Carson Smith ascending; Adam Ottavino out for the year

May 5, 2015

New York Yankees – After Chase Whitley tossed 7 innings of shutout ball, Chris Martin and Dellin Betances surrendered 3 runs between them. Martin was tagged with the loss and Betances credited with his first blown save of the year. With Andrew Miller getting some rest following a long outing last night, it is safe to say that Betances did not make the most of his chance to stake a claim to the 9th inning.

Hierarchy remains: Miller | Betances | Martin.

Los Angeles Dodgers – Chris Hatcher was tasked with holding on to the Dodgers’ two-run lead in the 8th inning, coming into the game with 2 inherited runners on base. He was ineffective, coughing up three runs and earning his third loss and first blown save of the season. Though he might still get a chance at a hold here or there, we’d be a bit surprised to see him get any more save chances before Kenley Jansen’s return.

Hierarchy remains: *Garcia | Hatcher | Baez.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies – Confirming what many had already suspected, Adam Ottavino needs Tommy John surgery and will miss the rest of 2015.

Hierarchy remains: Axford | Betancourt | Logan.

Seattle Mariners – In a bit of a surprise, Yoervis Medina was optioned to AAA over the weekend. Medina had been among the names mentioned by speculators when Fernando Rodney was struggling, but Medina had struggled with his control in recent weeks (5 BBs in his last 4.2 innings) and will attempt to straighten himself out in the minors. Fortunately for the Mariners, righty Carson Smith (0.73 ERA) has emerged as a reliable arm in the bullpen. Smith picked up his 5th hold of the season on Sunday and should be considered for save chances on nights when Fernando Rodney is unavailable.

Updated hierarchy: Rodney | Farquhar | Smith.

Oakland A’s — Ryan Cook’s early struggles got him sent back to the minors; Dan Otero is probably the best of Oakland’s remaining seventh-inning options until Sean Doolittle’s return relieves some of the pressure on the A’s pen. Otero had made late-inning appearances in five straight games before Monday night.

Updated hierarchy: Clippard | Scribner | Otero.

Washington Nationals – Tanner Roark picked up his first career save after the Nationals gave up and subsequently regained the lead late in the ballgame. Drew Storen had pitched two days in a row and three of the last four.

Updated hierarchy: Storen | Barrett | Roark.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jonathan Broxton, Milwaukee Brewers – K-Rod has pitched in three straight.
2. Ken Giles, Philadelphia Phillies – Jonathan Papelbon has pitched in three straight.

Joel Peralta nudges his way to the front in Los Angeles

March 26, 2015

Los Angeles Dodgers — Chris Hatcher and his Wilsonesque beard have endured some rough outings lately, pushing his spring ERA over 10. Although Hatcher is a virtual lock to make the team because he’s out of minor league options, Joel Peralta may have edged in front of him in the race to lead what appears to be a confirmed committee situation that could also include Sergio Santos, Juan Nicasio, and lefties J.P. Howell and Paco Rodriguez. As expected, Brandon League will join Kenley Jansen on the DL to start the season, and some in LA are looking Rafael Soriano’s way.

Updated hierarchy: Peralta* | Hatcher | Santos.
*closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s — A struggling Ryan Cook was sent to the minors on Tuesday to fix his mechanics. Eric O’Flaherty and Dan Otero will back up Tyler Clippard during Sean Doolittle’s absence, and young R.J. Alvarez is another intriguing option. Doolittle, meanwhile, is staying busy teaching his coaches about social media.

Updated hierarchy: Clippard | O’Flaherty | Otero.

Boston Red Sox — Koji Uehara, who turns 40 next week, might miss Opening Day with a hamstring strain. Edward Mujica would likely take the closer’s role until Uehara can get healthy, with Alexi Ogando moving ahead of Junichi Tazawa as a backup option.

Updated hierarchy: Uehara | Mujica | Ogando.

Tampa Bay Rays — Grant Balfour made his first appearance of the spring on Monday and expects to be ready for Opening Day. All three of Tampa’s current top relievers allowed a run in the game. Jake McGee is throwing curveballs again and should be back to closing in late April or early May.

Hierarchy remains: Balfour | Boxberger | Jepsen.

Toronto Blue Jays — As expected, Brett Cecil was officially named Toronto’s closer; Aaron Loup will set him up, with Steve Delabar and Miguel Castro behind them.

Hierarchy remains: Cecil | Loup | Delabar.

Colorado Rockies — Walt Weiss told reporters that Adam Ottavino will be the club’s top vulture save option when 42-year-old closer LaTroy Hawkins is fatigued, or watching Matlock reruns.

Updated hierarchy: Hawkins | Ottavino | Axford.

Cincinnati Reds — The eighth inning is wide open for the Reds, according to manager Bryan Price, who named no fewer than five possibilities for set-up work. We’ll leave things the way they are until the situation clears up, but one intriguing option Price didn’t mention is lefty Tony Cingrani, who may find a welcoming home in the bullpen.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Diaz | LeCure.

Chris Hatcher emerging as frontrunner for Dodgers’ closer gig

March 19, 2015

Los Angeles Dodgers – A new name has emerged in the most unsettled bullpen in the big leagues. Chris Hatcher, a former catcher (just like Kenley Jansen!) has been turning heads in camp, and some members of the media have anointed him the frontrunner for the closer job. Don Mattingly has remained quiet about bullpen roles, and we still think Joel Peralta is a very strong possibility (and his most recent outing was a good one), but beat writers tend to know best, so we’ll move him to the top of the committee for now. Another candidate to watch is former Blue Jays closer Sergio Santos. Santos wasn’t even considered a lock to make the team as recently as a few weeks ago, but a strong spring has put him in the conversation. Meanwhile, Brandon League is taking some time off due to shoulder soreness.

Updated hierarchy: *Hatcher | Peralta | Santos.
*closer-by-committee

Toronto Blue Jays – Thanks to an injury to Marcus Stroman, signs are pointing to a spot in the rotation for promising youngster Aaron Sanchez. That basically clears Brett Cecil’s path to the Opening Day closer gig.

Updated hierarchy: Cecil | Loup | Delabar.

New York Yankees – Though Joe Girardi said the closer role would be determined by a spring training competition between Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller, most of the speculation was that Betances would be the guy. (Which is why we ranked him so highly on our preseason closer rankings.) We still don’t have a definitive answer, but nothing drastic has changed; Betances is still the frontrunner and likely closer for the Bombers.

Hierarchy remains: Betances | Miller | Carpenter.

Oakland A’s – Tyler Clippard has let his once-surefire gig as interim closer slip a bit, as a few tough preseason outings have brought Ryan Cook — and Eric O’Flaherty and Dan Otero — into the conversation. Sean Doolittle will start his throwing program soon, so this could just be a short-term problem for Oakland, and to be clear, we still think Clippard is the best healthy reliever to own. But the situation warrants watching in the coming weeks.

Hierarchy remains: Clippard | Cook | O’Flaherty.

Tampa Bay Rays – In the race to close games in Tampa’s sans-McGee bullpen, Grant Balfour had a few distinct advantages. He has the most experience in the role, he had expressed an interest in it, and most importantly, Kevin Cash had mentioned him as a possibility. But Balfour has missed the last few weeks of spring training following the death of his father, while Brad Boxberger has come out of the gate with three scoreless innings. With his strong start, we think Boxberger has pulled even with Balfour, and suspect the Opening Day closer will be largely determined by which player looks better over the next couple weeks.

Hierarchy remains: Balfour | Boxberger | Jepsen.

2015 AL West preview

March 6, 2015

Houston Astros — Houston bolstered its bullpen again this offseason, bringing in ex-A Luke Gregerson (3 years, $18.5 million) and dubious All-Star Pat Neshek (2 years, $12.5 million) to challenge incumbent Chad Qualls, the oldest player in Astros camp, for the closer role. We think Gregerson has the edge over Qualls, Neshek, and Josh Fields (in that order). New manager A.J. Hinch is confident in all his options and won’t rush into a decision.

Starting 2015 hierarchy: Gregerson | Qualls | Neshek.
Holds candidates: Neshek, Tony Sipp.

Los Angeles Angels — Huston Street (acquired last July from San Diego) and Joe Smith have the last two innings locked down. After the departure of Kevin Jepsen to Tampa, the Angels have their eye on Mike Morin as their next seventh-inning man. 23-year-old Cam Bedrosian could have an increased role later this year as well, and if Hector Santiago doesn’t make the rotation, he might find a spot as a lefty reliever.

Starting 2015 hierarchy: Street | Smith | Morin.
Holds candidates: Smith, Fernando Salas.

Oakland A’s — With Sean Doolittle starting the year on the disabled list — and sleeping on the couch after his semifinal loss in the #FaceofMLB contest — the uber-durable Tyler Clippard will start the season as the closer. Clippard led the NL in holds in 2011, 2013, and 2014, and saved 32 games for Washington in 2012. Lefty Eric O’Flaherty and righty Ryan Cook will back him up, along with Dan Otero and Fernando Abad. If the ambidextrous Pat Venditte can somehow make the team, he could set a new record for appearances — in games, and in Closer Monkey updates.

Starting 2015 hierarchy: Clippard | Cook | O’Flaherty.
Holds candidates: Cook, Clippard (eventually).

Seattle Mariners — Almost everyone from Seattle’s surprisingly effective 2014 bullpen is returning this season, including Fernando Rodney, who led MLB and set a Mariners record with his 48 saves, and inspired the Little League champions to skew their hats and fire imaginary arrows. Danny Farquhar and Yoervis Medina will be back in their set-up roles too, ensuring that Seattle’s pen will once again lead the league in Scrabble points (non-Rzepczynski division).

Starting 2015 hierarchy: Rodney | Farquhar | Medina.
Holds candidates: Charlie Furbush, Medina.

Texas Rangers — The Texas hierarchy has seen its fair share of adversity. Neftali Feliz, low strikeout rate and all, is finally starting a season as the closer after his 2013 Tommy John surgery. Tanner Scheppers, a great reliever in 2013, hurt his elbow last year after starting on Opening Day for the Rangers. Although he still wants to start, the team will keep him in the eighth this year. And Shawn Tolleson overcame back surgery in 2013 to be Texas’s most consistent reliever last season. Meanwhile, young Alex Claudio looks like the top lefty option for new manager Jeff Banister. Kyuji Fujikawa, another veteran of Tommy John surgery, also has an outside shot at high-leverage innings.

Starting 2015 hierarchy: Feliz | Scheppers | Tolleson.
Holds candidates: Scheppers, Tolleson.

Drew Storen gets first save in Washington committee

September 8, 2014

Kansas City Royals – With Greg Holland getting some extra rest to recover from a minor triceps injury, Wade Davis picked up his second save in the past three days. Holland actually said before the game that he was available, but it seems Ned Yost decided to play it safe; Holland should be back in short order.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Davis | Herrera.

Toronto Blue Jays – The last two days have brought some good news for Casey Janssen owners: On Saturday, Aaron Sanchez was summoned in the 7th inning, and on Sunday, he was nowhere to be seen, allowing Janssen to pick up his 22nd save. Sanchez will probably vulture a few more chances down the stretch, but Janssen should still be able to get his share of saves.

Hierarchy remains: Janssen | Sanchez | Cecil.

Oakland A’s — Eric O’Flaherty has been unavailable with lower back tightness and will not pitch on Monday.

Hierarchy remains: O’Flaherty | Cook | Gregerson.

Washington Nationals – The first save chance since Rafael Soriano’s maybe-temporary-maybe-not demotion went to Drew Storen, who converted. We’ll bump him to the top of the hierarchy and asterisk him for now until he (or someone else) is given the exclusive job.

Updated hierarchy: Storen | Clippard | Soriano.

Baltimore Orioles – Andrew Miller picked up his first save of the season in an 11-inning game. Zach Britton had blown the save in the 9th, but his job is not in jeopardy.

Hierarchy remains: Britton | Miller | O’Day.

Texas Rangers – Neal Cotts has struggled as of late (7 ERs in his last 4 IPs), so Shawn Tolleson was given the 8th inning ahead of Neftali Feliz. Tolleson has only allowed runs in 2 of his past 13 outings.

Updated hierarchy: Feliz | Tolleson | Cotts.

Houston Astros – After Chad Qualls blew his fourth save of the season against the A’s on Saturday (invoking Pedro Martinez in the aftermath), the Astros sent Tony Sipp and Josh Fields out for the 9th inning on Sunday. Sipp got the first two outs, and Fields got the last one for his third save of the year.

Hierarchy remains: Qualls | Sipp | Fields.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Wade Davis, Kansas City Royals – Wade Davis should keep getting the save opps if Greg Holland needs more recovery time.
2. Kevin Quackenbush, San Diego Padres – Joaquin Benoit will probably need a few more days.
3. Ryan Cook/Dan Otero, Oakland A’s — Eric O’Flaherty is still unavailable and Cook blew yesterday’s save.