August 12, 2019
Atlanta Braves – After a string of failures led by all the relievers they acquired at the deadline, the Braves went back to Ya Boy for the 9th inning on Sunday. It wasn’t pretty, as Jackson allowed three singles and didn’t strike anyone out, but despite spilling water all over himself before the outing, he got the job done, stranding the bases loaded and preserving the 1-run victory. We’ll move him back on to the hierarchy, with designs on putting him back on top if he gets and converts the next opportunity.
Updated hierarchy: *Melancon | Jackson | Greene.
* = closer-by-committee
Chicago Cubs – With pretty much every other high-profile reliever on the Cubs on the IL, Joe Maddon went to Pedro Strop for the 9th inning yesterday. Strop converted for his 10th save of the year; David Phelps and Rowan Wick were used to bridge the gap to him. We’ll adjust the hierarchy accordingly.
Updated hierarchy: *Strop | Wick | Phelps.
* = closer-by-committee
New York Mets – Sunday provided another disappointing outing from Edwin Diaz, who allowed two runs in a non-save situation. Though Diaz will continue to get high-leverage innings, we have a feeling that Seth Lugo gets the next save chance here. Lugo will probably never be a full time closer, since the Mets tend to avoid using him on back to back nights, but he should be good for some saves down the stretch.
Updated hierarchy: *Lugo | Diaz | Wilson.
* = closer-by-committee
St. Louis Cardinals – As mentioned in the Vulture Save Watch, Carlos Martinez had gone in back to back and three of four going into Sunday, so he was given the night off and Andrew Miller got the save.
Hierarchy remains: Martinez | Miller | Gant.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Zack Britton/Shawn Armstrong – The Orioles and Yankees play a doubleheader today, which can mean unorthodox bullpen usage.
Tomorrow
1. Ty Buttrey – If Hansel Robles goes tonight, it’ll be three straight.
2. Nick Wittgren – Brad Hand labored through 25 pitches yesterday; another extended outing and he’ll have Tuesday off.
3. Ryan Pressly – If Roberto Osuna goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
4. Fernando Rodney – Same for Sean Doolittle.
Jose Leclerc to remain as Rangers closer
August 7, 2019
Texas Rangers — Shawn Kelley should be activated from the IL today, but he will not assume the closer’s role. Chris Woodward said that Jose Leclerc has earned that spot and will continue to pitch the ninth inning. Expect Kelley to join Jesse Chavez, Brett Martin and rookie fireballer Emmanuel Clase as the Rangers’ high-leverage options for the remainder of the year.
Updated hierarchy: Leclerc | Kelley | Chavez.
Chicago Cubs – The Cubs placed Brandon Kintzler on the 10-day IL and activated Pedro Strop from the IL. Joe Maddon said that Strop, who returned without having gone on a rehab assignment, will be eased back in and won’t close. He also won’t pitch on back-to-back days. This means guys like David Phelps and Steve Cishek will get a shot at save chances. You may even see Rowan Wick or Kyle Ryan pitching in some high-leverage spots. We’ll continue to monitor what will be a very intriguing week for the Cubs’ bullpen.
Updated hierarchy: *Phelps | Cishek | Strop.
* = closer-by-committee
Milwaukee Brewers — With both Josh Hader (28 pitches) and Freddy Peralta (31 pitches) needing a night off after a busy Monday, the Brewers turned to Matt Albers with a 4-2 lead in the ninth inning. Albers began the inning with a single, wild pitch and a double, but he settled down and converted his second save of the season. Jeremy Jeffress owns a 15.19 ERA over his last five outings. That’s not good.
Updated hierarchy: Hader | Peralta | Albers.
Washington Nationals – Fernando Rodney protected a two-run lead in the eighth inning on Tuesday. This came after he kept the Nationals ahead by three during the eighth inning of Monday’s triumph. Rodney has now earned an eighth-inning hold in each of the last three Nationals victories, which means we’ll slide him ahead of Hunter Strickland in this revamped Washington hierarchy.
Updated hierarchy: Doolittle | Rodney | Strickland.
Miami Marlins — A day after being activated from the IL, Ryne Stanek made his Marlins debut on Tuesday night in his first action since July 19. He allowed one hit and struck out a batter in the eighth inning of a 5-0 loss. Stanek excelled as an opener for the Rays but has a legit chance to close games for the Marlins this season and beyond.
Updated hierarchy: *Garcia | Quijada | Stanek.
* = closer-by-committee
New York Yankees – Aroldis Chapman and Zack Britton had both pitched in three of four and four of six, so Adam Ottavino was the only hierarchy member available on Tuesday. He tossed a five-pitch eighth inning to preserve a 7-4 lead and stayed on for the ninth to close out an 9-4 win for his first save as a Yankee. With Aaron Boone not wanting to exhaust his most important bullpen arms ahead of a postseason run, expect some more vulture saves for guys like Ottavino, Chad Green and Tommy Kahnle down the road depending on usage.
Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Britton | Ottavino.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Chris Martin – Shane Greene has pitched in three of the last four.
2. Evan Marshall – Alex Colome has appeared in two straight, throwing 45 pitches over the pair of games. Aaron Bummer tossed 26 pitches over two frames yesterday. The White Sox do have Thursday off.
Brandon Workman, the first true closer for the 2019 Red Sox?
August 5, 2019
Baltimore Orioles – The Orioles hadn’t recorded two saves in two days since April 1-2, but they managed the feat Saturday and Sunday, with the latter save going to Shawn Armstrong. Armstrong, Mychal Givens, and Paul Fry will likely continue to share save chances here on the occasional nights when the Orioles have one. None of them are worth owning in shallow leagues; even in standard-sized leagues they’re probably only for those who are truly desperate.
Hierarchy remains: *Givens | Armstrong | Fry.
* = closer-by-committee
Cincinnati Reds – David Hernandez picked up a 10th inning save for the Reds on Sunday. Raisel Iglesias and Michael Lorenzen were held out, while Amir Garrett had already pitched (and blown the team’s first chance at a save) in the 9th.
Hierarchy remains: Iglesias | Lorenzen | Garrett.
Minnesota Twins – Sam Dyson’s stint with the Twins can’t have gotten off to a worse start, as the righty allowed 3 ERs in each of his first two appearances, then was placed on the IL yesterday with right biceps tendinitis. Tyler Duffey got the 7th inning in Dyson’s absence on Sunday; we’ll slot him in at second in line for now.
Updated hierarchy: *Rogers | Romo | Duffey.
* = closer-by-committee
Chicago Cubs – Tyler Chatwood pitched the final three innings of what turned into a 5-run Cubs victory on Sunday, earning his second save of the year. He does not factor into Chicago’s usual late-inning plans.
Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Kintzler | Cishek.
Washington Nationals – Roenis Elias does indeed need an IL stint, so as promised: welcome back to the hierarchy, Mr. Rodney.
Updated hierarchy: Doolittle | Strickland | Rodney.
Boston Red Sox – Don’t expect Nate Eovaldi to ascend to the closer role any time soon, as Alex Cora on Sunday confirmed what we’d already suspected based on usage: Brandon Workman is his top choice for the 9th inning. We’ll remove Workman’s asterisk for now; look for Eovaldi to work in the 7th and 8th.
Updated hierarchy: Workman | Eovaldi | Barnes.
New York Yankees – Aroldis Chapman and Zack Britton both got Sunday night off, allowing Chad Green to pick up his second save of the year. Green has been great since his brief stint in the minors earlier this year, but he’s unlikely to get many more save chances in this stacked bullpen.
Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Britton | Ottavino.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Yoan Lopez – Archie Bradley pitched two innings on Sunday.
2. Chris Martin – Shane Greene has pitched two straight, with bad outings in both appearances. He could get today off.
Today/tomorrow
1. Seth Lugo/Jose Quijada – The Mets and Marlins play a doubleheader today, which could mean backup relievers get save chances, or excess usage today could determine who is available tomorrow.
A deeper look at Nick Anderson and Jarlin Garcia
July 30, 2019
Miami Marlins – A Monday with zero saves recorded across all of MLB gives us a chance to dive a little deeper into the Marlins recent bullpen usage. Don Mattingly said over the weekend that Nick Anderson had the “most dominant stuff” in the bullpen and that he would likely be used against the heart of the lineup regardless of what inning it is; Mattingly proceeded to use Anderson in the 8th inning of a four-run game on Sunday, and then summoned him for the last out of the game last night, in a game the Marlins were leading by five, but where the Diamondbacks had two runners on base. (Anderson got out of the jam, leading to this epic tweet from the Marlins.) Jarlin Garcia, meanwhile, got the 9th inning on Sunday and was held out of yesterday’s game and is working on a run of 18 straight scoreless innings (14 Ks vs 2 BBs in that span). We’ll continue to watch this one closely, as Mattingly is no stranger to the “relief ace who isn’t the closer” role, having used Kyle Barraclough in that position for the better part of 2016 and 2017. A darkhorse is converted starter Trevor Richards, who was just moved to the bullpen last week.
Hierarchy remains: *Garcia | Anderson | Quijada.
* = closer-by-committee
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Tomorrow
1. Fernando Rodney – Sean Doolittle threw 22 pitches (23 if this counts) last night; an extended outing tonight might mean he’s off tomorrow.
Wade Davis is no Fernando Rodney right now
June 29, 2019
Colorado Rockies — After Thursday’s brutal outing, Bud Black has said that the Rockies are “contemplating a few things” with regards to Wade Davis’ role in the bullpen, specifically pointing to his walk rate as a concern. Meanwhile, Scott Oberg’s excellent year continued last night, as he pitched a scoreless ninth in a four-run game. It is possible that Davis still has the closer’s role, as he would have been unavailable yesterday after having pitched in back-to-back games and three of the last four. We told you yesterday that Scott Oberg was a good speculative add; today he looks like a must get, although he is likely unavailable today after pitching three in a row and five of the last six.
Hierarchy remains: Davis | Oberg | Shaw.
Cincinnati Reds — Michael Lorenzen came on with one out in the eighth inning last night and stuck around for all five of the remaining outs to lock up his fifth save on the year. This is the third straight Reds save for Lorenzen, and while the previous two featured Raisel Iglesias coming into a high-leverage spot, Iglesias was not used last night at all. While we don’t expect the Reds to completely abandon Iglesias as a closing option, Lorenzen has become the best choice to own for the Reds.
Updated hierarchy: *Lorenzen | Iglesias | Garrett.
* = closer-by-committee
Tampa Bay Rays — Jose Alvarado has rejoined the team after being reinstated from the bereavement list. Alvarado had returned home to care for his mother in Venezuela, and had been working his way back into game shape over the past week. Alvarado, who Kevin Cash said is in a good spot, was the clear first choice for Tampa when he was available, but Emilio Pagan has done well enough to hold the top spot in the committee for now.
Hierarchy remains: *Pagan | Alvarado | Roe.
* = closer-by-committee
Washington Nationals — Fernando Rodney heard about our Twitter thread and set out to prove all his haters wrong. With Sean Doolittle and Wander Suero both coming off back-to-back games, the Nationals turned to Fernando Rodney to close out the ninth inning with a two-run lead. Rodney slammed the door for his first save of the year. One reason why Rodney drew such widespread ire is that with his save last night, he joins Goose Gossage and Octavio Dotel as the only players to have saves (and presumably blown saves) with nine different teams. At 42, Rodney’s best days are behind him, but last night’s usage and Dave Martinez’s postgame comments suggests he will be in line for save chances in Washington when Doolittle and Suero are both unavailable. Welcome to another hierarchy, Fernando!
Updated hierarchy: Doolittle | Suero | Rodney.
Miami Marlins — The day after leaving a game with a bruised knee, Sergio Romo pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a four-run game. This wasn’t a save situation, but it was certainly a relief for Romo owners to see him right back in the mix.
Hierarchy remains: Romo | Guerrero | Anderson.
San Diego Padres — With a one-run lead in the seventh inning, the Padres gave the ball to Luis Perdomo. He pitched a clean inning to record his third hold in his last four appearances. Perdomo has allowed just one run in June and is riding a nine-game scoreless streak. While Trey Wingenter hasn’t been bad, Perdomo has been getting the higher-leverage looks lately.
Updated hierarchy: Yates | Stammen | Perdomo.
VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Austin Brice — Sergio Romo has pitched in back-to-back games and is coming off an injury scare on Thursday. Tayron Guerrero just hit the IL and Nick Anderson has gone in two straight. Brice and Jose Quijada are the next guys up.
Sunday:
1. Kelvin Herrera — Today would be back-to-back and three of four for Alex Colome.
2. Seth Lugo — Edwin Diaz was rested last night, but he threw 34 pitches on Thursday, so another long outing today could earn him another day off Sunday.
3. JD Hammer — Hector Neris was also rested yesterday, but that was after three straight days of work.
4. Kyle Crick — Felipe Vazquez threw 25 pitches over two innings last night, so another long outing could make him unavailable on Sunday.
5. Tony Watson — Will Smith tossed 34 pitches last night. Another appearance would likely keep him out Sunday.
