Brad Hand, Anthony Swarzak, Luis Garcia all being showcased

July 24, 2017

Texas Rangers – Alex Claudio got the night off, but with Keone Kela still apparently not pitching in back-to-back games yet, it was Jose Leclerc who got the save chance for the Rangers. He converted, and the recently-shaky Rangers bullpen is rounding back into form, with even their fourth and fifth options pitching well of late.

Hierarchy remains: Claudio | Kela | Leclerc. 

Philadelphia Phillies – The Phillies took their usual approach to the 7th and 8th innings on Sunday (Pat Neshek, then Joaquin Benoit), but instead of using Hector Neris for the third straight day, they summoned Luis Garcia for the ninth inning. Against all odds, Garcia has been nails lately, and the Phillies might have been showcasing him to see if they could get someone to trade a prospect for a 30-year-old reliever who has never even been decent before the last month or so. Anyway, we’ll bump Garcia up to 2nd in line with the understanding that if Neris needs a game off in the future, any of three relievers could vulture a save.

Updated hierarchy: Neris | Neshek | Garcia. 

Chicago White Sox – Dating back to July 12, when his ERA was 1.73, Tyler Clippard has given up 16 earned runs in 10.2 innings. He didn’t add to that total yesterday, as he only faced one batter and allowed a walkoff base hit, but that now makes two bad appearances for his new team. If the White Sox succeed in trading Anthony Swarzak, we don’t know what’s going to become of the closer position, but lefty Dan Jennings might be worth an add if you have the roster space.

Hierarchy remains: Clippard | Swarzak | Jennings.

San Diego Padres – In what was likely an attempt to showcase him as they continue to field offers, the Padres gave Brad Hand the ninth inning last night, and the lefty responded with a perfect inning. The Padres are still holding firm on their high asking price for Hand, but regardless of what happens, we continue to think that the best reliever on the market is unlikely to see a big shift in value if he’s dealt. He’s a setup man now, and that’s what he’ll probably be come July 31, as well.

Hierarchy remains: Maurer | Hand | Maton.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Michael Lorenzen – Raisel Iglesias threw two innings last night, his second straight day of work.

Tomorrow
1. Brad Brach – If Zach Britton goes tonight, it’ll be back to back games, and we’re guessing he won’t go three straight just yet.
2. CJ Edwards – If Wade Davis goes today, it’ll be three straight.

With the Nats still shopping, Ryan Madson isn’t closing just yet

July 18, 2017

Washington Nationals – In case you didn’t see our updated post from yesterday, we jumped the gun a bit on Ryan Madson, though we still think he’s the most likely candidate to grab hold of the 9th inning. However, the Nationals are still apparently looking for additional bullpen help, so Madson’s spot as the top dog in the committee could be short-lived. In other news, Koda Glover was moved to the 60-day DL, meaning he can’t pitch again until Aug. 9 at the earliest. Also, the Nationals won by 5 last night, using Matt Grace for the 9th inning, so despite his consecutive saves this weekend, he’s still probably below at least three other players in the committee.

Hierarchy remains: *Madson | Doolittle | Albers.
* = closer-by-committee

Baltimore Orioles – With Zach Britton still working his way back from injury, Brad Brach got another save last night. Our guess is this was Brach’s last opportunity for now, though he could quickly regain the job if Britton gets dealt.

Hierarchy remains: Britton | Brach | O’Day.

St. Louis Cardinals – Undaunted by Brett Cecil’s blown save on Sunday, the Cardinals sent him back out for the 9th inning again on Monday. This time, the lefty converted. Look for him to continue to get opportunities when the matchups make sense.

Updated hierarchy: *Rosenthal | Cecil | Oh.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Chris Devenski/Luke Gregerson – Ken Giles has gone back to back and three of four; so has Chris Devenski, though his pitch count has been lower.
2. Tony Zych/James Pazos – Edwin Diaz and Nick Vincent have both pitched in FOUR straight. Steve Cishek has gone in three straight. It’ll be matchup roulette in the 9th inning tonight.

Tomorrow
1. Koji Uehara – Wade Davis threw 28 pitches last night; another extended outing today and he could get Wednesday off.
2. Michael Lorenzen – If Raisel Iglesias goes today, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
3. Chris Devenski/Luke Gregerson – See above. If Giles goes today, he’ll definitely be out tomorrow.
4. Pat Neshek/Joaquin Benoit – If Hector Neris goes today, it’ll be three straight.
5. Ryan Tepera/Danny Barnes – If Roberto Osuna goes tonight, it’ll be three straight.

Bud Norris, Hector Neris win their jobs back just before the break

July 10, 2017

Milwaukee Brewers – Jared Hughes picked up his second 7th inning hold in as many days on Sunday and has pitched his way on to the Milwaukee hierarchy. The former Pirate has a significantly better ERA and WHIP than Carlos Torres (2.92/1.19 vs 4.37/1.54), who may be wearing down after pitching in the 2nd most games of any reliever in the first half.

Updated hierarchy: Knebel | Barnes | Hughes.

Philadelphia Phillies – The Phillies almost never win, which makes it a little harder to say this for certain, but it appears that Hector Neris has reclaimed the 9th inning. That’s where he pitched yesterday — following Pat Neshek and Joaquin Benoit, who got the 7th and 8th, respectively — and the young righty seems to have rediscovered his control and his splitter, posting relatively good numbers over his past six apperances (3.00 ERA, 8 Ks vs 1 BB). We’ll remove his asterisk as we head into the second half.

Updated hierarchy: Neris | Neshek | Benoit.

Los Angeles Angels – Bud Norris picked up his second save since returning from the DL on Sunday, tossing a perfect inning. Mike Scioscia seems to have every intention of using him as his exclusive closer after a few weeks of uncertainty, so we’ll remove his asterisk as well. Also, Cam Bedrosian got the 8th inning yesterday, the second straight time he’s pitched just ahead of Norris. He moves up to the primary set-up role.

Updated hierarchy: Norris | Bedrosian | Hernandez.

All of a sudden, we have a committee in Cleveland

June 19, 2017

Cleveland Indians – After Andrew Miller got the save in yesterday afternoon’s 5-2 victory, Terry Francona said that Allen and Miller would be temporarily trading roles. Apparently, this was Allen’s idea, and Francona was on board because, as the league’s thought leader in progressive bullpen usage, he’s fully aware that Miller usually enters in a higher stress spot than Allen, even though the latter is the one racking up the saves. Since this move appears temporary, we’ll keep Allen in the closer role for now with the understanding that he might not reclaim his job for a while.

Updated hierarchy: *Allen | Miller | Shaw.
* = closer-by-committee

Philadelphia Phillies – Hector Neris blew another save yesterday, leading to an eventual Phillies loss, and now has just three saves in the past 46 games, and might not get the next save chance. But given recent usage, and the notion that Pat Neshek actually prefers a set-up role, suggested here, it might be Joaquin Benoit that gets the next opportunity. If you’re the type of person who values a save chance every two weeks, then this is a situation to watch closely.

Hierarchy remains: *Neris | Neshek | Benoit.
* = closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s – A day after being hit with a foul ball, Santiago Casilla got the afternoon off, and Sean Doolittle picked up his third save of the season. Score one for the Vulture Save Watch, and know that all signs still point to Casilla being fine going forward.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Doolittle | Madson.

Washington Nationals – The Nationals beleaguered bullpen took another hit on Sunday, with Shawn Kelley going on the DL. Then again, with Kelley and several other Washington relievers performing below replacement level, maybe this won’t actually hurt them very much.

Updated hierarchy: *Romero | Albers | Turner.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Yankees – Aroldis Chapman returned from the DL on Sunday and pitched a scoreless inning. Despite Dellin Betances’s dominance, the Yankees bullpen suddenly really needed him back, as it’ll allow Joe Girardi to move the big righty back to the 8th, and revert to using Tyler Clippard and Chasen Shreve in earlier spots.

Updated hierarchy: Chapman | Betances | Clippard.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Arodys Vizcaino – Jim Johnson has gone back to back games, and has yet to pitch in three straight this year.

Tomorrow
1. Jerry Blevins – If Addison Reed goes today, it’ll be three straight.
2. Mychal Givens – If Brad Brach goes today, it’ll be three straight.
3. Pedro Baez – If Kenley Jansen goes today, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
4. Andrew Miller/Bryan Shaw – If Cody Allen or Andrew Miller go today, it’ll be three straight; monitor usage tonight to see who’s available tomorrow.
5. Arodys Vizcaino – See above. If Johnson DOES pitch tonight, he’ll definitely be off tomorrow.

Matt Albers blows his first post-Glover chance

June 13, 2017

Washington Nationals – With Koda Glover sidelined, Matt Albers got the last out of the 8th inning and then stuck around to try and close the door in the 9th. But he walked two of the first three hitters he faced, and then allowed a three-run dinger to Tyler Flowers. After the game, Baker called Albers “our most dependable guy” and mentioned that basically everyone who pitched on Monday gave up a home run, so they might just run Albers right back out for another save chance tomorrow. They could also look to mix and match with Shawn Kelley and Enny Romero/Oliver Perez, and with no one in the clear driver’s seat, we’ll slap the committee tag on and monitor usage going forward.

Hierarchy remains: *Albers | Kelley | Romero.
* = closer-by-committee

Philadelphia Phillies – A week ago, Pat Neshek bailed out Hector Neris and picked up his first save of the season. With Pete Mackanin saying that Neris needed to work out his splitter and the Phillies looking to showcase Neshek as trade bait, we figured that the veteran would get a few more chances in the 9th inning going forward. The Phillies haven’t had a save opportunity since then, but Neshek has pitched twice, both in the seventh inning. Neris pitched after him on Sunday, and then was ostensibly going to be the 9th inning guy last night, but Joaquin Benoit blew the save. At the very least, Neris seems to have climbed back into the committee lead for the time being.

Updated hierarchy: *Neris | Neshek | Benoit.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Shawn Kelley – Even if Matt Albers is still in the driver’s seat, he could get the day off after struggling Monday.

Tomorrow
1. David Hernandez – If Bud Norris goes today, it’ll be three straight.