July 31, 2019

Atlanta Braves – The Braves acquired Chris Martin from the Rangers last night, though he is not expected to join the team in time for this afternoon’s game. Brian Snitker did not offer clarity on how he would deploy his newest arm, but current closer Luke Jackson didn’t help his own case on Tuesday as he gave up three runs in a non-save situation. Jackson has struggled recently and Anthony Swarzak has posted two straight bad outings. Nothing is official yet, and Snitker may not want to outright remove Jackson from the ninth inning, but Martin is probably the team’s best option at the moment. We’ll slide Martin to the top of the hierarchy and see if Snitker follows our lead.

Updated hierarchy: *Martin | Jackson | Swarzak.

Texas Rangers – The Rangers traded Chris Martin to the Braves on Tuesday, which leaves Jose Leclerc as the team’s top option for saves until Shawn Kelley returns from the IL. If Leclerc also gets dealt, then Brett Martin will lead his fellow rookie relievers (four pitched last night, including Brett) and veteran Jesse Chavez in what will be a hard-to-trust bullpen until Kelley is healthy again.

Updated hierarchy: Leclerc | B.Martin. | Chavez.

Arizona Diamondbacks – The first save of the post-Greg Holland era went to Archie Bradley, who after ensuring conditions were perfect, extended his scoreless streak to 12.1 innings thanks to 1.1 innings of work on Tuesday. After the game, Torey Lovullo stopped short of anointing Bradley as his new closer, but he did say that he liked what he saw and wouldn’t hesitate to go to him again. Lovullo also said he’d be willing to use lefty Andrew Chafin in the ninth if the matchups were right. We’ll slide Bradley to the top of the committee ahead of Yoan Lopez and Yoshihisa Hirano based on Tuesday’s usage.

Updated hierarchy: *Bradley | Lopez | Hirano.
* = closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays — Ken Giles received a cortisone shot in his elbow on Tuesday and will be cleared to play catch in two days, after which he will be day-to-day. It’s probably a good sign that the Jays didn’t just send him right to the IL, but that could also be a show for any interested suitors, if they still exist. It’s more likely that teams try and secure the services of either Daniel Hudson or Joe Biagini instead of Giles at this point. If both Hudson and Biagini join David Phelps as traded Jays, and Giles requires another IL stint, a guy like Tim Mayza could be closing games for Toronto.

Updated hierarchy: Giles | Hudson | Biagini.

Cincinnati Reds – They say, “Papa didn’t take no mess.” Well neither does Amir Garrett. The Reds reliever put on quite the performance as part of last night’s brawl, and fantasy owners should expect Garrett to face a lengthy suspension once MLB dishes out its punishment. As for Raisel Iglesias, he could certainly still be traded despite the Reds dealing for Trevor Bauer last night, but it seems more likely that he stays now unless a real contender matches the high price tag. 

Hierarchy remains: Iglesias | Lorenzen | Garrett.

Pittsburgh Pirates – It was quite the night at the fights last night for the Pirates in Cincinnati. On the undercard, Keone Kela threw at a guy’s head and then later told Joey Votto that he could be next. That led to the main event, when the Reds’ Amir Garrett charged the entire Pirates dugout and Kyle Crick was right in the middle of it. Expect some suspensions to come from this. In non-boxing news, the price tag for Felipe Vazquez remains high and it seems unlikely any team, including the Dodgers, gives the Pirates what they want. There is of course a chance that someone like Kela is traded; he’s a reliever that NL teams may be interested in just for safety’s sake.

Hierarchy remains: Vazquez | Crick | Kela.

Chicago Cubs — Pedro Strop is back on the 10-day IL with left neck tightness. That probably means more high-leverage work for Steve Cishek, though newly acquired David Phelps could also be a dark horse candidate for a hold or two during Strop’s absence.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Kintzler | Cishek.

New York Mets — Edwin Diaz didn’t exactly help his trade value on Tuesday night as he blew a 2-1 lead in the ninth inning by throwing a lot of pitches that weren’t close to the strike zone. If Diaz does get traded, Seth Lugo should take over the ninth inning in Flushing while Diaz’s fantasy value will be dictated by his destination.

Hierarchy remains: Diaz | Lugo | Familia.

Los Angeles Dodgers — Julio Urias opened Tuesday’s game and allowed two earned runs over 2.2 innings and 61 pitches. Tony Gonsolin pitched the final four innings to collect his first career save in just his second career MLB appearance. Urias’ last save was a three-inning effort on June 13, and while he is a versatile option out of the bullpen for Dave Roberts, it’s more likely Pedro Baez gets a save chance than Urias.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Kelly | Baez.

Philadelphia Phillies — The Phillies acquired free agent Blake Parker on Tuesday. Parker, who had been designated for assignment by the Twins, could break into the hierarchy pretty quickly in Philadelphia. We’ll see how Gabe Kapler plans to utilize his newest arm, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Parker soon sees some high-leverage work alongside recent addition to the bullpen Nick Pivetta.

Hierarchy remains: Neris | Morgan | Alvarez.

Boston Red Sox — The Red Sox are unlikely to land a big-name reliever, which means Brandon Workman’s status as closer will remain unchanged until Nathan Eovaldi gets organized. Eovaldi, for his part, allowed one hit but struck out three with the Sox trailing by one run in the eighth inning. 

Hierarchy remains: *Workman | Eovaldi | Barnes.
* = closer-by-committee

Baltimore Orioles — Shawn Armstrong pitched the final two innings of the Orioles’ 8-5 victory to earn his third save of the season. It is notable that potential trade target Mychal Givens did not pitch, though Brandon Hyde could have just wanted to ensure Givens got three straight days off (the Orioles don’t play today) after throwing 60 pitches over four days. If Givens is traded, Armstrong should take over the ninth inning while Givens will see his fantasy value plummet even lower than it already is for a 36-win team.

Hierarchy remains: *Givens | Armstrong | Fry.

Houston Astros — With Ryan Pressly once again unavailable because of right knee soreness, the Astros turned to Will Harris in the eighth inning to help lock down a 2-0 win. The MLB transactions site lists Pressly as being on the seven-day IL retroactive to July 27, but the Astros haven’t officially announced anything and there’s seemingly no confirmation of such a thing. An IL stint wouldn’t be surprising at this point, but we’ll hopefully have a clearer picture later today.

Hierarchy remains: Osuna | Pressly | Harris.

Detroit Tigers – Shane Greene’s name has been part of trade rumors as the deadline approaches. His asking price is reportedly “far more reasonable” than that of some other closers, which means he could be leaving Detroit by tomorrow afternoon. If he does, Joe Jimenez and/or Buck Farmer will be the likeliest replacements. Of those two, Jimenez has been linked to the Rays and is more likely to be dealt today than Farmer is.

Hierarchy remains: Greene | Jimenez | Farmer.

San Diego Padres — Will Kirby Yates be closing games in San Diego after today? Jon Heyman reports that the Padres are still fielding calls on Yates but the two sides have also discussed an extension. If a team does meet the high price tag and San Diego does trade Yates, Craig Stammen should take over the ninth inning while Andres Munoz would be worth stashing as a potential closer of the future.

Hierarchy remains: Yates | Stammen | Perdomo.

San Francisco Giants – The Giants are 2.5 games back in the wild card race and seem content to keep all their big-name pitchers, including Will Smith. We’ll see if the Giants stay true to that plan by 4 p.m.

Hierarchy remains: Smith | Dyson | Watson.

Minnesota Twins — Sergio Romo made his Twins debut on Tuesday and kept his new team ahead of his old team with a solid eighth-inning. That paved the way for Taylor Rogers to close out a 2-1 victory over the Marlins. This should be the standard operating procedure for the Twins, though Romo may still see a few save chances of his own. Tyler Duffey retired all four hitters he faced across the sixth and seventh innings and has been a little more consistent than Trevor May, who has allowed a run in each of his last five appearances.

Updated hierarchy: *Rogers | Romo | Duffey.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Tomorrow
1. Anthony Swarzak – Luke Jackson threw 27 pitches last night and Chris Martin won’t be available. Swarzak may get the ninth inning if needed, unless the Braves want to give Jackson one more chance.
2. Seth Lugo – Edwin Diaz threw 25 pitches last night and has appeared in two of the last three games.
3. Blake Treinen – Liam Hendriks had a tough night yesterday, throwing 25 pitches in his third appearance in four days. He’s earned a little rest, especially with the A’s playing Thursday as well.
4. Diego Castillo – Emilio Pagan needed 30 pitches to complete a four-out save last night.
5. Joe Biagini/Tim Mayza– Ken Giles is unavailable and Daniel Hudson has gone in three of the last four, throwing a lot of pitches in that span. Biagini has appeared in two of three, tossing over 20 pitches in both outings. It could be Tim Mayza time in Toronto!

Thursday
1. Aaron Bummer – If Alex Colome isn’t traded and throws a lot of pitches today, he may get Thursday off.
2. Dealer’s Choice – Ken Giles will still be unavailable, so whoever is less tired of Toronto’s remaining bullpen options will be in line for a save chance if needed.