Koji Uehara suffers right pectoral strain

July 20, 2016

Boston Red Sox — The injury woes continued for the Boston bullpen on Tuesday as fill-in closer Koji Uehara left an eventual 4-0 win with a strained pectoral muscle. He will be reevaluated on Wednesday, but in the meantime Brad Ziegler will get the 9th if any save opportunities arise. Some good news for Boston is that Junichi Tazawa is expected to return from the DL before Friday night’s game.

Hierarchy remains: Uehara | Ziegler | Barnes.

Tampa Bay Rays — Matt Andriese picked up a three-inning save in a 10-1 Rays win over the Rockies. He does not normally factor into the team’s late-inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: Colome | Cedeno | Ramirez.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Mark Melancon has had two rare hiccups in his last two outings, recording back-to-back blown saves. He has been excellent this season and his job shouldn’t be in any danger. However, it is worth noting that he also struggled a bit in the second half of last season as well, allowing 12 of his 19 total earned runs after August 1 en route to an impressive 51-save season.

Hierarchy remains: Melancon | Feliz | Watson.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Brad Ziegler, Boston Red Sox – As mentioned above, Koji Uehara is being reevaluated today and is likely unavailable for at least the next couple of games.
2. Fernando Rodney, Miami Marlins – A.J. Ramos has pitched in three straight games while Rodney enjoyed a night off on Tuesday.
3. Luke Gregerson, Houston Astros – Will Harris suffered his first blown save of the season on Tuesday, throwing 31 pitches in the process.
4. Edubray Ramos, Philadelphia Phillies – Both Jeanmar Gomez (46 pitches) and Hector Neris (45) have appeared in two straight and three of the last four.
5. Kevin Siegrist, St. Louis Cardinals – Seung Hwan Oh is well-rested, but the Cardinals will play a doubleheader on Wednesday and Siegrist may get a chance in the second game if Oh can’t pitch both.
6. Ryan Buchter, San Diego Padres – Likewise, the Padres may turn to Buchter if Brandon Maurer can’t go in the second game of their doubleheader against the Cardinals.

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Colorado suddenly has lots of good relievers

July 19, 2016

Colorado Rockies – Between the emergence of Carlos Estevez, the recent returns of Jake McGee and Boone Logan from the disabled list, and the activation of Adam Ottavino after Tommy John surgery, the Rockies suddenly have a bunch of competent relievers to get them through the late innings. But even with all those arms available, it’s been Jason Motte pitching the 8th inning in close games over the last two days. Ottavino has been used in the 7th in his last two appearances, and McGee has only pitched one third of an inning over the past week, despite Walt Weiss explaining before the All-Star break that he intended to “work him back in” to the late inning mix. We expect Weiss to keep going with what works for now, especially following last night’s win.

Updated hierarchy: Estevez | Ottavino | Motte.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Justin Wilson, Detroit Tigers – K-Rod has pitched in three of the last four.
2. David Phelps, Miami Marlins – Both A.J. Ramos and Fernando Rodney are seriously overworked.

Diamondbacks committee off to a shaky start

July 18, 2016

Arizona Diamondbacks – Sunday wasn’t a banner day for any of the three relievers vying for saves in the Arizona bullpen. In the 8th inning, the Diamondbacks held a comfortable 6-0 lead, but Daniel Hudson surrendered a two-run homer to Justin Turner before escaping the inning. Tyler Clippard came on for the 9th and allowed three baserunners while recording just one out, before he was lifted for Jake Barrett. From a statistical perspective, Barrett came away from this looking the best, as he got the last two outs and earned the save, but he wasn’t exactly sharp, allowing two hits and all of the inherited runners to score before escaping. It’s possible he gets the next save chance, but more likely that Arizona will give Clippard and Hudson more chances to prove themselves in the hopes of increasing their trade value.

Updated hierarchy: *Clippard | Barrett | Hudson. 
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Kevin Quackenbush, San Diego Padres – Brandon Maurer and Ryan Buchter (and Brad Hand) have all pitched in three straight.
2. Mauricio Cabrera, Atlanta Braves – Jim Johnson has pitched in back to back games.