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.

It’s time to talk about Rangers’ Will Smith

August 25, 2023

Texas Rangers – Will Smith allowed a solo home run Thursday in his inning of work. That on its own is no big deal, but the appearance was his third straight that he’s been scored upon. He has allowed runs in six of his last eight appearances, raising his season ERA from 2.70 on Aug. 3 to 4.27 after Thursday’s action. He has just three strikeouts in his 6.1 innings over that stretch. Aroldis Chapman, meanwhile, did allow a run in his previous appearance Monday, but he has mostly been lights out with the Rangers. Across his 17 appearances with Texas, he has allowed runs in just two of them and has 33 strikeouts in just 18 innings. This isn’t a committee yet, but it’s veering that way. 

Hierarchy remains: Smith | Chapman | Sborz.

Boston Red Sox – Boston got some good news Thursday regarding the status of closer Kenley Jansen (hamstring). Jansen said he felt good Thursday and he’ll see how his hamstring feels in the coming days. Reporter Christopher Smith said Jansen sounded confident he’d be able to avoid the injured list. Chris Martin could be in line for vulture saves until Jansen is ready to go.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

Minnesota Twins – The Vulture Save Watch nailed this one! Griffin Jax earned his second save of the year Thursday after Jhoan Duran threw 34 pitches the previous day and was presumed to be unavailable.

Hierarchy remains: Duran | Jax | Pagan.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Chris Martin (BOS) – Kenley Jansen is dealing with a hamstring ailment and could need some time to heal.
2. Jason Adam (TB) – Pete Fairbanks has gone in two straight.
3. Mark Leiter Jr. (CHC) – Adbert Alzolay has also gone in two straight.
4. Lucas Erceg (OAK) – Trevor May has pitched in three of four.
5. Kevin Ginkel (ARI) – Paul Sewald has also gone in three of four.
6. Tyler Rogers (SF) – Does Camilo Doval need more rest after two rough appearances Tuesday and Wednesday?

Saturday:
1. Chris Martin (BOS) – Will Kenley Jansen be ready to go by Saturday?
2. Hunter Harvey (WAS) – A Friday outing would be three of four and four of six for Kyle Finnegan.
3. Yennier Cano (BAL) – Entering Friday, Felix Bautista has pitched in two of three. Another outing Friday would likely mean Cano could get a shot Saturday.
4. Bryan Abreu (HOU) – An appearance Friday would be four of six for Ryan Pressly.
5. Lucas Sims (CIN) – If he goes Friday, it would be three of four for Alexis Diaz

Kenley Jansen leaves game with injury

August 24, 2023

Boston Red Sox – Kenley Jansen left Wednesday’s game with right hamstring tightness after retiring the first batter he faced in the ninth inning. If Jansen misses any time, Chris Martin will be the frontrunner to close games for Boston. Martin pitched the eighth inning of a tie game on Tuesday, so Josh Winckowski closed out the win in the 10th.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

San Francisco Giants – Camilo Doval’s struggles continued on Wednesday, as he became the first player in franchise history to blow a save in four straight appearances. Thankfully for the Giants, they retook the lead in the 10th and eventually Ryan Walker came on to record the final out and lock up his first MLB save. Manager Gabe Kapler, who said after Tuesday’s game that Doval needed to mix his pitches better, said on Wednesday that the game is moving fast for Doval. The Giants are off on Thursday, but we’ll see how Kapler uses Doval this weekend against Atlanta.

Hierarchy remains: Doval | Ty. Rogers | Ta. Rogers.

St. Louis Cardinals — JoJo Romero pitched the final two innings of last night’s 6-4 win over Pittsburgh and now has the Cardinals’ last two saves, albeit over 10 days apart. In addition, Romero has pitched the ninth in his other three appearances between those two saves. We’ll swap him and Giovanny Gallegos accordingly.

Updated hierarchy: *Romero | Gallegos | Pallante.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies – Justin Lawrence’s rough stretch continued on Wednesday, as he suffered his third blown save over his last five appearances. Lawrence may have been a bit unlucky on Tuesday, but he’s now allowed eight earned runs over his last three outings. We’ll see just how long a leash the Rockies give Lawrence, but you have to imagine it’s getting shorter and shorter.

Hierarchy remains: Lawrence | Bard | Koch.

San Diego Padres – Robert Suarez is facing a 10-game suspension after being ejected from Wednesday’s game following a foreign substance check. We’ll let you know when the suspension becomes official.

Hierarchy remains: Hader | Suarez | Wilson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. John Schreiber (BOS) – Kenley Jansen is likely unavailable today after his injury on Wednesday. Chris Martin threw 29 pitches yesterday and Josh Winckowski has gone in two straight, combining for 46 pitches.
2. Aaron Bummer/Jimmy Lambert (CHW) – Gregory Santos threw 36 pitches in yesterday’s blown save. Aaron Bummer tossed 28 pitches of his own on Wednesday while Bryan Shaw has thrown 47 pitches over the last two days.
3. Griffin Jax (MIN) – Jhoan Duran threw 34 pitches yesterday.
4. Hector Neris (HOU) – Both Ryan Pressly and Bryan Abreu have gone in three of four.
5. Buck Farmer (CIN) – Alexis Diaz has gone in two straight, Lucas Sims threw 31 pitches last night and Ian Gibaut has pitched back-to-back nights.
6. Daniel Bard (COL) – Justin Lawrence threw 25 pitches yesterday and may get a breather today.
7. Brusdar Graterol (LAD)/Trevor Stephan (CLE) – The Dodgers and Guardians will complete last night’s suspended game before playing their regularly scheduled contest today, which means there could be a vulture save opportunity for one or both teams.

Friday:
1. Jason Adam (TB) – If Pete Fairbanks pitches today that will be back-to-back days of work.
2. Tyler Rogers (SF) – The Giants are off today but Camilo Doval may get another day of rest to get himself right.
3. Mark Leiter Jr. (CHC) – If Adbert Alzolay goes doay that will be two in a row.
4. Kevin Ginkel/Scott McGough (ARI) – If either Paul Sewald or Ginkel pitches today that will be three of four.

Jordan Luplow is funny

August 12, 2023

Boston Red Sox – We took a shot in the dark yesterday in predicting that Kyle Barraclough would get a vulture save, and while that didn’t happen, Barraclough did get a win, posting 1.1 scoreless innings. The save went to Chris Murphy, who pitched three scoreless to finish off the 5-2 victory.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

Milwaukee Brewers – Abner Uribe picked up a save in the 10th inning after the rest of the Milwaukee hierarchy had pitched, stranding the automatic runner with a flyout and two groundouts. The 23-year-old righty has only allowed two earned runs in his first 13.1 big league innings, and could push for setup opportunities soon.

Hierarchy remains: Williams | Payamps | Peguero.

Minnesota Twins – Outfielder Jordan Luplow, who pitched the 8th inning for the Twins in a blowout loss, was heartily booed when doing his best Craig Kimbrel impression on the Citizens Bank Ballpark mound. We found it amusing, though, and so did Kimbrel. Keep being you, Jordan.

Hierarchy remains: Duran | Jax | Pagan.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Jason Adam – Pete Fairbanks threw 30 pitches in a blown save last night.
2. AJ Minter – The Braves have a doubleheader…
3. Adam Ottavino – …against the Mets.

Tomorrow
1. Joel Payamps – If Devin Williams goes today, it’s back to back and four of five.
2. Aaron Bummer – If Gregory Santos goes today, it’s back to back and three of four.
3. Tommy Kahnle – If Clay Holmes goes today, it’s back to back.
4. Austin Cox – Same for Carlos Hernandez…
5. Aroldis Chapman – …and Will Smith…
6. Mark Leiter Jr. – …and Adbert Alzolay.

AJ Puk bounces back while Alex Lange finishes off a combined no-hitter

July 9, 2023

Miami Marlins – The Marlins sent A.J. Puk right back out there after blowing the save the night before and he responded with a scoreless inning for his 15th save of the season.  It was important for Puk to lock down this save after failing in his two previous opportunities but it also shows that the Marlins still have confidence in him. 

Hierarchy remains: Puk | Floro | Brazoban.

Detroit Tigers – Alex Lange threw a perfect 9th inning to pick up his 13th save of the season and finish off a combined no-hitter with Matt Manning and Jason Foley. 

Hierarchy remains: *Lange | Foley | Cisnero.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Yankees — Michael King relieved starter Gerrit Cole and recorded the last five outs of the game to pick up his 6th save of the season.  The Yankees are still in committee mode and this save moves King back onto the hierarchy.

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

Boston Red Sox – Brandon Walter pitched the final three innings of a 10-3 Red Sox win to earn his first save.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Trevor Stephan (CLE) – Emmanuel Clase has pitched in two straight.
2. Dylan Floro (MIA) – AJ Puk has pitched in two straight and three of four.
3. Genesis Cabrera (STL) – Jordan Hicks and Giovanny Gallegos have both pitched in three of four.
4. Andrew Chafin (ARI) – Scott MgGough threw 35 pitches over 2 innings yesterday.