Caleb Cotham likely to lead Cincinnati closer committee after Hoover’s demotion

April 20, 2016

Cincinnati Reds – JJ Hoover has been officially removed from the closer role following a dreadful start to the season. Bryan Price will use a closer-by-committee in the near future, which means any combination of Caleb Cotham, Tony Cingrani, Ross Ohlendorf, and Blake Wood could be used. We like Cotham best of this foursome. In deep leagues, Hoover should still be rostered as it sounds like he’ll still be part of the committee.

Updated hierarchy: *Cotham | Cingrani | Hoover.
* = closer-by-committee

J.J. Hoover on thin ice in Cincinnati

April 20, 2016

Cincinnati Reds — It was quite the day for the Reds’ bullpen. The biggest news came after their 4-3 win, when manager Bryan Price said he would “sleep” on the closer situation. J.J. Hoover struggled again on Tuesday, allowing two runs in the ninth to bloat his ERA to 15.19. Assuming Hoover is out as closer after Price wakes up, Tony Cingrani is most likely to take the job. It certainly won’t be Jumbo Diaz, who was optioned to AAA before the game. It appears as if Caleb Cotham will replace Diaz, after a successful eighth inning on Tuesday that earned him his third hold of the season.

Updated hierarchy: Hoover | Cingrani | Cotham.

Kansas City Royals — Joakim Soria has allowed a run in each of his last two outings. On Tuesday, he couldn’t get out of the eighth inning and was booed off the mound, paving the way for Kelvin Herrera to get the final two outs of the frame. Herrera has yet to allow an earned run and may get some more looks in the eighth if Soria continues to struggle.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Soria | Herrera.

Oakland A’s – Ryan Madson solidified his spot at the top of the Oakland committee on Tuesday, picking up the eleventh-inning save. Sean Doolittle pitched the eighth in a tie game, a role Doolittle should have more often than not, given Madson’s success so far.

Hierarchy remains: *Madson | Doolittle | Axford.
* = closer-by-committee

Tampa Bay Rays – Alex Colome recorded his second save and remains the number one option in Kevin Cash’s committee, though he and the team have only two saves.

Hierarchy remains: *Colome | Cedeno | Farquhar.
* = closer-by-committee

Chicago White Sox — Nate Jones earned the first save of his career thanks to a pair of scoreless innings in a 5-0 victory.

Hierarchy remains: Robertson | Jones | Albers.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Tyler Clippard picked his first save of the season in a 3-0 win on Tuesday. Brad Ziegler had thrown in three of the last four days and Daniel Hudson tossed 38 pitches on Monday.

Hierarchy remains: Ziegler | Hudson | Clippard.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Koji Uehara, Boston Red Sox – Craig Kimbrel has pitched in two straight and four of the last five; Uehara was rested on Tuesday.
2. Tony Cingrani, Cincinnati Reds – As mentioned above, J.J. Hoover’s days as the Reds closer may be over.
3. Trevor May, Minnesota Twins – Kevin Jepsen has pitched four of the last five days.
4. Sean Doolittle, Oakland Athletics – Ryan Madson has appeared three times over the last four days, and this is still a committee.

Closer Hot Seat update: April 19, 2016

Welcome to our weekly Hot Seat column! Each week — usually on Mondays — we’ll update this space to give you an easy-to-reference guide on who might be closest to losing their jobs. Note that this isn’t necessarily a ranking of the best closers; rather, it’s a guide to job security.

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Latest update: April 19, 2016

Closers are beginning to secure their positions: Strong weeks from Shawn Tolleson and Francisco Rodriguez have gotten them off the “Hot” seat for now, while general ineptitude in the rest of the Houston and Toronto bullpens have elevated Luke Gregerson and Roberto Osuna to “Cool.” Committees remain worth watching, with Oakland’s being the most compelling at this point — Alex Colome and Arodys Vizcaino are pretty secure in their spots as top dogs. J.J. Hoover, meanwhile, continues to struggle, and might have already lost his job if the Reds had had anyone competent to replace him with.

Hottest – In a committee or on the verge of losing their job right now
30. Ryan Madson (Handcuff: Sean Doolittle)
29. Alex Colome (Handcuff: Xavier Cedeno)
28. Arodys Vizcaino (Handcuff: Jason Grilli)

Hot – Guys who could be in danger after their next blown save
27. J.J. Hoover (Handcuffs: Jumbo Diaz, Tony Cingrani)

Warmish – Two blown saves in a row and these players might be in trouble
26. Shawn Tolleson
25. Kevin Jepsen
24. Jeanmar Gomez
23. Fernando Rodney
22. Francisco Rodriguez
21. Santiago Casilla
20. Steve Cishek
19. Hector Rondon

Cool – These players would have to blow 3 consecutive saves for their jobs to be in jeopardy
18. Luke Gregerson
17. Jake McGee
16. Roberto Osuna
15. Jeremy Jeffress
14. Jonathan Papelbon
13. Brad Ziegler
12. AJ Ramos
11. Huston Street
10. Andrew Miller
9. Jeurys Familia
8. Mark Melancon
7. David Robertson
6. Cody Allen
5. Trevor Rosenthal
4. Craig Kimbrel

Sub-zero – These players would have to blow 4+ consecutive saves for their jobs to be in jeopardy
3. Zach Britton
2. Kenley Jansen
1. Wade Davis

David Phelps moving up in Marlins ‘pen; Roberto Osuna day-to-day

April 19, 2016

Toronto Blue Jays – While a broken nail may not seem like a devastating injury, it was severe enough to keep Roberto Osuna on the bench in yesterday’s Patriot’s Day game at Fenway. Information is scarce on Osuna’s timetable to return — he’s day-to-day at the moment — but in the meantime, Drew Storen is likely to be tapped in save situations, as he was yesterday.

Hierarchy remains: Osuna | Storen | Cecil.

Miami Marlins – Don Mattingly recently told the media that he is looking to use David Phelps later in games. We will take Donny Baseball at his word for now and slip Phelps into the hierarchy, and we also wouldn’t be surprised if he eventually takes over the set-up man role.

Updated hierarchy: Ramos | Morris | Phelps.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Brett Cecil, Toronto Blue Jays – Roberto Osuna might need another day off, while Drew Storen has pitched in back-to-back games, including a shaky 26-pitch outing yesterday afternoon.

Ryan Madson moves to the front of Oakland’s closer committee

April 18, 2016

Oakland A’s – Bob Melvin explained Sean Doolittle’s usage after the game on Saturday, and for the first time acknowledged that “it depends” who gets the 9th inning — on that day, it was because Doolittle had been overworked so he wanted to use him for only one batter. On Sunday, meanwhile, Doolittle needed a day off entirely after pitching in two games in a row, allowing Ryan Madson to capture his 4th save of the year. (Doolittle has only one.) So we’re officially in committee mode in Oakland right now, and given Doolittle’s early struggles, we’ll elevate Madson to the top of the line with the understanding that this is still a fluid situation.

Updated hierarchy: *Madson | Doolittle | Axford.
* = closer-by-committee

Atlanta Braves – The Braves wanted to give Arodys Vizcaino a day off on Sunday, so Jason Grilli was tapped for the save. He gave up the tying run, but fortunately for the Braves, they were able to retake the lead, allowing Matt Wisler to earn his first career save in extra innings. Wisler does not factor into the Braves’ usual late-inning plans.

Hierarchy remains: *Vizcaino | Grilli | Johnson.
* = closer-by-committee

Tampa Bay Rays – Alex Colome picked up his first save of the season on Sunday. Though not the official closer yet, he remains firmly in the driver’s seat for any saves until Brad Boxberger’s return.

Hierarchy remains: *Colome | Cedeno | Farquhar.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. David Hernandez, Philadelphia Phillies – Jeanmar Gomez threw 39 pitches in a two-inning effort on Sunday.
2. Trevor May/Casey Fien, Minnesota Twins – Kevin Jepsen has pitched in three straight. Trevor May would normally be the handcuff, but his availability is also in question after a heavy workload over the last four days, meaning Casey Fien is a longshot for a vulture save.