Kevin Quackenbush could be San Diego’s next closer

July 23, 2014

San Diego Padres — 25-year-old Kevin Quackenbush had six saves in six attempts at El Paso earlier this year, and so far in the big leagues, he’s put up a sub-1.00 WHIP and averaged more than a strikeout per inning. Recent comments from Bud Black suggest that if Joaquin Benoit ends up being traded, “Quack” will inherit the ninth.

Updated hierarchy: Benoit | Quackenbush | Thayer.

San Francisco Giants — It took Tim Lincecum only 1,532 innings to earn his first career save, but we’re sure he has other talents. Lincecum’s only previous regular-season relief appearance came on April 2, 2008 — when he was held back until the fourth inning to avoid an expected rain delay. The Giants couldn’t spell Tim’s name right in a celebratory tweet they later deleted, but they did correctly point out that he’s the first player since Sandy Koufax to earn a save in the same season that he pitched a no-hitter.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Romo | Affeldt.

Toronto Blue Jays — For the second straight appearance, Casey Janssen entered in a non-save ninth and allowed enough runs to allow a wingman to earn a vulture save. Tonight it was Brett Cecil’s turn, since Aaron Loup and Dustin McGowan had already appeared. If Janssen’s ineffectiveness can be traced to his recent illness, he’d be better off resting than hooking up pals at the expense of his ERA.

Hierarchy remains: Janssen | McGowan | Loup.

Baltimore Orioles — Zach Britton looked dominant on Tuesday night, and he has earned his last three saves with a miserly 25 combined pitches.

Hierarchy remains: Britton | O’Day | Hunter.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Aaron Loup, Toronto Blue Jays — Casey Janssen threw 24 pitches on Tuesday and has been struggling with an illness. Dustin McGowan, although next in line, threw 28 pitches of his own.
2. A.J. Ramos, Miami Marlins — Steve Cishek and Bryan Morris have each pitched in three straight games.
3. Dellin Betances, New York Yankees — David Robertson threw 32 pitches in two innings on Tuesday.

Trade Deadline Buy/Sell Report — National League

SPECIAL UPDATE: TRADE DEADLINE BUY/SELL REPORT (PART TWO OF TWO)

July 16, 2014

Glossary
BUY+: This player has a large chance of becoming a closer by the trade deadline.
BUY: This player has a small chance of becoming a closer by the trade deadline.
SELL: This player has a small chance of losing his closer job by the trade deadline.
SELL+: This player has a large chance of losing his closer job by the trade deadline.

TL;DR Version
BUY+: Ken Giles, Brad Ziegler.
BUY: Rex Brothers, Antonio Bastardo, Joaquin Benoit, Kevin Gregg, Pat Neshek.
SELL: LaTroy Hawkins, Mark Melancon, Trevor Rosenthal, Santiago Casilla.
SELL+: Addison Reed.

Atlanta Braves – Tied with Washington for first place in the NL East, the Braves have the elitest of elite closers, but might be in the market for a lefthanded reliever like Boston’s Andrew Miller to reinforce Luis Avilan. BUY/SELL: None. 
Miami Marlins – With Miami falling off the pace, going 10-20 since June 11, the team may be more willing to listen to offers for 27-year-old Steve Cishek from bullpen-hungry contenders like the Tigers and Giants. Kevin Gregg would probably fill in first, but Bryan Morris projects as the long-term solution. BUY: Kevin Gregg. 
New York Mets – The Mets have been hot lately, and they won’t trade any of the young bullpen arms that have been so surprisingly effective. BUY/SELL: None.
Philadelphia Phillies – Jonathan Papelbon hasn’t won any friends in Philly by announcing his willingness to waive his no-trade clause to avoid the “mind-boggling” fate of staying on “a losing team.” With the Phillies sinking out of contention, most consider him all but gone, which would open the door for closer of the future Ken Giles — especially if Antonio Bastardo also gets moved. BUY+: Ken Giles. BUY: Antonio Bastardo.
Washington Nationals – Rafael Soriano will continue to lead the most stable bullpen hierarchy in baseball — except for a few weeks when Drew Storen went to the minors last summer, they’ve had the same three guys in the top three spots since Opening Day 2013. BUY/SELL: None.

Chicago Cubs – The Cubs are bad, again, but any further trades are unlikely to affect the top arms in their bullpen hierarchy. BUY/SELL: None.
Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman says he’s fine after last night’s All-Star Game injury scare, and the contending Reds don’t need any bullpen help. BUY/SELL: None.
Milwaukee Brewers – Although GM Doug Melvin identified the bullpen as one possible target for improvement via trade, their best move might be the impending return of Jim Henderson from the disabled list. BUY/SELL: None.
Pittsburgh Pirates – Pittsburgh could move Mark Melancon back to a setup role if it can wrest Huston Street away from the Padres. SELL: Mark Melancon.
St. Louis Cardinals – The Cardinals might not trade for an established closer, but Trevor Rosenthal has been unreliable enough lately to warrant a sell signal anyway. BUY: Pat Neshek. SELL: Trevor Rosenthal.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Last year we reckoned Brad Ziegler would be replaced at the trade deadline, but he held on through the end of the season. This year, Ziegler is purportedly untouchable, while Addison Reed — like Arizona itself — has been woeful, and could use a change in circumstances. Reed is young and cheap, but has his value fallen too far already? BUY+: Brad Ziegler. SELL+: Addison Reed.
Colorado Rockies – Colorado’s owner has insisted that the team will not be selling at the trade deadline; even apart from a deal, you have to figure that LaTroy Hawkins will step aside soon for Rex Brothers. BUY: Rex Brothers. SELL: LaTroy Hawkins.
Los Angeles Dodgers – The profligate Dodgers are in the market for relievers; although they’ve been linked to Koji Uehara, they’d be fools to overlook how unlucky Kenley Jansen has been (3.49 ERA, 1.87 FIP). BUY/SELL: None.
San Diego Padres – Huston Street has made peace with the likelihood that he will be traded, probably to an AL contender. If Street goes, Joaquin Benoit is likely to stay, as the team doesn’t want to lose both of their best options. The Padres are apparently asking for a lot for either reliever, and we think Street is more likely to move, leaving the San Diego ninth open for Benoit. BUY: Joaquin Benoit.
San Francisco Giants – GM Brian Sabean has said that no one in the organization is untouchable, and they may see their rapidly evolving bullpen as ripe for improvement. SELL: Santiago Casilla.

Joe Smith locked into the closer role; Sergio Romo bouncing back

July 14, 2014

Los Angeles Angels – At one point, Mike Scioscia went out of his way to explain that he really wanted Joe Smith back in a middle relief role, where he could use him to get tough outs in the 7th and 8th innings. Well, those days are gone — Smith is locked into the closer role until further notice. Speaking of locked in, Kevin Jepsen has allowed just one run since May 4, a span of 31(!) appearances, with his last four outings coming the 8th ahead of Smith. If Smith should falter, Scioscia could still look to veteran Jason Grilli, but our money is now on Jepsen.

Updated hierarchy: Smith | Jepsen | Grilli.

San Francisco Giants – Sergio Romo has now thrown three solid 8th innings ahead of Santiago Casilla. While Jeremy Affeldt’s name was briefly thrown around for some 9th inning chances, Casilla has seized the job, and Romo has assumed the role of primary set-up man.

Updated hierarchy: Casilla | Romo | Affeldt.

Tampa Bay Rays – The Rays had a nice, civilized 9th inning on Sunday, with Jake McGee taking over for a stellar David Price and pitching a 1-2-3 inning with 2 Ks. Every time this happens, we hope it’s a harbinger of some normalcy in Maddon-land, and thanks to the All Star break, we’ll be able to live with that blissful vision for the next four days.

Hierarchy remains: McGee | Balfour | Boxberger.

Jake Petricka neck and neck with Zach Putnam for saves in Chicago

July 7, 2014

Cincinnati Reds – Aroldis Chapman tweaked a hamstring at some point leading up to Sunday’s game, so Jonathan Broxton got the save for the Reds. Bryan Price expects Chapman to be back in short order.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Broxton | LeCure.

Texas Rangers – After throwing two scoreless innings in his return to the bigs on Friday, Neftali Feliz was solid again on Sunday, pitching the 8th inning of a losing effort. Due to his past experience in the role, he’ll likely be on the short list for save chances if Joakim Soria gets hurt or traded.

Updated hierarchy: Soria | Frasor | Feliz.

Chicago White Sox – Robin Ventura has said that he’s going to wait for someone to emerge in the White Sox closer by committee, and on Sunday, Jake Petricka did an awful lot of emerging. Mixing in a 98 mph fastball, struck out two hitters in two perfect innings, picking up his third save of the year. It’s hard to know what to make of this appearance, as Zach Putnam was unavailable and Javy Guerra was warming up in the 9th inning. Additionally, Petricka’s ratios are still kind of terrible (48.2 IPs, 36 Ks, 24 BBs). But Sunday’s outing stretched his scoreless streak to 12 consecutive innings, and he’s now neck and neck with Putnam for save chances in Chicago.

Hierarchy remains: Putnam | Petricka | Guerra.

Toronto Blue Jays – Brett Cecil returned from the DL over the weekend, logging two scoreless appearances in the Blue Jays’ series with Oakland. He should supplant Aaron Loup as the go-to lefty in the late innings for Toronto; on Sunday, Loup came on in the 6th inning of a losing effort.

Updated hierarchy: Janssen | McGowan | Cecil.

San Francisco Giants – After his second save in two days, Bruce Bochy named Santiago Casilla the new full-time closer. Sergio Romo got knocked around again yesterday, so Jeremy Affeldt is still the handcuff for now, but he’s not likely to get saves unless Casilla is overworked.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Affeldt | Romo.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Darren O’Day, Baltimore Orioles – Zach Britton has pitched in back to back games and five of six.
2. Andrew Miller/Edward Mujica, Boston Red Sox – Koji Uehara has pitched in back to back games, including a 2-inning appearance on Sunday.

Joakim Soria going through odd stretch; Giants turn to committee

June 30, 2014

Chicago White Sox – We’re paying close attention to the White Sox, who on Sunday used Jake Petricka to protect a 4-run 9th inning lead. Robin Ventura keeps saying that he isn’t ready to name a new closer yet, but based on the last several days, Zach Putnam and Petricka continue to look like the two main options.

Hierarchy remains: Putnam | Petricka | Guerra.

Texas Rangers – Something odd is afoot with Joakim Soria. He didn’t pitch for 10 days from June 14 to June 24, and then, when Ron Washington finally decided to get him some work, Soria entered in the 9th inning of a blowout, threw 8 pitches, got 2 outs, and then was yanked for Scott Baker, who faced the final batter. Three days later, Soria had his worst outing of the year, blowing the save against the Twins. And then, two days after that — yesterday — he took the loss after allowing the tie breaking run in the 9th. He’s earned way too much trust to be placed on the Hot Seat just yet, but it’s certainly been a strange week for Soria, who has a troubled injury history. We’ll keep an eye on him in the coming days.

Hierarchy remains: Soria | Frasor | Cotts.

Houston Astros – Chad Qualls has been nursing a minor groin injury, so rather than use him on three straight days, Bo Porter called for Tony Sipp in the 9th inning on Sunday. Qualls was warming up just in case and should be fine for the next save chance.

Hierarchy remains: Qualls | Sipp | Veras.

Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle and Luke Gregerson had both pitched in two straight and three of four, so the A’s used Ryan Cook to get the last four outs of the game on Sunday. Cook, Dan Otero, and Fernando Abad will continue to jockey for 7th inning chances.

Updated hierarchy: Doolittle | Gregerson | Cook.

San Francisco Giants — Bruce Bochy announced on Sunday that the struggling Sergio Romo would move into a setup role, and that closing duties would be handled by the newest rage: a committee, prominently featuring Santiago Casilla and lefthander Jeremy Affeldt. Romo himself could see work as part of the committee, depending on — say it with us now — matchups.

Updated hierarchy: Casilla | Affeldt | Romo.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jake Petricka, Chicago White Sox – Zach Putnam and Jake Petricka appear to be sharing save chances in Chicago.