Yes, Bud Norris is still the Angels’ closer

August 9, 2017

Los Angeles Angels — Keynan Middleton overcame a solo home run to pick up his first career save. Bud Norris hadn’t pitched since Sunday, but after Tuesday’s win Mike Scioscia said that he wanted to give Norris and Blake Parker a night off because they’ve pitched so much. Norris has struggled lately, but it looks as though his job is safe for now. Scioscia was quick to praise Middleton as well, saying that his stuff is “electric.” If the Angels do go back to a committee at some point, expect Middleton to be an important part of it.

Updated hierarchy: Norris | Parker | Middleton.

Texas Rangers – Keone Kela is back on the DL for the second time in five weeks thanks to shoulder soreness. Jeff Banister said that if Kela does return this season, it most likely won’t be as the team’s closer. Banister also said that he wants flexibility with when and where he deploys Alex Claudio, so expect him to continue pitching in a variety of situations.

Updated hierarchy: *Claudio | Leclerc | Bush.
* = closer-by-committee

Pittsburgh Pirates – The Pirates picked up George Kontos off waivers from the Giants, and Clint Hurdle plans on using Kontos in many different situations. So far, he’s earned two holds in two tries for Pittsburgh, retiring all six hitters he’s faced on just 16 total pitches. And just like that, Joaquin Benoit is off another hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Rivero | Nicasio | Kontos.

Seattle Mariners – David Phelps was placed on the DL Tuesday morning and is expected to miss 2-3 weeks with an elbow impingement.

Hierarchy remains: Diaz | Vincent | Zych.

Colorado Rockies — Jake McGee is no longer on the DL, but he has still yet to pitch since July 25. It was a bit curious that McGee wasn’t summoned at all in a 1-0 game last night, especially when the Rockies twice played the matchups against left-handed hitters, but perhaps Bud Black is hoping to ease McGee back into the late innings.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Neshek | McGee.

Chicago Cubs — Koji Uehara left Tuesday’s game with a stiff neck. The injury is not considered serious, and Uehara is targeting a Friday return. In the meantime, expect C.J. Edwards to see any seventh-inning opportunities should the Cubs have a lead.

Updated hierarchy: Davis | Wilson | Edwards.

Cleveland Indians – Andrew Miller is eligible to activated from the 10-day DL on Aug. 12, but he may need a little longer to recover from knee tendonitis. Once activated, Terry Francona expects to use him right away. We’ll see if that activation happens this weekend or early next week.

Hierarchy remains: Allen | Smith | Shaw.

Philadelphia Phillies – While Jesen Therrien may still get a look down the stretch of a lost season, the last couple days suggest that Edubray Ramos will be the most likely seventh-inning option in Philadelphia when the Phillies have a lead. Hoby Milner is one of just two lefties in the Phillies’ bullpen, and he earned an eighth-inning hold on Tuesday against a lefty-heavy Braves lineup. Expect Milner to also get some more late-inning chances as matchups dictate.

Updated hierarchy: Neris | Garcia | Ramos. 

Minnesota Twins – The Vulture Save Watch predicted a night off for Matt Belisle, but it somehow missed out on foreseeing Dillon Gee tossing four scoreless innings to close out an 11-4 win and earn his first career save. Can’t win ’em all!

Hierarchy remains: *Belisle | Rogers | Hildenberger.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Pat Neshek – Greg Holland threw 31 pitches en route to a blown save Tuesday. The Rockies are off Thursday, but Holland may still get Wednesday off.

Tomorrow
1. Junichi Tazawa – If Brad Ziegler pitches today, it will be two straight and three of four.
2. Santiago Casilla – It will have been two straight and four of five for Blake Treinen if he pitches on Wednesday.
3. Luis Garcia – Same goes for Hector Neris.
4. Kirby Yates – And Brad Hand.
5. Ryan Tepera/Danny Barnes – And Roberto Osuna. Ryan Tepera threw 29 pitches Tuesday, so he may also get Thursday off if he has a heavy workload Wednesday.

Matt Belisle, proven closer

August 8, 2017

Pittsburgh Pirates – Felipe Rivero got a day of rest on Monday after throwing 41 pitches Sunday, which allowed Juan Nicasio to pick up his second save of the year. The Vulture Save Watch: 60 percent of the time, it works every time.

Hierarchy remains: Rivero | Nicasio | Benoit.

San Diego Padres – Following an extended series of injuries, Carter Capps finally returned to the big leagues. Armed with the same somehow-legal delivery but significantly less velocity than before, Capps walked two hitters and gave up three earned runs, meaning his ERA starts out at 40.50. We’ll wait for him to get a few solid outings under his belt before we put him on the hierarchy, but if he can recapture his old form, watch out. Last time he was in the bigs — in 2015 — Capps struck out 58 hitters in 31 innings while posting a 1.16 ERA and 0.81 WHIP.

Hierarchy remains: Hand | Yates | Maton.

Minnesota Twins – Matt Belisle got his second save in as many days, and now needs just 258 more to catch Joe Nathan for the all-time team record. Belisle maintains his spot at the top of the committee, but if the Twins take a lead to the ninth tonight, don’t expect to see the 37-year-old again, as the Twins don’t even like to use him for TWO straight if he has an extended outing.

Hierarchy remains: *Belisle | Rogers | Hildenberger.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Taylor Rogers/Trevor Hildenberger – As mentioned above, committee leader Matt Belisle should get a day off today.

Tomorrow
1. Brandon Kintzler – If Sean Doolittle goes today, it’ll be three straight.

Rangers bullpen roles still as clear as mud

August 7, 2017

Minnesota Twins – Protecting a one run lead, the Twins went with Trevor Hildenberger in the 6th and 7th, Taylor Rogers in the 8th, and Matt Belisle in the 9th. While Matty did a nice job, the Twins are still in committee mode for now, so we’ll leave our hierarchy right where it was.

Hierarchy remains: *Belisle | Rogers | Hildenberger.
* = closer-by-committee

Texas Rangers – Alex Claudio entered the game in the seventh inning with the Rangers down by 1 run, and threw two scoreless innings. The maybe-leader of the Texas committee hadn’t pitched either of the previous two games, and the Rangers have an offday on Monday, but this was another odd spot for Claudio if he’s supposed to be the guy they’re looking to for saves. We aren’t changing the hierarchy again, but we consider Claudio and Jose Leclerc to be complete equals at this point.

Hierarchy remains: *Claudio | Leclerc | Kela.
* = closer-by-committee

Seattle Mariners – David Phelps retired the first man he faced in the 7th inning on Sunday, but then signaled to the dugout and was removed from the game. He’s headed back to Seattle for an exam, and until he’s back in action, Tony Zych could get a few more holds.

Updated hierarchy: Diaz | Vincent | Zych.

Oakland A’s – Blake Treinen picked up his second save with the A’s on Sunday, pitching a clean 9th for the second day in a row. Both weekend outings came after Santiago Casilla got the 8th, but we’ll leave the committee tag on for another few days. On Friday, he was summoned in the 7th inning, in what was clearly a “we need to use our best guy NOW” spot for Bob Melvin, so while Treinen is clearly the stopper for his new team, he might be moved around from time to time.

Hierarchy remains: *Treinen | Casilla | Dull.
* = closer-by-committee

San Francisco Giants – Albert Suarez pitched the final 2.1 innings for the Giants on Sunday, earning his first career save. Bruce Bochy was trying to give Sam Dyson and Hunter Strickland the day off — though he would’ve brought Dyson in if he had to — but Suarez kept mowing down Arizona hitters, so the swingman got the chance to finish the game.

Updated hierarchy: Dyson | Strickland | Suarez.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Kirby Yates – Brad Hand has pitched 2.2 innings over the past two days.
2. Juan Nicasio – Felipe Rivero threw 41 pitches last night.

Tomorrow
1. Kirby Yates – See above. If Hand goes today, it’ll be three straight.
2. Junichi Tazawa – If Brad Ziegler goes today, it’ll be two straight; he just came off the DL and might not be able to pitch three in a row yet.

Matt Belisle would have had the first post-Kintzler Twins save chance

August 3, 2017

[EDITOR’S NOTE: Our Donation Drive continues through this week. As always, we are extremely grateful for your support!]

Minnesota Twins — Some — including a Twins beat writer on Twitter! — scoffed when we predicted Matt Belisle would be best-positioned in the Twins bullpen if Brandon Kintzler was traded. But Wednesday night found Belisle warming in the ninth, ready to close if Ervin Santana had been unable to finish his complete game. Before the game, Paul Molitor said that lefty Taylor Rogers could also get a shot to close, depending on matchups, with Trevor Hildenberger waiting in the wings, especially in the event that Belisle is traded.

Updated hierarchy: *Belisle | Rogers | Hildenberger.
* = closer-by-committee

Baltimore Orioles — It’s been a month since Mychal Givens allowed a run: last night’s eighth-inning hold was his 12th straight scoreless appearance (12.1 IP, 18 K, 0.49 WHIP). Executive VP Dan Duquette recently called Givens “a closer on the horizon,” and we see him with the advantage over veteran Darren O’Day going forward.

Updated hierarchy: Britton | Brach | Givens.

Cleveland Indians — New acquisition Joe Smith has been thrown right into the high-leverage fire and could get some significant eighth-inning play now that Andrew Miller is on the DL with patellar tendonitis. Smith has seen huge increases in his K/9 rate and swinging strike percentage this season, and he returns the Indians to a fully anagrammable hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Clone Lady | Josh Time | Ashy Brawn.

Atlanta Braves — As expected, Arodys Vizcaino got the first save opportunity in the alleged Braves closer committee. We’re not convinced anyone else will actually get a chance — outside a day of rest or an unusual lefty matchup — but we’ll keep the asterisk at least one more day.

Hierarchy remains: *Vizcaino | Johnson | Brothers.
* = closer-by-committee

San Francisco Giants — Mark Melancon pitched a scoreless inning in a rehab appearance on Wednesday; he’ll need at least one more before he returns to the closer role for the big club.

Hierarchy remains: Dyson | Strickland | Kontos.

Colorado Rockies — Greg Holland cut his index finger in a kitchen mishap on Tuesday and is day-to-day.

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Neshek | Dunn.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Michael Lorenzen — Raisel Iglesias threw 42 pitches while securing a two-inning save.
2. Tommy Hunter —  Alex Colome has pitched in two straight and three of four (50 pitches).
3. Pat Neshek — Holland may not be able to pitch yet with his injured finger.

Friday:
1. Alex Wilson — Shane Greene has gone in two straight; Wilson has gone in three, so he’ll probably get Thursday off. Joe Jimenez is another option as Brad Ausmus holds open tryouts for setup relievers.

Amidst trade deadline chaos, Blake Treinen quietly taking over in Oakland

August 1, 2017

[EDITOR’S NOTE: We’re running our Donation Drive this week. As always, we are extremely grateful for your support!]

Oakland A’s – Blake Treinen picked up his first Oakland save last night, putting him firmly at the front of the team’s closer-by-committee. He’s allowed only one earned run and seven total baserunners (4 H, 3 BB) in 9.1 IP since joining the team, and is clearly the best reliever in the bullpen right now. If he converts his next opportunity, that might be enough for us to shed him of his asterisk.

Hierarchy remains: *Treinen | Casilla | Dull.
* = closer-by-committee

Texas Rangers – We thought Alex Claudio had seized control of the closer role in Texas, but last night he was summoned in a tie game in the 7th inning, which isn’t exactly the place you’d use your full-time closer. Claudio ended up pitching 2.2 innings and taking the loss after a balk-filled 9th. We’re slapping the committee tag back on here and will watch to see how Texas proceeds the next few days.

Updated hierarchy: *Claudio | Kela | Leclerc.

Cleveland Indians – Joe Smith is returning to the place where he enjoyed five years of success, as Cleveland reacquired him late Monday afternoon. Smith joins Bryan Shaw behind Cody Allen and Andrew Miller, giving the Indians an enviable group of late game relievers for their stretch run.

Hierarchy remains: Allen | Miller | Shaw.

Toronto Blue Jays – With Joe Smith gone, Roberto Osuna’s new handcuff is Ryan Tepera. Look for Joe Biagini to get a few more chances in the late innings as well.

Updated hierarchy: Osuna | Tepera | Biagini.

Los Angeles Dodgers – The Dodgers picked up Tony Watson and Tony Cingrani at the deadline, giving them plenty of flexibility in the late innings. Watson is the more likely of the two to get late inning work, though we won’t bump Pedro Baez or Brandon Morrow out of their hierarchy positions yet.

Hierarchy remains: Jansen | Baez | Morrow.

Cincinnati Reds – With Tony Cingrani gone, Drew Storen returns to the Cincinnati hierarchy. Storen hasn’t been great lately (4.82 ERA in July), but the Reds aren’t exactly swimming in late-inning options right now.

Updated hierarchy: Iglesias | Lorenzen | Storen.

Pittsburgh Pirates – Despite moving on from Tony Watson, the Pirates weren’t selling by any stretch, as they also moved to acquire Joaquin Benoit from the Phillies. Benoit will take over Watson’s 7th inning role.

Updated hierarchy: Rivero | Nicasio | Benoit.

Philadelphia Phillies – With Joaquin Benoit gone, the Phillies don’t really have any major league caliber relievers left other than Hector Neris and Luis Garcia, so we’ll take our best guess and give Jesen Therrien the 7th inning job for now. The righty has only been in the bigs for a few days, but he had 9 saves in the minors.

Updated hierarchy: Neris | Garcia | Therrien. 

Arizona Diamondbacks – Longtime fan favorite David Hernandez returned to the Diamondbacks on Monday, where he will likely serve as a late-inning option along with Archie Bradley. Hernandez has enjoyed a fine year with the Angels to this point, sporting a 2.23 ERA over 38 appearances.

Updated hierarchy: Rodney | Bradley | Hernandez.

Los Angeles Angels – David Hernandez is now a Diamondback, meaning in the rare instances that the rebuilding Angels have a lead, they’ll probably look to Blake Parker more often.

Updated hierarchy: Norris | Bedrosian | Parker.

Milwaukee Brewers – In one of the more minor moves of the day, the Brewers reacquired Jeremy Jeffress prior to the trade deadline. Jeffress doesn’t figure to supplant Jacob Barnes as the primary set-up man, but he’ll join Anthony Swarzak in bridging the gap in the 6th and 7th innings.

Hierarchy remains: Knebel | Barnes | Swarzak.

Houston Astros – For a time, the Astros seemed like the leaders in the Zach Britton sweepstakes, but they ended up standing pat. They did, however, have to put Will Harris back on the DL before he’d even made an appearance in the big leagues, meaning we welcome Luke Gregerson back to the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Giles | Devenski | Gregerson.

Colorado Rockies – The Rockies already made their bullpen-bolstering move, adding Pat Neshek a few days ago, and as it turned out, the move couldn’t have come at a better time, as Jake McGee felt his back tighten up over the weekend and will need a short DL stint. Lefty Mike Dunn has settled in as of late (only 1 ER in 10 July appearances) and might get some matchup-based looks in the 7th and 8th in McGee’s absence.

Updated hierarchy: Holland | Neshek | Dunn.

Minnesota Twins – The Twins shipped Brandon Kintzler off, leaving the cupboard pretty bare when it comes to 9th inning options. The team hasn’t said much, and beat writers don’t have a good guess, so we’ll make split our bets on veteran Matt Belisle and 26-year-old righty Trevor Hildenberger. Belisle has been pitching the best as of late, with 13 straight scoreless outings, but durability is an issue, while Hildenberger had a strong outing Sunday and averages more than a strikeout per inning. Taylor Rogers seemed the best option as recently as a week ago, but he’s been hit around as of late (his last five appearances: 3 IP, 9 ER) and is probably in third place at the moment; however, if the Twins do employ a full committee, he could get the 9th when a lefty-heavy part of the lineup is due.

Updated hierarchy: *Belisle | Hildenberger | Rogers.
* = closer-by-committee

Washington Nationals – Brandon Kintzler adds to a cadre of veterans the Nationals have assembled over the last few weeks. Sean Doolittle has done a great job so far — nabbing another save last night before Kintzler got to town — but GM Mike Rizzo wouldn’t name a full-time closer after the trade. We think Doolittle keeps the job and Kintzler is first in line for chances if the lefty falters, but will leave the committee tag on until things are certain.

Updated hierarchy: *Doolittle | Kintzler | Madson.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Mets – Addison Reed  is headed to the Red Sox in exchange for three minor leaguers. AJ Ramos takes over as closer for the Mets, while Jerry Blevins and Paul Sewald continue to be the team’s main source of holds.

Updated hierarchy: Ramos | Blevins | Sewald.

Boston Red Sox – Addison Reed fills a big need for the Red Sox, who have struggled to bridge the gap to Craig Kimbrel on several occasions this year (including their last game). Reed still retains a good deal of value in Holds leagues, as he’s likely to rack up 8th inning chances in Boston.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Reed | Barnes.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Brad Brach – Zach Britton, who is still an Oriole, has gone three straight.
2. Brandon Kintzler – Sean Doolittle has gone in back to back games and has yet to pitch in three straight all season.
3. Jesen Therrien – Hector Neris and Luis Garcia have gone three straight. Buy us a coke if we actually get this one right.

Tomorrow
1. Brandon Kintzler – See above. If Doolittle does go today, he’ll be off tomorrow.
2. Santiago Casilla – If Blake Treinen gets a save today, we’ll probably give him the full time job, but it’ll be three straight appearances.