Glover dealing with back discomfort, Rivero records save

June 11, 2017

Washington Nationals – Koda Glover blew the save last night, but the bigger concern is his back.  Glover tweaked his back yesterday before the game, but tried to pitch through the injury.  It is unclear if Glover will miss time, but if he does, it could be Matt Albers taking over.  Albers threw two scoreless innings yesterday with four strikeouts.  Shawn Kelley on the other hand, gave up three more runs last night and saw his ERA jump over 7.00 for the season.  We will continue to monitor Glover’s status.

Updated hierarchy: Glover | Albers | Kelley.

Pittsburgh Pirates — The first save opportunity since Tony Watson lost his job went to Felipe Rivero.  He struck out three batters in 1.1 innings on his way to his first save with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Rivero’s stuff is nasty (just ask Dee Gordon), and the only thing keeping him from being the full time closer is the possibility that the Pirates decide to use him like the Indians use Andrew Miller.  We will slide Rivero to the top of the committee for now, and if he reels of  a couple more saves in a row, the job will likely be his for the rest of the season.

Updated hierarchy : *Rivero | Nicasio | Hudson.
* = closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s — Sean Doolittle returned last night with a perfect eighth inning ahead of closer Santiago Casilla.  Prior to Doolittle’s injury in April, the A’s were employing a semi-committee approach with Doolittle and Casilla getting saves.  Casilla was fine in the closer’s role by himself while Doolittle was out, but he certainly didn’t run away with the job.  Doolittle could work his way back to some chances if he continues to pitch like he did last night.

Updated hierarchy: Casilla | Doolittle | Madson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Matt Albers/Shawn Kelley – If Koda Glover can’t go today because of his back, Matt Albers could get the call.  However, Albers threw 29 pitches in a two inning outing yesterday so if he also gets the day off, they could go to Shawn Kelley.

Monday
1. Tommy Kahnle – David Robertson threw 29 pitches in two innings yesterday so if he pitches again on Sunday, he could get Monday off.
2. Taylor Rogers –  If Brandon Kintzler pitches on Sunday, that will be two straight and four of the previous five games.

 

Juan Nicasio well-positioned in Pittsburgh; Adam Ottavino returns for the Rockies

June 10, 2017

Pittsburgh Pirates — Hours after officially losing his job, Tony Watson was back in the ninth inning for the Pirates. Granted, they were down five at the time, but he did pitch a clean inning. Clint Hurdle said that he’ll use a committee for saves going forward, but we give Juan Nicasio the edge, since Hurdle seems to view Felipe Rivero in more of an Andrew Miller role. As we noted at the beginning of the year, Hurdle has a tendency to stick with the roles he has laid out for his relievers longer than he should (see: Watson, Tony), so the next few save opportunities could be vital in determining who will get the bulk of the chances going forward.

Updated hierarchy : *Nicasio | Rivero | Hudson.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies — Adam Ottavino was activated from the DL and immediately saw action in the eighth inning ahead of Greg Holland. Ottavino looked healthy, pitching a perfect inning with 2 Ks and picking up his 16th hold of the season. A healthy Ottavino is the best option behind Holland for the Rockies, moving Jake McGee back to second in line.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Ottavino | McGee.

Chicago Cubs — C.J. Edwards struck out the side (and allowed a run) in the seventh, while Koji Uehara again got the eighth inning ahead of Wade Davis. Both are reliable options, but the more experienced Uehara appears to be the backup to Wade Davis.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Uehara | Edwards.

St. Louis Cardinals — As pointed out to us last night by an enthusiastic Cardinals fan (15 exclamation points!!) suspiciously named Matt, Kevin Siegrist has indeed been eclipsed in the Cardinals bullpen by Matt Bowman, who struck out the side in the seventh last night for his 12th hold. Did Bowman himself take the time to harangue us with four postgame paragraphs about our “glaring mistake”? Does he have the tech savvy to spoof a Chicago IP address from the Cardinals’ locker room? Let’s just go with probably yes.

Updated hierarchy: Oh | Rosenthal | Bowman.

Baltimore Orioles — Darren O’Day has been placed on the DL with a right shoulder strain, marking the second time in a month that he’s been shut down. In Zach Britton’s absence, Brad Brach has settled into the closer’s role, putting up seven straight scoreless appearances, and Mychal Givens has been excellent as well. Behind those two, however, lie several question marks. Lefty Donnie Hart was sent to the minors, leaving the seventh inning to the likes of Edwin Jackson, Mike Wright, and lefty Richard Bleier. Jackson may end up in long relief, and Bleier is the only lefty remaining in the pen, so we’ll tab Wright for now.

Updated hierarchy: Brach | Givens | Wright.

Seattle Mariners — Edwin Diaz has fully re-established himself as the Seattle closer and has no further need of the committee asterisk.

Updated hierarchy: Diaz | Vincent | Pazos.

Los Angeles Dodgers — In his first relief appearance since he was a 20-year-old Hiroshima Carp, Kenta Maeda picked up his first career save, pitching the last four innings of a five-run game. Maeda was excellent, striking out six and giving up a solo home run. Maeda hopes to be back in the rotation soon and, with performances like last night, he may get his wish.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Baez | Fields.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Arodys Vizcaino — Jim Johnson has gone in two straight and the Braves have a doubleheader today.
2. Jake McGee — Greg Holland has gone in two straight (42 pitches) and Adam Ottavino might not be ready to go back-to-back.

Sunday:
1. Adam Ottavino — If Holland does pitch again on Saturday, Ottavino could spell him on Sunday.
2. Keone Kela — Matt Bush has gone in three of four (with only seven pitches yesterday).
3. Jacob Barnes/Carlos Torres — The Brewers have used their top relievers heavily, so anyone who goes today will probably be off Sunday.
4. Andrew Miller/Bryan Shaw — If Cody Allen pitches on Saturday, he’ll need Sunday off (three of four). Andrew Miller threw 30 pitches on Friday.
5. Brad Hand — Brandon Maurer has gone in two straight.
6. Trevor Rosenthal — So has Seung Hwan Oh.

Tony Watson loses closer job; Felipe Rivero and Juan Nicasio to share the ninth

June 9, 2017

Pittsburgh Pirates — Clint Hurdle has finally made the long-expected move, demoting Tony Watson from the closer role in favor of a combination of Felipe Rivero and Juan Nicasio. Rivero has (slightly) better numbers, but if Hurdle decides that he’s more comfortable leaving Rivero in his eighth-inning role, Nicasio may get a chance to run away with the job.

Updated hierarchy : *Nicasio | Rivero | Hudson.
* = closer-by-committee

Could Juan Nicasio be the next Pirates closer?

June 9, 2017

Pittsburgh Pirates — The Pirates lost 7-1 Thursday, so we got no more clarity on the team’s bullpen situation. Late Wednesday night, manager Clint Hurdle mentioned that he has given some “serious thought” to making Juan Nicasio his closer, essentially calling Felipe Rivero his Andrew Miller for being the team’s relief ace but not its saves leader. As for Tony Watson, who should be available Friday, he’s still the team’s closer. For now.

Hierarchy remains: Watson | Rivero | Nicasio.

Kansas City Royals — Kelvin Herrera had another disastrous outing Thursday, getting charged with four runs while recording one out after entering a 1-1 game. His numbers now look quite ugly (5.55 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 7 HR allowed), but reports this week suggest there’s interest on the trade market (no word on whether that has changed given the recent struggles). Either way, Joakim Soria could be worth a speculative add as Royals fans wonder why they can’t get nice closers like Greg Holland or Wade Davis.

Hierarchy remains: Herrera | Soria | Minor.

Colorado Rockies — Setup man Adam Ottavino says he’s ready to return, and the expectation is that he’ll be activated from the disabled list as early as Friday. The move isn’t official yet, but it’s coming.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | McGee | Rusin.

Minnesota Twins — Matt Belisle (7.52 ERA, 1.57 WHIP) may be in his manager’s good graces again. He has recorded holds in two Twins wins this week, coming on to induce Albert Pujols into an eighth-inning double play in one game and retiring the side in the seventh inning Thursday with a tidy eight pitches. Tyler Duffey has also picked up high-leverage holds over the last week and has better numbers (3.30 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 9.30 K/9). Expect both of them to help get the ball to Taylor Rogers and Brandon Kintzler when the Twins have a lead.

Hierarchy remains: Kintzler | Rogers | Duffey.

Philadelphia Phillies – Pat Neshek is likely to get a bunch of save opportunities between now and the trade deadline but maybe not after that, as the veteran fully expects to be traded to a contender. He’ll be OK with that as long as he doesn’t return to the Astros. While he’s happy in Philly, it is still rebuilding, so holding on to Neshek doesn’t make much sense for the Phillies or him. Stay tuned.

Hierarchy remains: *Neshek | Neris | Gomez.
* = closer-by-committee

Houston Astros – The Astros have called up top pitching prospect Francis Martes. It’s not clear what his long-term situation looks like (for some, he projects as a starter), but he’s going to get work in the team’s bullpen out of the gate. The high-leverage looks will probably be few and far between for Martes (who actually has struggled recently in the minors), but in the recent past, top prospects have excelled in bullpen situations — Adam Wainright and Chris Sale, to name a few — before making the journey to being a full-time starter.

Hierarchy remains: Giles | Harris | Devenski.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Michael Lorenzen — Dynamic closer Raisel Iglesias has pitched in two straight and three of the last four (and going further back, he’s gone in five of the last seven).
2. Joakim Soria/Mike Minor — Kelvin Herrera struggled mightily Thursday and has gone in three of the last four days (46 pitches). Soria has a similar workload, but has thrown fewer pitches in that stretch (31) and could still be available. If he needs a breather, too, look for Mike Minor to get a shot if the situation calls for it.

Saturday:
1. Danny Farquhar — Before Wednesday, Alex Colome hadn’t pitched since the previous Wednesday, but he has now worked in two straight. Given the prior time off he’s probably available Friday, but an appearance then would almost certainly mean rest for him Saturday.
2. Derek Law — Mark Melancon threw 31 pitches and allowed two runs (but got the win) in Thursday’s outing. Another stressful outing Friday would likely mean an off day for him Saturday.
3. Brad Hand — Brandon Maurer also had a stressful outing Thursday, allowing four runs without recording an out in a 15-3 loss. He threw 24 pitches, and any outing Friday may lead to rest for him Saturday.
4. A bunch of Twins — Brandon Kintzler has gone in two straight (26 pitches). A Friday outing would likely mean an off day Saturday. If Taylor Rogers also pitches Friday, Matt Belisle or Tyler Duffey could get a look.
5. Felipe Rivero/Juan Nicasio — An outing for Tony Watson Friday would be his fourth game in six days, and he hasn’t pitched so well lately. Felipe Rivero has been dynamite, but he has been busy lately, too.

Déjà vu for Tony Watson in Pittsburgh as Felipe Rivero awaits

June 8, 2017

Pittsburgh Pirates — For the second straight night, Tony Watson gave up a tying two-run dinger, completing a four-run Baltimore comeback in the ninth. About an hour later, everyone on Twitter made the same obvious joke. Felipe Rivero remained unhittable in his inning of relief, leading Pirates fans and bullpen speculators to wonder what it will take for Clint Hurdle to finally make the switch.

Hierarchy remains: Watson | Rivero | Nicasio.

Los Angeles Angels — Now it’s Cam Bedrosian’s rehab that’s delayed, after the righty reported still more discomfort in his groin. Bud Norris’s role is safe for at least another week.

Hierarchy remains: Norris | Hernandez | Parker.

Oakland A’s — Sean Doolittle threw a no-hitter on Wednesday night — or at least one-ninth of one — to finish his rehab assignment with the Nashville Sounds. Doolittle should rejoin Oakland this weekend.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Madson | Hendriks.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Felipe Rivero/Juan Nicasio — Even if Tony Watson keeps his job, he’s not pitching Thursday. He’s gone in three of four. Both Rivero and Nicasio have gone in two straight themselves.
2. Jacob Barnes — Corey Knebel has pitched in two straight, three of four, and five of seven.

Friday:
1. Michael Lorenzen — Raisel Iglesias has pitched in two of three and four of six. He’ll need Friday off if he pitches Thursday afternoon.
2. Darren O’Day — Brad Brach has gone in two straight.
3. Will Harris — As has Ken Giles.
4. Joakim Soria — Kelvin Herrera has pitched in two of three.