Cleveland committee gets murkier; Jeurys Familia poised to seize closer role

May 12, 2014

Cleveland Indians – Marc Rzepczynski was struggling in the 8th inning, so Cody Allen came on to clean up the mess, but the de facto leader of Cleveland’s closer by committee struggled to throw a strike, ultimately hitting a batter and allowing a base hit and sacrifice fly before escaping the inning. With Allen having thrown 22 pitches, the 9th went to Bryan Shaw, who pitched a clean frame for the save. It’s hard to know what would have happened if Scrabble hadn’t needed the 8th inning bailout — had he gotten through the 8th, it might’ve been Allen who got the save opp. Regardless, managers tend not to mess with formulas they’ve had success with, so Shaw’s spotless outing inches him into the lead for saves in Cleveland. We suspect Allen could still get 9th inning chances while John Axford sorts himself out, though Francona’s tendency to summon him in high-leverage spots, regardless of the inning, might end up hurting his value.

Hierarchy change: Shaw | Allen | Atchison.

Toronto Blue Jays – Casey Janssen was activated from the disabled list on the same day that former fill-in closer Sergio Santos hit the DL. Janssen should resume closing immediately.

Hierarchy change: Janssen | Cecil | Delabar.

New York Mets – On the heels of another strong outing by Jeurys Familia, manager Terry Collins is getting close to giving the young righty the keys to the 9th inning, saying after Sunday’s game that “he’s real close” to winning the job from a struggling Kyle Farnsworth. This assertion comes as a bit of a surprise, as Collins has had a tendency to value experience in the 9th inning, especially this year, when he gave Jose Valverde, Farnsworth, and Daisuke Matsuzaka chances in the 9th inning before allowing either Familia or Gonzalez Germen a crack at closing. But for Familia, at least, that appears to be changing.

Hierarchy change: Farnsworth | Familia | Matsuzaka.

Atlanta Braves – David Carpenter pitched a clean 9th inning for the Braves on Sunday, earning his second save of the season. As mentioned in the Vulture Save Watch, Craig Kimbrel had thrown 43 pitches over the previous two days and got the night off.

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Carpenter | Varvaro.

Milwaukee Brewers – Will Smith picked up his 10th hold of the season on Sunday, pitching a clean 8th inning ahead of Francisco Rodriguez. We at Closer Monkey are excited about Smith’s ascension, as it gives us the ability to make more terrible jokes about his name.

Hierarchy change: Rodriguez | Smith | Kintzler.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Kenley Jansen allowed 5 baserunners to reach in the 10th inning on Sunday, and after 3 of them scored, saddling him with the loss, his ERA climbed to 4.58. Once considered a top closer in the game, Jansen has had a rough go of it so far this year, and with Chris Perez doing fine work in the 8th inning, the hard-throwing righty has reasons to be concerned about his job.

Kenley Jansen to Hot Seat.

San Francisco Giants – Jean Machi picked up a 10th inning save on Sunday after Sergio Romo had already pitched. Romo blew the save in the 9th, but it was his first blown save in 13 chances, and his job is not in jeopardy.

Hierarchy remains: Romo | Casilla | Lopez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Anthony Bass, Houston Astros – Chad Qualls has been more effective as of late, but Anthony Bass could get a 9th inning chance at any time.

Rondon’s shaky outing puts Chicago closer role in doubt; Frieri close to getting job back

May 5, 2014

Seattle Mariners – Fernando Rodney was unavailable after a 4-out save on Saturday, so Danny Farquhar got the final outs in his place.  The Mariners have mixed and matched in the 8th inning all year, but this leaves no doubt that Farquhar will be the man to inherit the job if Rodney needs to be replaced.

Hierarchy remains: Rodney | Farquhar | Wilhelmsen.

Minnesota Twins – On Saturday, Casey Fien got the 8th and Jared Burton pitched the 9th, which is about how you’d expect a team to use its top middle relievers when up by 5 runs. But on Sunday, with an 8th inning hold up for grabs, it was Fien who was summoned ahead of Glen Perkins. It wasn’t a usage issue, as over the prior three nights, Fien had actually thrown 10 more pitches. More likely, it looks like Ron Gardenhire has finally realized that he has better 8th inning options than the veteran righty, who is sporting an ERA just a shade below 8 thus far.

Hierarchy change: Perkins | Fien | Burton.

San Francisco Giants – Santiago Casilla picked up his first save of the season on Sunday. As mentioned in the Vulture Save Watch, Sergio Romo was given the day off after heavy usage in the days prior.

Hierarchy remains: Romo | Casilla | Lopez.

Chicago Cubs – Regular readers know that we at Closer Monkey adore Hector Rondon, and we were dismayed earlier this week when Rick Renteria described his 9th inning plans as “fluid.”  (He also called his plans “organic” which was just confusing.)  Despite Renteria’s odd vocabulary and refusal to verbally commit to Rondon as his guy, the skipper has used the young righty exactly how you’d deploy a closer.  Unfortunately, last night, Rondon came on in a tie game in the top of the 9th and surrendered the lead.  It was only the second time Rondon has allowed a run this year, but given Renteria’s love of no-pesticide produce (???), we’re worried that he might go into committee mode and start giving Pedro Strop more chances.

Hierarchy remains: Rondon | Strop | Grimm.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Pedro Strop, Chicago Cubs – In addition to the above, Hector Rondon has also pitched in three straight and four of five.
2. Ernesto Frieri, Los Angeles Angels – Prior to Sunday’s game against the Rangers, Mike Scioscia suggested that Ernesto Frieri could be used in the 9th inning now that he’s strung together a few good outings. Joe Smith has been great in his stead, but the sidearming righty seems destined for middle relief as long as Frieri doesn’t lose it again.
3. Jim Johnson, Oakland A’s – Jim Johnson’s reclamation of the closer job is all but assumed at this point; he just needs to convert a save chance and we will move him back to the top of our chart.
4. Cody Allen, Cleveland Indians – John Axford has pitched in back to back games, including a 28-pitch blown save last night.  He might get a breather tonight.

Closer Rankings: Nos. 11-20

March 13, 2014

11. Sergio Romo, San Francisco Giants — Romo hasn’t been throwing his slider this spring, so it’s not clear precisely what to make of his lousy spring numbers.

12. Ernesto Frieri, Los Angeles Angels — After a disturbingly high ERA last year, Mike Scioscia intends to use Frieri more sparingly this season.

13. Rafael Soriano, Washington Nationals — We just don’t trust Soriano, who has been getting shelled this spring — but I guess we trust the guys below even less.

14. Grant Balfour, Tampa Bay Rays — The irascible Australian, rejected by Baltimore, will be out to prove something to his division rivals.

15. Jim Johnson, Oakland A’s — A second straight year of 50 saves, sure, but don’t forget the nine blown saves either. Oakland will probably not present the same wealth of save opportunities as Baltimore has.

16. Jonathan Papelbon, Philadelphia Phillies — Decreased velocity and a plummeting strikeout rate drop the pricy Papelbon into the bottom half of our rankings.

17. Steve Cishek, Miami Marlins — Win a bet with your bullpen-ignorant friends: Cishek boasts the longest active string of successful saves, at 29.

18. Fernando Rodney, Seattle Mariners — Rodney’s astonishing one-off 2012 season, in which his 3.8 WAR doubled the total from his other ten years combined, makes him the “Gangnam Style” of relievers.

19. Casey Janssen, Toronto Blue Jays — Janssen has pitched well for Toronto over the last two seasons; his reputation suffers because of his subpar team and their hitter-friendly ballpark. A shoulder injury this spring could make his position more tenuous.

20. John Axford, Cleveland Indians — The Ax Man hopes to cut down his sky-high WHIP now that he’s no longer tipping his pitches. Cody Allen is lurking.

2014 NL West bullpen preview

March 7, 2014

Arizona Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks picked up Addison Reed in the offseason, but in a somewhat surprising move, have not handed him the closer gig.  GM Kevin Towers said in February that the closer role will be a competition between Reed and J.J. Putz, a statement backed up by Kirk Gibson yesterday.  As the D-Backs prep for their season opener in Australia, we’ll keep a close eye on this situation — so far, the pitchers have nearly identical spring stats, both having given up 1 run in three innings.  Starting 2014 hierarchy: Closer – Addison Reed, Set-up – J.J. Putz, 2nd in line – Brad Ziegler.

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2015 Closer.Updated
ARIAddison ReedJ.J. PutzBrad ZieglerAddison Reed3/7/14

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Colorado Rockies – Rex Brothers’s quest to become the full-time Rockies closer will have to wait for at least a little while, as the Rockies signed the 41-year-old LaTroy Hawkins in the offseason.  Walt Weiss has already named Hawkins the closer, though the aging righty will probably need to be rested from time to time, making Brothers an appealing option for vulture saves.  Returning to the Colorado bullpen behind them are Matt Belisle and Wilton Lopez, though former Yankee Boone Logan has the early edge for the 2nd in line job after a solid 2013 campaign.  Starting 2014 hierarchy: Closer – LaTroy Hawkins, Set-up – Rex Brothers, 2nd in line – Boone Logan.

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2015 Closer.Updated
COLLaTroy HawkinsRex BrothersBoone LoganRex Brothers3/7/14

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Los Angeles Dodgers – The Dodgers have unlimited money, which allows them to do silly things like pay Brian Wilson $10 million.  Though The Beard won’t close — Kenley Jansen finally has a firm grasp on that job — his contract means he’s almost assuredly the set-up man.  Behind Jansen and Wilson is another former closer looking to return to form, as Chris Perez is in town on a 1-year deal.  Starting 2014 hierarchy: Closer – Kenley Jansen, Set-up – Brian Wilson, 2nd in line – Chris Perez. 

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2014 Closer.Updated
LADKenley JansenBrian WilsonChris PerezKenley Jansen3/7/14

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San Diego Padres – The Padres brought in veteran Joaquin Benoit to bolster their bullpen after losing Luke Gregerson to the A’s, but Huston Street is still the closer for the foreseeable future.  Benoit will set-up, while Dale Thayer is a good bet for 7th inning work.  Starting 2014 hierarchy: Closer – Huston Street, Set-up – Joaquin Benoit, 2nd in line – Dale Thayer.

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2015 Closer.Updated
SDHuston StreetJoaquin BenoitDale ThayerHuston Street3/7/14

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San Francisco Giants – The Giants bullpen looks very similar to last year’s edition, with Sergio Romo closing and Santiago Casilla right behind him.  Javier Lopez and Jean Machi will handle the 7th inning, though future closer Heath Hembree is worth watching.  Starting 2014 hierarchy: Closer – Sergio Romo, Set-up – Santiago Casilla, 2nd in line – Javier Lopez. 

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2015 Closer.Updated
SFSergio RomoSantiago CasillaJavier LopezSergio Romo3/7/14

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Josh Zeid, David Hernandez rising

September 12, 2013

Pittsburgh Pirates – Kyle Farnsworth picked up his first save of the season on Wednesday, on a night when Mark Melancon and Jason Grilli were unavailable.  Farnsworth would have been far from our first choice, as the 37-year-old righty was out of a job just a few weeks ago.  But his usage yesterday suggests Clint Hurdle will value his 9th inning experience on nights where his top two relievers can’t pitch.  Hierarchy change: Kyle Farnsworth to 2nd in line, replacing Tony Watson.  

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2014 Closer.Updated
PITMark MelanconJason GrilliKyle FarnsworthJason Grilli9/12/13

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Houston Astros – The ever-in-flux Astros bullpen went to Josh Zeid for the last out of the 8th inning on Wednesday, and then left him out there for the 9th, where he picked up his first career save.  After a rough stretch in August, Zeid has only allowed four earned runs in his last 13 innings, which is good enough for a prominent role in Houston.  Hierarchy change: Josh Zeid to Set-up, Kevin Chapman to 2nd in line.

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2014 Closer.Updated
HOUJosh FieldsJosh ZeidKevin ChapmanJosh Fields9/12/13

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San Francisco Giants – With Sergio Romo unavailable, Santiago Casilla got the save in his absence, as mentioned in the Vulture Save Watch.  No hierarchy change.

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2014 Closer.Updated
SFSergio RomoSantiago CasillaJavier LopezSergio Romo9/12/13

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New York Yankees – David Robertson returned to action yesterday, pitching the 8th inning and picking up a win.  Hierarchy change: David Robertson to Set-up, Shawn Kelley to 2nd in line.

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2014 Closer.Updated
NYYMariano RiveraDavid RobertsonShawn KelleyDavid Robertson9/12/13
Boone Logan (INJ)

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Arizona Diamondbacks – David Hernandez, who returned earlier this month after being sidelined for much of August, pitched the 8th inning ahead of Brad Ziegler on Wednesday.  With five scoreless outings since his return, Hernandez stands to see more high-leverage innings.  Hierarchy change: David Hernandez to Set-up, Heath Bell to 2nd in line.

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2014 Closer.Updated
ARIBrad ZieglerDavid HernandezHeath BellJ.J. Putz9/12/13
J.J. Putz (DL)

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VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. David Robertson, New York Yankees – Mariano Rivera has pitched in back to back games and three of four, throwing a total of 4.1 innings and 74 pitches.