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.

Cody Allen going on paternity leave; look out for Phil Maton in San Diego

June 22, 2017

Cleveland Indians — The vaunted Allen-for-Miller role swap is on hold, it seems. When Carlos Carrasco loaded the bases up three in the seventh, Terry Francona went right back to his 6’7″ security blanket, who pulled a Houdini, then pitched a scoreless eighth for good measure. After Bryan Shaw earned the eventual one-out save, word came that Allen’s wife was having a baby. No truth to the rumor that Miller’s wife handled the first 12 hours of labor.

Hierarchy remains: *Allen | Miller | Shaw.
* = closer-by-committee

Los Angeles Angels — Huston Street returns from the disabled list today and we think he’ll be given the chance to reclaim the closer role.

Updated hierarchy: *Street | Hernandez | Bedrosian.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Yankees — Tyler Clippard has had two straight abysmal outings and is likely to get a bit of a breather from high-leverage use. Swingman Chad Green pitched a tight sixth and seventh Wednesday night and should get the chance to make the role his own.

Updated hierarchy: Chapman | Betances | Green.

San Diego Padres — It was rookie Phil Maton in the seventh for the Padres on Wednesday night. San Diego trusts him already and, if Brad Hand and/or Brandon Maurer head elsewhere before the trade deadline, Maton could inherit an even more important role.

Updated hierarchy: Maurer | Hand | Maton.

Tampa Bay Rays — Chase Whitley escaped a bases-loaded jam up five in the eighth and stayed on for the ninth inning to pick up a five-out save. Meanwhile, Brad Boxberger had a final rehab outing to forget, walking twice as many batters as he retired.

Hierarchy remains: Colome | Farquhar | Diaz.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Nick Vincent/James Pazos — Edwin Diaz has pitched in the last four games. Vincent has been used in three of those.
2. David Phelps — A.J. Ramos has gone in two of three and three of five.
3. Bryan Shaw — Cody Allen could miss a few games on paternity leave.
4. Pat Neshek — Not only has Hector Neris been terrible, he’s pitched in three out of four games.

Friday:
1. Ryan Tepera — Roberto Osuna hasn’t thrown a lot of pitches, but he’s appeared in three of four games.
2. Koji Uehara/C.J. Edwards — Wade Davis has pitched in two of three.
3. Andrew Miller — See above.
4. Trevor Rosenthal — Seung Hwan Oh has gone in two straight.
5. Taylor Rogers — So has Brandon Kintzler.

Cam Bedrosian is back; four bullpen losses in a row for the Yankees

June 17, 2017

Los Angeles Angels — Cam Bedrosian comes back from the DL today; although he’ll work in the late innings, he’s not likely to go back to the closer’s role immediately. Bud Norris has been solid while Bedrosian and Huston Street have missed time. Any opportunity for Bedrosian would be short-lived anyway, as Street is on track to return as early as Tuesday. Our read is that Street will assume the closer’s role when he is ready, but will have a short leash as long as Bedrosian and Norris pitch well. In shallow leagues, this might be your last chance to grab either of the two DL activations.

Updated hierarchy: Norris | Bedrosian | Hernandez.

Pittsburgh Pirates — Felipe Rivero pitched a clean eighth inning with a one-run lead, facing the lefty-heavy top of the Cubs lineup. This gave Juan Nicasio his first chance to close — but Nicasio imploded (with a little help from former closer Tony Watson), allowing four runs without recording an out. Rivero was close to kicking the asterisk even before last night, so now that his main competition has fallen apart, he should have the job free and clear.

Updated hierarchy: Rivero | Nicasio | Hudson.

New York Yankees — Adding to the Yankees’ sudden bullpen woes, Adam Warren went on the 10-day DL with tightness near his shoulder. Last night’s loss — courtesy of Chasen Shreve and Jonathan Holder — was the fourth straight caused by relief ineptitude. Help is on the way, though, with Aroldis Chapman — throwing 102 with questionable control in rehab at Trenton — set to be activated Sunday.

Updated hierarchy: Betances | Clippard | Shreve.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Adam Ottavino/Jake McGee — Greg Holland has pitched in three straight games, and Ottavino has gone in three out of four.
2. Sean Doolittle — Santiago Casilla has gone in two in a row (48 pitches).
3. Pedro Baez — Kenley Jansen hasn’t thrown a lot of pitches, but has pitched in three of four.
4. Carlos Torres — Both Corey Knebel and Jacob Barnes have appeared in three of four games.

Sunday:
1. Archie Bradley — Fernando Rodney has pitched in three of four.
2. Koji Uehara — Wade Davis threw 31 pitches on Friday.
3. Joakim Soria — If Kelvin Herrera pitches today, it’ll be three in the last four.

Juan Nicasio well-positioned in Pittsburgh; Adam Ottavino returns for the Rockies

June 10, 2017

Pittsburgh Pirates — Hours after officially losing his job, Tony Watson was back in the ninth inning for the Pirates. Granted, they were down five at the time, but he did pitch a clean inning. Clint Hurdle said that he’ll use a committee for saves going forward, but we give Juan Nicasio the edge, since Hurdle seems to view Felipe Rivero in more of an Andrew Miller role. As we noted at the beginning of the year, Hurdle has a tendency to stick with the roles he has laid out for his relievers longer than he should (see: Watson, Tony), so the next few save opportunities could be vital in determining who will get the bulk of the chances going forward.

Updated hierarchy : *Nicasio | Rivero | Hudson.
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies — Adam Ottavino was activated from the DL and immediately saw action in the eighth inning ahead of Greg Holland. Ottavino looked healthy, pitching a perfect inning with 2 Ks and picking up his 16th hold of the season. A healthy Ottavino is the best option behind Holland for the Rockies, moving Jake McGee back to second in line.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Ottavino | McGee.

Chicago Cubs — C.J. Edwards struck out the side (and allowed a run) in the seventh, while Koji Uehara again got the eighth inning ahead of Wade Davis. Both are reliable options, but the more experienced Uehara appears to be the backup to Wade Davis.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Uehara | Edwards.

St. Louis Cardinals — As pointed out to us last night by an enthusiastic Cardinals fan (15 exclamation points!!) suspiciously named Matt, Kevin Siegrist has indeed been eclipsed in the Cardinals bullpen by Matt Bowman, who struck out the side in the seventh last night for his 12th hold. Did Bowman himself take the time to harangue us with four postgame paragraphs about our “glaring mistake”? Does he have the tech savvy to spoof a Chicago IP address from the Cardinals’ locker room? Let’s just go with probably yes.

Updated hierarchy: Oh | Rosenthal | Bowman.

Baltimore Orioles — Darren O’Day has been placed on the DL with a right shoulder strain, marking the second time in a month that he’s been shut down. In Zach Britton’s absence, Brad Brach has settled into the closer’s role, putting up seven straight scoreless appearances, and Mychal Givens has been excellent as well. Behind those two, however, lie several question marks. Lefty Donnie Hart was sent to the minors, leaving the seventh inning to the likes of Edwin Jackson, Mike Wright, and lefty Richard Bleier. Jackson may end up in long relief, and Bleier is the only lefty remaining in the pen, so we’ll tab Wright for now.

Updated hierarchy: Brach | Givens | Wright.

Seattle Mariners — Edwin Diaz has fully re-established himself as the Seattle closer and has no further need of the committee asterisk.

Updated hierarchy: Diaz | Vincent | Pazos.

Los Angeles Dodgers — In his first relief appearance since he was a 20-year-old Hiroshima Carp, Kenta Maeda picked up his first career save, pitching the last four innings of a five-run game. Maeda was excellent, striking out six and giving up a solo home run. Maeda hopes to be back in the rotation soon and, with performances like last night, he may get his wish.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Baez | Fields.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Arodys Vizcaino — Jim Johnson has gone in two straight and the Braves have a doubleheader today.
2. Jake McGee — Greg Holland has gone in two straight (42 pitches) and Adam Ottavino might not be ready to go back-to-back.

Sunday:
1. Adam Ottavino — If Holland does pitch again on Saturday, Ottavino could spell him on Sunday.
2. Keone Kela — Matt Bush has gone in three of four (with only seven pitches yesterday).
3. Jacob Barnes/Carlos Torres — The Brewers have used their top relievers heavily, so anyone who goes today will probably be off Sunday.
4. Andrew Miller/Bryan Shaw — If Cody Allen pitches on Saturday, he’ll need Sunday off (three of four). Andrew Miller threw 30 pitches on Friday.
5. Brad Hand — Brandon Maurer has gone in two straight.
6. Trevor Rosenthal — So has Seung Hwan Oh.

Wade Davis resurrects “Who’s your daddy?” chants in Chicago hospital (presumably)

June 6, 2017

Chicago Cubs – Wade Davis was placed on the paternity list yesterday, so the Cubs turned to Mike Montgomery in the sixth inning, riding his cutters and change-ups the rest of the way. This was no three-inning-save-in-a-blowout, as the Cubs won the game 3-1, but Montgomery’s usage is more indicative of the Cubs’ trust in him as a long man and potential spot starter, rather than an indication that he’s going to get more late inning action.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Edwards | Uehara.

Washington Nationals – Koda Glover got the night off in the wake of his terrible outing on Sunday, and Oliver Perez became the sixth Nat to record a save this season through just 56 games. Matt Albers started the 9th and got the first two outs before giving way to Perez; Shawn Kelley was warming in case he was needed. Glover should return to the role tonight.

Hierarchy remains: Glover | Kelley | Albers.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. CJ Edwards/Koji Uehara – Wade Davis is on the paternity list.

Tomorrow
1. Michael Lorenzen – If Raisel Iglesias goes today, it’ll be back to back games and four of five.
2. CJ Edwards/Koji Uehara – Wade Davis is on the paternity list, though early indications are that he will return by Wednesday, so this may not be relevant. Monitor reports tonight for more info.