Tyler Kinley takes over as Rockies closer

September 6, 2023

Colorado Rockies – We thought Justin Lawrence might get a second straight night off after a heavy workload this past weekend. We were right, though it seems like Lawrence is going to see some extended time off, at least from the ninth inning. The man to replace him? None other than Tyler Kinley, who tossed a 1-2-3 inning for his second save in his last three appearances. Jake Bird pitched a perfect eighth yesterday and Matt Koch retired all three batters he faced in the seventh.

Updated hierarchy: Kinley | Bird | Koch.

St. Louis Cardinals – Oliver Marmol clarified how he planned to utilize the back end of his bullpen now that JoJo Romero is on the IL, stating that Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos will split time based on availability. That centers mostly around Helsley, who will not be pitching on back-to-back days at the moment as he continues his return from the IL. In addition to Helsley and Gallegos, lefty John King may get save opportunities if the matchups are right, so we’ll add him to the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: *Helsley | Gallegos | King.
* = closer-by-committee

Baltimore Orioles – With Yennier Cano getting the night off, DL Hall got the ball with a one-run lead in the ninth after the Orioles rallied to take the lead in the top half of the frame. That advantage was short lived, however, as Hall promptly blew the save. In the 10th inning, the Orioles retook the lead and Shintaro Fujinami picked up his second save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Cano | Fujinami | Coulombe.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Chris Martin (BOS) – Kenley Jansen has gone in three straight. Martin has pitched in the last two games, but the Sox bullpen is gassed so Alex Cora might have no choice.
2. Tommy Kahnle (NYY) – Clay Holmes has gone in three of four.
3. Robert Stephenson (TB) – The same is true of Pete Fairbanks and Colin Poche.
4. Aaron Loup (LAA) – Carlos Estevez has pitched in two straight while Jose Soriano has gone in two of three.
5. Giovanny Gallegos (STL) – Ryan Helsley pitched on Tuesday and is not ready for back-to-back days of work.
6. Jake Bird (COL) – Tyler Kinley has gone in three of four.

Tomorrow
1. Andrew Nardi (MIA) – If Tanner Scott goes today, it’s back-to-back and three of four.
2. Matt Brash/Justin Topa (SEA) – If any hierarchy member, including Andres Muñoz, pitches today it’ll be two straight.

Guardians claim Matt Moore, Reynaldo Lopez off waivers

September 1, 2023

Cleveland Guardians – Cleveland is six games under .500, but in the pitiful AL Central that puts them only five games back of the division-leading Twins at the start of September. With that in mind, the Guardians made some big moves Thursday, claiming pitchers Lucas Giolito, Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez off waivers from the Angels. For our purposes, Moore and Lopez are interesting additions to the bullpen. We think Moore fits into the hierarchy right away, but expect some shuffling of the many viable options behind Emmanuel Clase.

Updated hierarchy: Clase | Stephan | Moore.

Los Angeles Angels – The Angels lost two hierarchy members Thursday when Cleveland landed both Matt Moore and Reynaldo Lopez. We’ll slot in Jose Soriano, who had four holds in August, and Aaron Loup, who has an ERA above 5.00 on the season but had a pair of holds in August.

Updated hierarchy: Estevez | Soriano | Loup.

Detroit Tigers — Just when it seems like he pulls us back in, Alex Lange burns us once again. On Thursday, Lange was protecting a 3-0 lead in the ninth inning when he yielded a game-tying, three-run shot to blow the save. Lange, who had been on a run of seven straight scoreless outings before Thursday, is still likely the Tigers closer moving forward, but we’ll see how he trends over the final few weeks.

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

San Diego Padres — Robert Suarez has dropped his appeal of a 10-game suspension issued over foreign-substance use on the mound. Suarez began serving it Thursday. For the time being, expect Nick Martinez to gather some late-inning holds when the Padres have a slim lead.

Updated hierarchy: Hader | Barlow | Martinez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Kirby Yates (ATL) – Raisel Iglesias has gone in three straight, while A.J. Minter has pitched in three of four.
2. Tommy Kahnle (NYY) – Clay Holmes has gone in three of four.
3. Mark Leiter Jr. (CHC) – The Cubs play a doubleheader Friday…
4. Lucas Sims (CIN) – … against the Reds.

Saturday:
1. Scott Barlow (SD) – If he goes Friday, that would be four of five for Josh Hader.

More bullpen trouble in Texas

August 31, 2023

Texas Rangers — Will Smith had a bounce-back outing on Wednesday, retiring five batters and allowing only one walk in a tie game. Unfortunately for the Rangers, after they failed to score in the top of the tenth, Aroldis Chapman ended things with an intentional walk, an unintentional walk, and a bases-loaded hit by pitch. The game was tied, by the way, because Jose Leclerc gave up a two-run homer in the eighth before Smith came on. With Texas in the thick of races for the division and the wild card, now is not the time for bullpen uncertainty.

Hierarchy remains: *Chapman | Smith | Leclerc.

San Diego Padres — Steven Wilson was placed on the injured list with right hip inflammation, giving Scott Barlow another chance at high-leverage work. Barlow pitched a solid seventh and eighth with a one-run lead on Wednesday, only to see a rare Josh Hader blown save in the ninth. 

Updated hierarchy: Hader | Suarez | Barlow.

Pittsburgh Pirates — Thomas Hatch, who picked up his third hold in the seventh inning last night, has moved into the Pirates’ hierarchy behind David Bednar and Colin Holderman.

Updated hierarchy: Bednar | Holderman | Hatch.

New York Yankees — Don’t look now, but the Yankees have reeled off three wins in a row and could be making an improbable push for the — just kidding, they’re still totally cooked. But Ian Hamilton did pick up a nice three-inning save for them last night.

Hierarchy remains: Holmes | Kahnle | Peralta.

Los Angeles Dodgers — For the second time in two weeks, Ryan Yarbrough earned a super-sized save. Wednesday he gave the rest of the bullpen the night off by powering through four innings of scoreless ball in a 7-0 win.

Hierarchy remains: Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Robert Suarez (SD) — Josh Hader’s blown save came on his third straight day of work.
2. A.J. Minter (ATL) — Raisel Iglesias has pitched back-to-back.

Friday:
1. Tyler Kahnle (NYY) — If Clay Holmes pitches Thursday, that will be three games in four days.
2. Mark Leiter Jr./Julian Merryweather (CHC) — The Cubs play a doubleheader Friday…
3. Lucas Sims (CIN) — …against the Reds.

Jose Leclerc — and not Will Smith — earns save for Rangers

August 29, 2023

Texas Rangers – After Aroldis Chapman worked in back-to-back games over the weekend, he was apparently unavailable Monday. But that meant Will Smith did the job in a save situation, right? Well, no. Enter old friend Jose Leclerc, who mixed in a walk with two strikeouts to earn his second save. Reading between the lines, recent usage would indicate Chapman is the committee leader and Leclerc is a part of the mix with Smith. Smith not being used in an obvious situation for a closer Monday is very telling. It’s also worth noting Rangers beat writer Evan Grant said that Leclerc got the save chance after Chapman and Brock Burke had worked in the previous two days — and he did not mention Smith. We’ll make the swap in our hierarchy now and this situation is definitely worth monitoring.

Updated hierarchy: *Chapman | Smith | Leclerc.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Mets – For the first time since undergoing patellar tendon surgery, Edwin Diaz threw a bullpen session. He maintains that his goal is to return to pitch for the Mets before the end of the season even though the club is out of contention, so if he happens to be available in your league (only 16% rostered in Yahoo!, for example), he could be worth stashing if you have IL space.

Hierarchy remains: *Ottavino | Raley | Smith.
* = closer-by-committee

St. Louis Cardinals — Ryan Helsley expects to be activated from the injured list on Wednesday. Whether he jumps right back into the saves mix upon his return remains to be seen.

Hierarchy remains: *Romero | Gallegos | Pallante.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays – As predicted by the Vulture Save Watch, Jordan Romano did not appear Monday after throwing 36 pitches Sunday, leaving Jordan Hicks there to earn his fourth save since being traded to Toronto.

Hierarchy remains: Romano | Hicks | Garcia.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Evan Phillips did not pitch Monday, as projected by the Vulture Save Watch, but it was Caleb Ferguson and not Brusdar Graterol who got the opportunity in the ninth, earning his third save. He has been used as an opener recently, but this save chance proves he still belongs in the hierarchy. Graterol last worked Friday, throwing 31 pitches, so perhaps manager Dave Roberts wanted an additional day of rest to keep him fresh.

Hierarchy remains: Phillips | Graterol | Ferguson.

Minnesota Twins – The Vulture Save Watch correctly predicted an off-day for Jhoan Duran, but it certainly did not foresee Josh Winder pitching three hitless innings to earn his first career save. He won’t normally factor into the late-inning plans.  

Hierarchy remains: Duran | Jax | Pagan.

Houston Astros – Jose Urquidy covered the final four innings (4 hits, 1 ER, 2 walks 1 strikeout) of what became a blowout Astros win Monday to earn his first career save.

Hierarchy remains: Pressly | Abreu | Neris.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Jose Alvarado (PHI) – Craig Kimbrel has pitched in two straight.
2. Taylor Rogers (SF) – Camilo Doval and Tyler Rogers have each gone in two consecutive games.
3. Andrew Nardi (MIA) – The Marlins were off Monday but Tanner Scott has been busy lately (he pitched in both weekend games).

Wednesday:
1. Shintaro Fujinami (BAL) – If he goes Tuesday, that would be three of four for Yennier Cano.
2. Brooks Raley (NYM) – Same as above for Adam Ottavino.
3. Griffin Jax (MIN) – The above is also true for Jhoan Duran.

Miami’s Tanner Scott notches save, further cementing role as Marlins closer

August 28, 2023

Miami Marlins – As we alerted, David Robertson was removed from the closer’s role before Sunday’s game, and the new closer, Tanner Scott, pitched well Sunday to earn his third save of the season.

Updated hierarchy: Scott | Nardi | Puk.

Texas Rangers – Will Smith notched a clutch strikeout against the only batter he faced to finish off the eighth inning in Sunday’s game, leaving Aroldis Chapman to handle the ninth inning in a save situation. Chapman did not deliver, though, allowing the tying run to send the game to extras. The Rangers eventually lost, which is something happening a lot lately. Texas has lost nine of 10, and the struggles in the late innings are a big part of it. It appears manager Bruce Bochy is starting to play the matchups again in the ninth inning, so we’ll slap on the committee tag with Smith still in the lead role, for now. 

Updated hierarchy: *Smith | Chapman | Sborz.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays – Erik Swanson was placed on the injured list with thoracic spine inflammation. Expect Yimi Garcia and maybe Tim Mayza to vie for saves when the Jordans (Romano and Hicks) aren’t available.

Updated hierarchy: Romano | Hicks | Garcia.

Boston Red Sox – Manager Alex Cora said Kenley Jansen was available to pitch Sunday. The Red Sox lost, so there was no save situation and Jansen did not play, but he should be presumed to be available moving forward.  

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Martin | Winckowski.

St. Louis Cardinals — Ryan Helsley resumed a rehab assignment on Sunday after his first one was paused over concerns about continued forearm discomfort. New imaging came back clean, allowing his return to action, though there is no timetable for his return to the majors. For what it’s worth, he did not pitch well in the rehab outing, allowing a couple of runs. 

Hierarchy remains: *Romero | Gallegos | Pallante.
* = closer-by-committee

Tampa Bay Rays – The Vulture Save Watch projected a day off Sunday for Pete Fairbanks, but instead of turning to Colin Poche, manager Kevin Cash went with Jason Adam for the third time in four games. Adam nailed down his 12th save of the season.

Hierarchy remains: Fairbanks | Adam | Poche.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Paul Sewald did not pitch Sunday, as forecast by the Vulture Save Watch, but it was Ryan Thompson who earned the save in his first game for Arizona, not Kevin Ginkel, who had already pitched Friday and Saturday. 

Hierarchy remains: Sewald | Ginkel | McGough.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Brooks Raley (NYM) – Adam Ottavino has gone in two straight.
2. Shintaro Fujinami (BAL) – Yennier Cano has also gone in two in a row.
3. Griffin Jax (MIN) – Same as above for Jhoan Duran.
4. Brusdar Graterol (LAD) – Evan Phillips has pitched in three of four.
5. Jordan Hicks (TOR) – Jordan Romano threw 36 pitches to record five outs Sunday and could need a breather.

Tuesday:
1. Andrew Nardi (MIA) – Miami is off Monday but new closer Tanner Scott might need a second day of rest after pitching Saturday and Sunday.
2. Trevor Stephan (CLE) – If he goes Monday, that would be two straight and three of four for Emmanuel Clase.
3. Matt Brash (SEA) – A Monday outing would be three of four for Andres Munoz.