Handicapping the A’s bullpen with Sean Doolittle on the DL

August 25, 2014

Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle has been placed on the DL with an intercostal strain. Luke Gregerson was expected to see the majority of save chances, but before Sunday’s game, Bob Melvin said that Gregerson would stay in the eighth inning while Dan Otero, Ryan Cook, and Eric O’Flaherty share save chances. It’s an odd decision, since Gregerson closed earlier this year and has pitched the 8th ever since, but it’s all we’ve got to go on for now, so we’ll do our best to handicap things based on the one-game sample size that we’ve got. On Sunday game, Otero pitched in the 7th inning with the A’s down by nine runs, while Cook pitched the 9th and O’Flaherty was idle. The fact that O’Flaherty didn’t pitch, combined with this strong endorsement from A’s beat writer Susan Slusser, means that O’Flaherty starts at the top of the committee for now. We’ll slot Cook in afterwards, since he’s got the past closer experience, and follow him with Gregerson, mostly because we’re stubborn and still think he’s the guy for the job. And despite his usage yesterday, Otero is in the mix as well.

Updated hierarchy: O’Flaherty | Cook | Gregerson.

Tampa Bay Rays – After Jake McGee pitched a scoreless 8th and 9th inning for the Rays, Brad Boxberger picked up the save after the Rays took the lead in the 10th. We said a little while back that McGee was getting 86% of the Rays save chances — that still seems about right.

Hierarchy remains: McGee | Boxberger | Peralta.

Cincinnati Reds – The Reds entered the 9th inning on Sunday with a four-run lead, but Logan Ondrusek couldn’t quite close the door and allowed two runs to score before Jonathan Broxton came in to get the last out. Broxton picked up his 5th save of the season and remains the handcuff for Aroldis Chapman, who got the day off.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Broxton | Diaz.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Dellin Betances, New York Yankees – David Robertson has pitched in three straight.
2. Adam Ottavino, Colorado Rockies – LaTroy Hawkins has pitched in back to back games.

Doolittle to DL, committee to close for now

August 24, 2014

Oakland A’s – Sean Doolittle has been placed on the DL with an intercostal strain.  Luke Gregerson was expected to see the majority of save chances, but before Sunday’s game, Bob Melvin said that Gregerson would stay in the eighth inning while Dan Otero, Ryan Cook, and Eric O’Flaherty share save chances. It’s an odd decision, since Gregerson closed earlier this year and has pitched the 8th ever since, but we’ll trust he’s telling the truth until we see otherwise.

Updated hierarchy: Cook | Otero | Gregerson.

Ernesto Frieri, Jason Grilli on verge of losing their jobs

June 20, 2014

Pittsburgh Pirates – Jason Grilli blew his fourth save of the season on Thursday. Four blown saves — and an accompanying 4.34 ERA — isn’t exactly horrendous, but it’s obviously not what you want to see out of your closer, especially when your bullpen has been stellar otherwise. So after the game, Clint Hurdle wasn’t exactly giving Grilli a ringing endorsement, and Mark Melancon might be on the verge of a promotion.

Hierarchy remains: Grilli | Melancon | Watson.
Jason Grilli to Hot Seat.

Detroit Tigers – Before Thursday’s game, Joe Nathan adjusted his arm slot, and proceeded to strike out all three hitters he faced. Might that be all it takes for the once-dominant closer to return to his old self?

Hierarchy remains: Nathan | Chamberlain | Alburquerque.

Los Angeles Angels – A baffling 10th inning in Cleveland saw the Angels take a 2-run lead and then summon youngster Cam Bedrosian while Ernesto Frieri stood idle in the bullpen. Bedrosian struggled and allowed three base runners (jeez, who would’ve expected a guy with a 10.13 ERA to struggle?!?!), before Mike Scioscia finally went to his closer, but Frieri would only be able to retire David Murphy before allowing a walk off grand slam to Nick Swisher. We’ve said previously that Scioscia’s recent decision to limit Frieri’s save chances seemed unnecessarily harsh, and Thursday’s usage just seemed cruel — like he wanted the righty to fail. But either way, after the game, Frieri was pissed and Scioscia offered no real explanation for using Bedrosian (whose ERA is now 14.29, by the way). Frieri is still probably the best Angel reliever to own, but with the way he’s been treated, we wouldn’t be surprised if Joe Smith got the next save chance.

Hierarchy remains: Frieri | Smith | Jepsen.

Toronto Blue Jays – We might now have an explanation for why Brett Cecil went from one of the best relievers in baseball over the first month into a kinda-crappy situational lefty in recent weeks: he’s been trying to pitch through a groin injury. That effort is now over, as Cecil was placed on the DL on Thursday. Look for Sergio Santos — just back from his own DL stint — and Dustin McGowan to get save chances on nights when Casey Janssen is unavailable.

Updated hierarchy: Janssen | McGowan | Santos.

Tampa Bay Rays – The best thing Grant Balfour has going for him is a manager hellbent on getting him back to the 9th inning.  But he’s also put together a modest line since being demoted two weeks ago (4.2 IPs, 1 ER, 3 H, 5 Ks, and 1 BB), and for a guy who spent much of the year with a 6+ ERA and more walks than strikeouts, this constitutes tremendous progress.  Last night, he got the 9th inning in a 5-run game (pitching behind Joel Peralta, who got the 8th), and struck out the side.

Updated hierarchy: McGee | Balfour | Peralta.

Oakland Athletics – Sean Doolittle, he of the most ridiculous K/BB ratio since 1900, got the night off Thursday after pitching in two games in a row. Righty Dan Otero picked up the save in his place.

Updated hierarchy: Doolittle | Gregerson | Otero.

New York Yankees – With most of New York’s top relievers needing a night off, Adam Warren picked up a 2-out save on Thursday.

Hierarchy remains: Robertson | Betances | Warren.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Joe Smith, Los Angeles Angels – This is a committee now; see above.

Doolittle bested by a Trout; seven walks for sorry Brothers

April 16, 2014

Oakland A’s — Sean Doolittle blew a save late Tuesday night, courtesy of a Mike Trout home run. No instant alert for this one — they were even anyway — but we’re ready to shuffle Luke Gregerson to the top of the Oakland closer committee. Note also the resurgence of Jim Johnson, who’s pitched five scoreless innings since he was moved out of the ninth inning. Hierarchy change: Luke Gregerson to Closer, Sean Doolittle to Set-up.

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2015 Closer.Updated
OAKLuke GregersonSean DoolittleRyan CookRyan Cook4/16/14

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Colorado Rockies – Rex Brothers has been awful this year, and Walt Weiss has decided to give the lefty a few days off. Boone Logan, who escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh on Tuesday night, should reap some high-leverage rewards. For his part, Adam Ottavino has been practically unhittable. Hierarchy change: Adam Ottavino to Set-up, Boone Logan to 2nd in line.

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2015 Closer.Updated
COLLaTroy HawkinsAdam OttavinoBoone LoganRex Brothers4/16/14

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Cincinnati Reds — Jonathan Broxton picked up his first save of the year on Tuesday night, cementing his hold on Cincy’s closer job until the return of Aroldis Chapman. On Monday, Chapman threw off a mound for the first time since his injury, and the Reds are cautiously optimistic. No hierarchy change.

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2015 Closer.Updated
CINJonathan BroxtonSam LeCureManny ParraAroldis Chapman4/16/14
Aroldis Chapman (DL)Sean Marshall (DL)

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Chicago White Sox — The Sox signed ex-closer Frank Francisco on Monday and assigned him to their AAA team in Charlotte. With the struggles in the White Sox pen so far, Francisco has a good shot at being this year’s Kevin Gregg. That might be the saddest sentence I’ve ever typed. No hierarchy change.

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2015 Closer.Updated
CHWMatt LindstromDaniel WebbMaikel CletoNate Jones4/16/14
Nate Jones (DL)

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Toronto Blue Jays — Casey Janssen pitched a scoreless inning for class-A Dunedin on Tuesday; he’s expected to make two more minor league appearances before returning in about a week. What role he’ll have upon his arrival is still unknown. No hierarchy change.

.Closer.Set-Up.2nd in line.2015 Closer.Updated
TORSergio SantosBrett CecilSteve DelabarSergio Santos4/16/14
Casey Janssen (DL)

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VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. David Carpenter/Jordan Walden, Atlanta Braves — Craig Kimbrel is still day-to-day with a sore shoulder.
2. Kevin Jepsen, Los Angeles Angels — Ernesto Frieri has pitched in four of the last five games, as has Joe Smith, who got blasted on Tuesday.
3. Chad Qualls/Anthony Bass, Houston Astros — It’s Houston, what are you gonna do?
4. Pedro Strop, Chicago Cubs — Rick Renteria might call on Strop after demoting Jose Veras. Heck, he might call on Kevin Gregg, or Gregg Olson.
5. Ryan Cook/Dan Otero, Oakland Athletics — Luke Gregerson is most likely to get an A’s save on Wednesday, but these two have a shot.
6. Brian Wilson/J.P. Howell, Los Angeles Dodgers — Kenley Jansen has thrown in three of the last four games, including a 25-pitch outing yesterday, and Brian Wilson has returned from the disabled list.