Felipe Rivero breathing down Tony Watson’s neck

May 30, 2017

New York Mets – Up by 2 runs in the 8th, the Mets summoned Paul Sewald to bridge the gap to Addison Reed, and Sewald responded with a perfect inning that included two strikeouts. Terry Collins had Jerry Blevins and Fernando Salas warming in case Sewald (20.1 IP, 24 Ks/4 BBs, 2.21 ERA) got into trouble, but the young righty may have seized the 8th inning with the strong outing.

Updated hierarchy: Reed | Sewald | Blevins.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Tony Watson blew his third save of the year on Monday, earning the win when Andrew McCutchen hit a walkoff homer in the bottom half of the inning. Watson’s ERA is now 4.03, and he should be looking over his shoulder at Felipe Rivero, Pittsburgh’s prize acquisition in the Mark Melancon deal last year. Rivero, who earned his 12th hold of the season on Monday with a scoreless 8th inning, throws 100 mph and has an ERA of 0.68. That groan you heard just now was from the fans in Washington.

Hierarchy remains: Watson | Rivero | Nicasio.

San Diego Padres – After two straight saves for Brad Hand last week, Brandon Maurer has gotten two straight chances for the Padres this week, converting them both. We’ll leave Hand at the top of the committee for now, as he actually had the tougher assignment on Monday, entering with the bases loaded and one out in the 7th. He induced a double play ball, then stayed on for a clean 8th.

Hierarchy remains: *Hand | Maurer | Buchter.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Danny Farquhar – Alex Colome has gone in back to back and three of four (4.1 total IP).
2. Tommy Kahnle/Anthony Swarzak – David Robertson has pitched in three straight. Tommy Kahnle can probably go, but he’s also had a heavy workload, having pitched yesterday and in five of the last seven.
3. Kyle Barraclough – AJ Ramos has gone back to back and three of four.

Tomorrow
1. Kyle Barraclough – If AJ Ramos is able to go tonight, he’ll surely have tomorrow off.
2. Nick Vincent – If Edwin Diaz goes tonight, it’ll be three straight.
3. Ryan Buchter – If Brad Hand and Brandon Maurer go tonight, it’ll be three straight for both of them.
4. Shawn Kelley – If Koda Glover goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and four of five.
5. Paul Sewald/Jerry Blevins – If Addison Reed goes tonight, it’ll be back to back, three of four, and five of seven.
6. Felipe Rivero – If Tony Watson goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
7. Alex Wilson – If Justin Wilson goes tonight, it’ll be back to back and three of four.

Hansel Robles sent to the minors

May 24, 2017

New York Mets — The Mets demoted the struggling Hansel Robles to Triple-A Las Vegas on Tuesday. We expect that Fernando Salas, who has three holds over his last five appearances, will be the primary set-up man for Addison Reed. Salas pitched a perfect 1.1 innings to close out Tuesday’s 9-3 win.

Updated hierarchy: Reed | Salas | Blevins.

Miami Marlins – A.J. Ramos struggled through a second straight poor outing as the clock neared 2 a.m., eventually locking down an 11-9 win after he entered the game with a five-run advantage. Ramos, who was warming while the Marlins extended their lead in the 8th, has now allowed four hits and five earned runs over the last two games, neither of which were save situations. We’ll see if Ramos can right the ship, though the Marlins have provided him few save chances so far this season.

Hierarchy remains: Ramos | Barraclough | Phelps.

Colorado Rockies — One name to keep an eye on is Chris Rusin. He pitched a scoreless 7th inning in an 8-2 win on Tuesday and has now allowed just one run in his last 11 appearances, striking out 15 and walking just two in that span. The lefty is versatile enough to also serve as a long reliever when necessary, but if he continues to pitch well, don’t be surprised to see him pick up some more high-leverage work.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Ottavino | Dunn.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Jose Ramirez — Jim Johnson and Arodys Vizcaino have both pitched in two straight, three of the last four, and four of the last five. Ramirez got last night off and will be the freshest option on Wednesday.
2. Nick Wittgren/Brad Ziegler — Both A.J. Ramos and Kyle Barraclough tossed 34 pitches on Tuesday, and David Phelps is away on bereavement leave.

Thursday:
1. Andrew Miller/Bryan Shaw — Cody Allen needed 23 pitches to earn a save Tuesday. He may get Thursday off, with Andrew Miller (25 pitches) also potentially in line for a night off if he pitches again on Wednesday.
2. Felipe Rivero/Juan Nicasio — If Tony Watson gets the ball on Wednesday, that will be his fourth appearance in five games. If Rivero also pitches today, he’d have gone in three of the last four.
3. Trevor Rosenthal — Seung Hwan Oh needed 24 pitches on Tuesday and may be in line for a night off Thursday if he has another strenuous outing.

2017 NL East Preview

March 1, 2017

Atlanta Braves — After a comically horrific start to the 2015 season, Jim Johnson returned to the Braves, where he’s quietly spent the past season and a half regaining his form. His strikeout rate climbed back over the magical one-per-inning mark in 2016, and he ended the year with 20 saves after Arodys Vizcaino went down with an injury. That performance has earned J.J. first dibs on closing this season, as Braves skipper Brian Snitker recently said he didn’t know why Johnson wouldn’t close to start the season. Vizcaino and fireballer Mauricio Cabrera could push him, so he’s not in the most secure of spots, but you could do worse.

Starting 2017 hierarchy: Johnson | Vizcaino | Cabrera.
Holds candidates: Vizcaino, Cabrera, Ian Krol.

Miami Marlins — The Marlins bulked up their bullpen in the offseason, adding a few relievers with closing experience in Brad Ziegler and Junichi Tazawa. Ziegler, who was given a 2-year, $16 million contract, will likely set up for closer A.J. Ramos, while Tazawa will compete for holds alongside last year’s holdovers, David Phelps and Kyle Barraclough.

Starting 2017 hierarchy: Ramos | Ziegler | Phelps.
Holds candidates: Ziegler, Phelps, Barraclough, Tazawa.

New York Mets — The Mets are preparing to start the season without Jeurys Familia, who is awaiting a likely suspension from MLB due to a domestic violence incident in the offseason. (Charges were dropped, but Jose Reyes got a 51-game suspension from MLB despite charges being dropped in his case.) Addison Reed will close in Familia’s absence, with Fernando Salas picking up the eighth inning. Our guess is that Familia misses about 30 games, but until MLB makes an official decision, we’ll leave him at the top of the hierarchy.

Starting 2017 hierarchy: Familia | Reed | Salas.
Holds candidates: Salas, Hansel Robles, Jerry Blevins.

Philadelphia Phillies — Jeanmar Gomez wouldn’t be our choice to close in Philadelphia, but he’ll start the season as the ninth inning guy in Pete Mackanin’s bullpen. There’s a chance he’ll be fine, of course — he saved 37 games last year and was quite good for much of the season despite paltry strikeout totals. But he faltered down the stretch, and then the Phillies couldn’t find a taker for him in the offseason, and there’s probably a good reason for that. We expect Hector Neris, who struck out 102 batters last year and spent the winter adding a third pitch, or maybe even the recently-signed Joaquin Benoit, to take the job at some point during the year.

Starting 2017 hierarchy: Gomez | Neris | Benoit.
Holds candidates: Neris, Benoit, Edubray Ramos, Pat Neshek.

Washington Nationals — The Nationals head into 2017 with World Series hopes, but no proven closer in the back of their bullpen. Dusty Baker doesn’t seem too worried about it, with early indications pointing towards Shawn Kelley and Blake Treinen as the most likely candidates. A late-spring trade remains a possibility for the reigning NL East champions, and another outside possibility is Joe Nathan, who has Baker intrigued despite averaging only 91 mph on his fastball last year. The 42-year-old will have to make the roster first, though. For now, we’ll give Kelley the slight edge.

Starting 2017 hierarchy: *Kelley | Treinen | Nathan.
* = closer-by-committee
Holds candidates: Nathan, Koda Glover, Sammy Solis, Oliver Perez.

Ryan Dull might get a few chances down the stretch

September 19, 2016

New York Mets – Jeurys Familia and Addison Reed were both given the afternoon off on Sunday, so the Mets mixed-and-matched their way through the late innings, culminating in the second save of the season for Jerry Blevins. But even though both those saves have come in the last week, Blevins remains largely a LOOGY, and it’s unlikely he’d get the first crack at closing if Familia and Reed both went down suddenly.

Hierarchy remains: Familia | Reed | Salas.

Baltimore Orioles – Darren O’Day returned to the Orioles bullpen yesterday, surrendering a solo home run in an inning of work. He’ll need to get up to speed quickly if he’s going to be a source for holds in the season’s final two weeks, but he’s been such a reliable guy in recent years that we’re not discounting the possibility.

Hierarchy remains: Britton | Brach | Givens. 

Oakland A’s – Due to recent struggles against the Texas lineup, Ryan Madson was given Sunday off, and Ryan Dull got the save in his place. After a subpar August, Dull appears to have found his form again, and with the A’s out of the race, he could get another look or two down the stretch.

Updated hierarchy: Madson | Dull | Doolittle.

Boston Red Sox – After pitching back to back games, Craig Kimbrel was given Sunday off, and Koji Uehara got the save in his place. Uehara remains Kimbrel’s handcuff for the stretch run.

Hierarchy remains: Kimbrel | Uehara | Ziegler. 

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Kevin Siegrist, St. Louis Cardinals – Seung Hwan Oh has pitched three innings over the past two days.
2. Dealer’s choice, San Francisco Giants – Hey, Matt Cain pitched the 9th last night. Maybe he’s an option.