Giovanny Gallegos firmly in control of closer gig for Cardinals

September 10, 2021

St. Louis Cardinals – Giovanny Gallegos earned his sixth save Thursday, tossing a clean ninth with two strikeouts. He has the team’s last four saves overall and has booted the asterisk. 

Updated hierarchy: Gallegos | Cabrera | Reyes.

Oakland A’s – Sergio Romo pitched a spotless eighth inning Thursday to set up Andrew Chafin, who converted in the ninth for his third save of the season. Romo and Chafin figure to be the top two saves options moving forward, but one of them might not pull away with the gig. If you could only roster one, make it Chafin given how well he has performed (1.64 ERA, 0.81 WHIP).

Hierarchy remains: *Romo | Chafin | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland (5.79 ERA) was activated from the IL on Thursday, but we still need to see how he’s used before placing back into the hierarchy. Scott Barlow, Josh Staumont and Jake Brentz have pitched well in recent weeks. 

Hierarchy remains: Barlow | Staumont | Brentz.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Daniel Bard (COL) – Carlos Estevez has gone in two straight, throwing 45 pitches over that span.
2. Tyler Duffey (MIN) – Even with a day off on Thursday, Alex Colome has gone in four of six. 

Saturday:
1. Genesis Cabrera (STL) – A Friday outing would be three in a row for Giovanny Gallegos, who tossed 20 pitches combined Wednesday and Thursday.
2. Cole Sulser (BAL) – If he goes Friday, that would be four of six for Tyler Wells.
3. Richard Rodriguez (ATL) – A Friday appearance would be three of four for Will Smith.
4. Adam Cimber (TOR) – Same as above for Jordan Romano.
5. Andres Machado (WAS) – Kyle Finnegan could need rest if he pitches Friday – that would be his third time in five days.
6. Trevor May (NYM) – Same as above for Edwin Diaz.

Sergio Romo gathers second save for A’s

September 3, 2021

Oakland A’s – With Lou Trivino continuing to get a break from the closer’s role, Sergio Romo earned his second save of the season Thursday with a scoreless ninth. Andrew Chafin finished the seventh and pitched the eighth to make way for Romo. Trivino, meanwhile, has not pitched since Aug. 26. Manager Bob Melvin said he has been dealing with back spasms, but he was available and not used on Thursday. 

Hierarchy remains: *Romo | Chafin | Diekman.
* = closer-by-committee

Boston Red Sox — A middling starting pitcher for much of the year, Garrett Richards has been much better since moving to the bullpen (1 ER in 13.1 IP), and he’s seeing more high-leverage work lately. Richards threw three scoreless innings Thursday to earn his second save and cover innings for a relief corps depleted by COVID-19. We’ll continue to monitor his use moving forward.

Hierarchy remains: *Ottavino | Whitlock | Robles.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Mets — The Mets have claimed Brad Hand off waivers from the Blue Jays. We’ll have to see if he sees enough high-leverage work the next couple of weeks to enter this hierarchy, but the chances are slim given how he looked with Toronto.

Hierarchy remains: Diaz | May | Lugo.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Bryan Shaw (CLE) – Emmanuel Clase has pitched in two straight.
2. Austin Voth (WAS) – Andres Machado has gone in three of four, while Kyle Finnegan could still be on paternity leave.

Saturday:
1. Chris Stratton (PIT) – David Bednar threw 29 pitches over two innings Thursday and could need a break if he goes again Friday.
2. Trevor May (NYM) – A Friday appearance would be three of four for Edwin Diaz.
3. Devin Williams (MIL) – If he goes Friday, it would be four times in six days for Josh Hader.

Lou Trivino to get a break from closing

August 29, 2021

Oakland A’s – Sergio Romo worked around a two-run homer from Aaron Judge to preserve a 3-2 A’s win and pick up his first save of the season.  Manager Bob Melvin said he would give Lou Trivino a break from closing, but mentioned that he hoped to get Trivino back in the role.  We expect this to be a committee and we will move Romo to the top since he got the first save.  Jake Diekman and Andrew Chafin should also be options to close out games until Trivino can reclaim the closer’s role. 

Updated Hierarchy: *Romo | Diekman | Chafin.
*=closer by committee

Boston Red Sox — Adam Ottavino picked up his second straight save for the Red Sox.  Ottavino came on to record the last two outs of the bottom of the 10th inning and earn his 10th save of the season.  Garrett Whitlock picked up the win with a scoreless 9th inning of a tie game.  Ottavino and Whitlock will both be unavailable for the next two days so Hansel Robles could be an option for saves the next couple of days.

Hierarchy remains: *Ottavino | Whitlock | Robles.
* = closer-by-committee

Cleveland Indians – Cleveland sent struggling reliever James Karinchak to Triple-A.  Karinchak closed for a good portion of the season, but he has an 8.40 ERA since the All-Star break.  Brian Shaw will move to the set-up role and veterans Nick Wittgren and Blake Parker should see more time in the later innings.  We will give Parker the nod of the hierarchy based on his current seven appearance scoreless streak.

Updated hierarchy: Clase | Shaw | Parker.

Tampa Bay Rays — Andrew Kittredge pitched the final two innings of the Rays’ 4-3 victory to earn his fourth save of the season.  The Monkey is always a little excited when the guy who we have at the top of the Rays’ committee actually gets a save, but the Rays’ are using too many different guys to close out games at this point to be able to rely on any one guy as a good source of saves in fantasy.

Hierarchy remains: *Kittredge | McHugh | Fairbanks.
* = closer-by-committee

Minnesota Twins – Alex Colome pitched a scoreless 9th inning for his 9th save of the season yesterday.  Colome has seven saves since Hansel Robles got traded and Taylor Rogers got hurt and that’s more than enough to kick the committee tag.

Hierarchy remains: Colome | Duffey | Thielbar.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Hansel Robles (BOS) – Adam Ottavino and Garrett Whitlock will be unavailable for the next couple of days.
2. Michael Fulmer (DET) – Gregory Soto has pitched in two straight and three of four.
3. Kendall Graveman (HOU) – Ryan Pressly has pitched in two straight and three of four.
4. Tyler Duffey (MIN) – Alex Colome has also pitched in two straight and three of four.

Monday
1. Blake Treinen (LAD) – If Kenley Jansen pitches today, it will be back-to-back games.

Kendall Graveman returns to form

June 23, 2021

Seattle Mariners – Kendall Graveman looked like his old self on Tuesday, needing just nine pitches to complete a 1-2-3 ninth and earn his sixth save of the season. 

Hierarchy remains: *Graveman | Montero | Steckenrider.
* = closer-by-committee

Cincinnati Reds – Activated prior to Tuesday’s game, Tejay Antone immediately got called upon to protect a two-run lead in the eighth after Lucas Sims allowed a homer, single and double. Antone’s second pitch after coming off the IL resulted in a game-tying double, but he recovered to retire the next two hitters and get out of the frame. When the Reds took the lead in the top of the ninth, Amir Garrett came to face the lefty-heavy top of the Twins order and earn the save.

Hierarchy remains: *Sims | Antone | Hembree.
* = closer-by-committee

Kansas City Royals — Greg Holland picked up his fifth save of the season on Tuesday, with Scott Barlow securing the final two outs of the eighth inning. Josh Staumont hasn’t pitched since June 16, which is a little concerning given his previous IL stint.

Updated hierarchy: *Holland | Barlow | Staumont.
* = closer-by-committee

Atlanta Braves — Chris Martin hasn’t pitched since he allowed three earned runs on June 15. Meanwhile, A.J. Minter pitched the eighth last night and got the sixth in the second game of a doubleheader on Monday, earning a hold both times.

Updated hierarchy: Smith | Minter | Jackson. 

San Diego Padres — With guys like Emilio Pagan and Craig Stammen unavailable on Tuesday, the Padres had to turn to Nabil Crismatt and rookie Mason Thompson to get the ball to Mark Melancon. Thompson, in his MLB debut, came into the eighth inning with two outs and a two-run lead.. He threw a wild pitch during a leadoff walk, but bounced back to induce an inning-ending groundout. It remains to be seen if Thompson gets any more high-leverage work this year, but he could be a candidate to close next season.

Hierarchy remains: Melancon | Pagan | Stammen.

Arizona Diamondbacks – Stefan Crichton pitched the sixth last night with his team trailing, 1-0, and promptly turned that into a 4-0 deficit. Joakim Soria is the most likely guy to get the next save chance, whenever that actually happens. Meanwhile, Kevin Ginkel recently got demoted to Triple-A Reno, where the organization’s pitchers actually have a chance to earn a save every now and then. In fact, Ginkel earned the save for the Aces last night, and hopefully he remembered how to do postgame handshakes with his team on the field since the Diamondbacks have won just twice in June.

Updated hierarchy: *Soria | Crichton | Ramirez.
* = closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s – In case you missed our alert last night, Sergio Romo is the new stripper in Oakland.

Updated hierarchy: *Romo | Scherzer | Miller.
* = stripper-by-committee     

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Luke Jackson (ATL) – Will Smith has pitched in three straight while A.J. Minter has thrown on back-to-back days.
2. Emilio Pagan (SD) – Mark Melancon has pitched in three of four.
3. Kyle Finnegan (WAS) – Brad Hand has also gone in three of four, including a 34-pitch outing last night.

Tomorrow
1. Adam Ottavino (BOS) – If Matt Barnes pitches today, that’s two in a row.
2. Ryne Stanek (HOU) – Same goes for Ryan Pressly…
3. Scott Barlow (KC) – …and Greg Holland.
4. Dylan Floro (MIA) – A Wednesday appearance for Yimi Garcia will be two straight and three of four.

A busy Opening Day across Major League Baseball

April 2, 2021

St. Louis Cardinals – Is Alex Reyes the closer? Let’s look at the evidence. Reyes pitched the ninth with a five-run lead, allowing a hit and a walk with a strikeout in a scoreless inning to secure the win. Before the game. beat writer Derrick Goold says he believes Reyes is the team’s closer to open the season, even if the Cardinals won’t publicly say that. This could make sense if they hope to ease Jordan Hicks back into the role slowly. Let’s adjust the hierarchy accordingly, for now.

Updated hierarchy: *Reyes | Gallegos | Hicks.
* = closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s — Closer Trevor Rosenthal was placed on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Expect Jake Diekman to take over as closer in the interim, with Sergio Romo another possible option. Yusmeiro Petit and Lou Trivino should move into the seventh inning.

Updated hierarchy: Diekman | Romo | Petit.

Cleveland Indians – James Karinchak looked a little shaky in his first outing of 2021. He tossed a scoreless eighth inning with his team trailing, but threw just nine of his 17 pitches for strikes. Emmanuel Clase was seen warming in the bullpen in the event Cleveland took the lead in the ninth. Also, earlier this week, manager Terry Francona said he spoke to Karinchak, Clase and Nick Wittgren about bullpen roles, saying he would “keep workloads pretty even,” which could indicate a committee, at least to start the campaign.

Updated hierarchy: *Karinchak | Clase | Wittgren
* = closer-by-committee

San Diego Padres – While “club sources” hinted that Emilio Pagan would likely be the closer to start the year, manager Jayce Tingler seemed to indicate something very different Thursday. Pagan pitched the seventh inning in a tie game and Drew Pomeranz went into the game with a one-run lead in the eighth inning, leaving Mark Melancon with a clean save chance, which he converted with a seven-pitch ninth inning. Pagan’s appearance suggests he’ll still see high-leverage looks, but perhaps as a relief ace type and not necessarily as the save-getter. After the game, manager Jayce Tingler said as much, citing who would pitch the seventh inning as the most important bullpen decision he made. He added, “You may see some different combinations (in the ninth inning).” We’ll slide Melancon to the top for now, and because of the relative uncertainty, let’s put a committee tag on this until we see Melancon (or someone else) take hold of the closer role. 

Updated hierarchy: *Melancon | Pagan | Pomeranz.
* = closer-by-committee

Tampa Bay Rays — Diego Castillo was given the first save chance of the season for the Rays and he converted with two strikeouts. Ryan Thompson pitched the seventh and Pete Fairbanks pitched the eighth ahead of Castillo. It’d be nice if it always worked this way, wouldn’t it? But it won’t. We’ll move Castillo to the front, for now, but expect Fairbanks to get his share of chances, too.

Updated hierarchy: *Castillo | Fairbanks | Roe.
* = closer-by-committee

Kansas City Royals – In a wild Opening Day tilt with the Texas Rangers, Greg Holland was called into the game with the bases loaded in the eighth inning and KC clinging to a 13-9 lead. He stayed on to pitch the ninth after the Royals tacked on a run but ran into trouble, allowing a single, two walks and throwing a wild pitch. Wade Davis of all people came on to strike out Nick Solak and Nate Lowe to close things out to earn his first save with the Royals since 2016. Holland is likely the closer, but an old Royal (Davis) finding form in his return to KC wouldn’t be all that surprising. Remember Holland last year?

Hierarchy remains: Holland | Barlow | Staumont.

Toronto Blue Jays — In a tie game on the road, the Blue Jays went with Tyler Chatwood, David Phelps, Rafael Dolis and Jordan Romano through nine innings. When the Jays took the lead in the 10th, Julian Merryweather did the honors, striking out the side for his first save. Romano was used in a traditional spot for a closer, but we’ll monitor Merryweather as his outing was terrific and he touches 99 mph with his fastball.

Hierarchy remains: *Romano | Dolis | Phelps.
* = closer-by-committee

Pittsburgh Pirates – Richard Rodriguez looked impressive Thursday in nailing down his first save, walking one and striking out two. David Bednar, who turned heads in spring training, pitched nicely in a seventh-inning appearance, striking out two in a scoreless frame. Kyle Crick, meanwhile, was unavailable as he is on paternity leave and will be away from the team to start the year.

Hierarchy remains: *Rodriguez | Crick | Stratton.
* = closer-by-committee

Baltimore Orioles — Opening Day was rained out for the Orioles. When the season starts Friday, they’ll be without committeeman Shawn Armstrong, who is on paternity leave.

Hierarchy remains: *Scott | Armstrong | Fry.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Chad Green – Aroldis Chapman is still serving his suspension. The Yankees seemed to indicate they will use a committee approach when Chapman is unavailable, but Green remains the top choice in our eyes.