowski called in to put out fires earlier, the 9th inning of a 3 run game fell to John Schreiber. Schreiber made it interesting, loading the bases for Mookie Betts with 2 outs, but the scripted ended wasn’t meant to be. A long flyout earned Schreiber his first save on the year. Jansen isn’t yet back with the team, but will be soon, and while Schreiber got the save yesterday, the highest leverage spot fell to Martin. No changes to the hierarchy as we expect Jansen to be back soon. 

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

Cincinnati Reds — Rule 5.07(a)(2) states: “Preparatory to coming to a set position, the pitcher shall have one hand on his side; from this position he shall go to his set position as defined in Rule 5.07(a)(2) without interruption and in one continuous motion” Nabil Crismatt apparently didn’t do that with a runner on third in the 11th inning, so the Reds took the lead on a balk, and called on Lucas Sims to close the game out. He stranded the ghost runner to pick up his 3rd save of the season. Sims continues to be a solid choice for the Reds but no way he is supplanting Alexis Diaz, even with Diaz’s shaky performance last night. 

Updated hierarchy: Diaz | Sims | Gibaut.

Vulture Save Watch:

  1. Chris Martin (BOS) — Martin only threw 4 pitches yesterday and Kenley Jansen may not be available again today.
  2. Colin Poche (TB) — Pete Fairbanks has pitched in 3 of 4 and Jason Adam has pitched in 2 of 3.
  3. Kevin Ginkel (ARI) — Paul Sewald threw 26 pitches last night in a blown save, and 28 pitches on Thursday, so he may get an afternoon off.
  4. Reynaldo Lopez (LAA) — Carlos Estevez has pitched in 3 of 4.

For Monday:

  1. Hunter Harvey (WAS) — Today would be back to back and 3 of 4 for Kyle Finnegan.
  2. Mark Leiter Jr. (CHC) — Same for Adbert Alzolay.

Felix Bautista leaves game with arm discomfort

August 26, 2023

Baltimore Orioles – Felix Bautista got the first two outs of the 9th inning but then left the game with arm discomfort.  Manager Brandon Hyde hopes he will be ok today but we will keep an eye on this and alert you if Bautista will miss an extended period of time.  Danny Coulombe recorded the one out save yesterday, but Yennier Cano would likely see the bulk of the save chances if Bautista is forced to go on the IL.

Hierarchy remains: Bautista | Cano | Fujinami.

Washington Nationals — Kylie Finnegan got the day off after pitching in two of three, including a 31 pitch save on Thursday.  Hunter Harvey filled in and picked up his 10th save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Finnegan | Harvey | Thompson.

Arizona Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks had a six run lead heading into the 9th inning but Justin Martinez made a mess of things by giving up a grand slam to cut the lead to two.  Paul Sewald had the night off so Kevin Ginkel got the call and he struck out both batters that he faced for his 4th save of the season.  Score another one for the Vulture Save Watch. 

Hierarchy remains: Sewald | Ginkel | McGough.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Yennier Cano (BAL) – Felix Bautista could be unavailable about leaving yesterday’s game
2. Chris Martin (BOS) – Boston is going to try and stay away from Kenley Jansen for a few days while he recovers from a hamstring injury.
3. Matt Brash (SEA) – Andres Munoz has pitched in three of four, including a 26 pitch outing yesterday.
4. Colin Holderman (PIT) – David Bednar has pitched in two straight and three of four.
5. Caleb Ferguson (LAD) – Evan Phillips has pitched in two straight while Brusdar Graterol threw 31 pitches yesterday.

Sunday
1. Kevin Ginkel (ARI) – If Paul Sewald pitches today, it will be two of three and four of six, including two 28 pitch outings.
2. Mark Leiter Jr. (CHC) – If Adbert Alzolay pitches today, it will be three of four.
3. Reynaldo Lopez/Matt Moore (LAA) – If Carlos Estevez pitches today, it will be two straight and three of four. Same for Reynaldo Lopez.
4. Bryan Abreu/Hector Neris (HOU) – If Ryan Pressly pitches today, it will be two straight and three of four. Same for Bryan Abreu.

Blown-save-a-palooza hits bullpens across baseball

August 14, 2023

New York Yankees – Clay Holmes has been great lately, but yesterday was bad, as he coughed up a 4-run lead and then took the loss after Tommy Kahnle was unable to stem the damage. Holmes was in and out of a committee earlier this season, and we’ll see if this outing changes the way the Yankees approach the 9th inning. Our guess is it won’t… yet. In other news, Michael King is being stretched out to potentially start games, so we’ll swap Wandy Peralta into the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Holmes | Kahnle | Peralta.

Oakland A’s – Trevor May had also been going well, having allowed just 1 earned run in his last 10.2 innings. But he coughed up an even bigger lead than Holmes, allowing five baserunners to reach while only recording two outs. Kirby Snead (and the A’s defense) did him no favors, as the Nats plated six runs in the inning to walk it off. May is still likely the closer here but we’ll watch to see if he falters again.

Hierarchy remains: May | Felipe | Long.

Texas Rangers – In the least awful — but perhaps most consequential — blown save of the evening, Will Smith had the Giants down to their final out, but then served up a walkoff 2-run home run to Patrick Bailey. Given how good Aroldis Chapman has been, this could push Bruce Bochy back to a committee. We’ll see how it plays out.

Hierarchy remains: Smith | Chapman | Sborz.

Baltimore Orioles – With Felix Bautista getting the day off, the Orioles still used setup man Yennier Cano in the 8th inning, leaving the 9th to Mike Baumann, who promptly blew the save. Shintaro Fujinami ended up shutting the door in extra innings for his first career save. (By the way, Cedric Mullins was the real story of this game, as he robbed a homer then hit a go-ahead homer minutes later, but we don’t really care about hitters that much.)

Hierarchy remains: Bautista | Cano | Fujinami.

New York Mets – Adam Ottavino pitched a perfect 9th inning, inducing three groundouts, to pick up his 7th save. Brooks Raley had a forgettable outing in the 8th, allowing a home run and a walk before Drew Smith bailed him out. We’ll switch up the committee accordingly, though this is still a fluid situation.

Updated hierarchy: *Ottavino | Raley | Smith.
* = closer-by-committee

Pittsburgh Pirates – Carmen Mlodzinski was placed on the IL over the weekend, so we’ll welcome Angel Perdomo to this hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Bednar | Holderman | Perdomo.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Tommy Kahnle – Clay Holmes has gone two of three, including the aforementioned 23-pitch blown save yesterday.
2. Matt Brash – Andres Munoz has gone back to back.
3. Scott McGough – Same for Paul Sewald and Kevin Ginkel.

Tomorrow
1. Yennier Cano – If Felix Bautista goes today, he’s likely off tomorrow given his recent workload and pattern of usage.
2. Reynaldo Lopez – If Carlos Estevez goes today, it’s back to back.
3. Tyler Rogers – Same for Camilo Doval.
4. Aroldis Chapman/Josh Sborz – If Will Smith or Aroldis Chapman go today, it’s back to back and three of four.
5. Colin Holderman/Angel Perdomo – The whole Pirates hierarchy — plus a few others — pitched yesterday so monitor usage today for a potential vulture tomorrow.

Say hello to Beau [insert nickname here] Brieske

August 11, 2023

Pittsburgh Pirates – After throwing 54 pitches in a four-day span, David Bednar got a second consecutive day off, which allowed Colin Holderman to get his second save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Bednar | Holderman | Mlodzinski.

Detroit Tigers – After AJ Hinch’s weekend comments, we figured the Tigers would start mixing and matching in the 9th, and that strategy continued Thursday, with Beau Brieske picking up the save with two scoreless innings. It’s his second save in six days, so we’ll add him to this hierarchy and bounce off Lange, who hasn’t seen any high-leverage action lately. More importantly, we’re still deciding on whether to call Brieske “Ice Cold,” “12-Hour Smoked,” or to appropriate beat writer Jason Beck’s brilliant SNL reference. Sound off in the comments. (Just kidding, we don’t have comments and never will; you guys are psychos.)

Updated hierarchy: *Foley | Brieske | Cisnero.
* = closer-by-committee

Los Angeles Dodgers – Here’s one we did predict, as Brusdar Graterol notched his 5th save of the year in place of a resting Evan Phillips. VSW +1.

Hierarchy remains: Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.

Baltimore Orioles – With Danny Coulombe on the IL, we welcome Shintaro Fujinami to the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Bautista | Cano | Fujinami.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Yennier Cano – Felix Bautista has thrown 53 pitches over the last three days and is probably off today.
2. Kyle Barraclough – Remember him? After a year in the indy leagues, Barraclough is back in the bigs and could get a save chance with virtually the entire Boston bullpen running on fumes.
3. AJ Minter – Raisel Iglesias went three straight from Monday to Wednesday, and might get a second day off today.
4. Beau Brieske/Jose Cisnero – Jason Foley is on the bereavement list and may not return today.

Tomorrow
1. Trevor Stephan – If Emmanuel Clase goes today, it’s back to back and three of four.
2. Gregory Soto – Same for Craig Kimbrel.
3. Griffin Jax – If Jhoan Duran goes today, it’s back to back.
4. Brusdar Graterol – If Evan Phillips goes today, it’s three of four.