Alex Reyes could get some St. Louis holds down the stretch

August 20, 2016

Chicago Cubs — The Cubs bullpen lost yet another arm when Hector Rondon was placed on the DL with a triceps injury. Rondon joins Joe Smith and Pedro Strop on Chicago’s crowded disabled list. In the meantime, look for the Cubs to hold the line with Travis Wood and C.J. Edwards, although that combination managed to blow a four-run lead last night. If they continue to falter, keep an eye on 2013 second-round pick Rob Zastryzny, who — in addition to having a 33-point Scrabble name — pitched a scoreless inning in his MLB debut last night.

Updated hierarchy: Chapman | Edwards | Wood.

Seattle Mariners — Steve Cishek didn’t get into a close game after he returned from the DL Friday. Meanwhile, Edwin Diaz struggled (three walks, two runs) but managed to pick up his ninth save of the year. The Mariners are likely to be cautious with Cishek coming off a hip injury, but he should be back into the late-inning mix before long.

Updated hierarchy: Diaz | Wilhelmsen | Cishek.

Los Angeles Dodgers — Adam Liberatore returned from the DL and pitched a scoreless inning in a loss last night. He’ll replace Pedro Baez, who has had a rough stretch of games, giving up seven runs over his last five appearances. Don’t be surprised if Liberatore presses Joe Blanton for the eighth inning; before his injury, Liberatore had put in an excellent season.

Updated hierarchy: Jansen | Blanton | Liberatore.

St. Louis Cardinals — Seung Hwan Oh pitched two scoreless innings in a tie game, so when the Cardinals took the lead in the eleventh, it fell to 21-year-old rookie Alex Reyes to close the game out. He worked around a single and a walk to lock up his first career save. Reyes is one of the best starting pitching prospects in baseball, and the Cardinals have a history of using prospects as relievers early in their careers (see Adam Wainwright and Carlos Martinez). Mike Matheny trusts the youngster and, with Reyes living up to the hype so far (0.00 ERA, 9 K, 7 IP), we will slot him into the hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Oh | Siegrist | Reyes.

Cincinnati Reds — Seventh-inning man Michael Lorenzen returned from bereavement leave on Friday following the death of his father. Lorenzen escaped a bit of a jam in the seventh, hit his first career home run on a 97 MPH fastball, and then finished the night off with a scoreless eighth. MVP.

Hierarchy remains: *Cingrani | Iglesias | Lorenzen.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. C.J. Edwards, Chicago Cubs — Aroldis Chapman has gone in two straight and three of four.
2. Tom Wilhelmsen/Steve Cishek, Seattle Mariners — Edwin Diaz needed 34 pitches to close out the game last night, and this may be Cishek’s chance to re-establish himself.
3. Mauricio Cabrera, Atlanta Braves — Jim Johnson has been used in two straight (43 pitches).
4. Shawn Kelley, Washington Nationals — Mark Melancon has pitched in back-to-back games, throwing 41 pitches.
5. Hector Neris, Philadelphia Phillies — Jeanmar Gomez has also gone back-to-back (31 pitches).

O’Day returns to DL, Papelbon released

August 14, 2016

Baltimore Orioles – Darren O’Day has been placed on the disabled list with a strained right shoulder.  Manager Buck Showalter is optimistic O’Day will return in two weeks, and mentioned Mychal Givens and Vance Worley as members of the bullpen who would see more prominent roles with O’Day out.  We will slide Givens in behind Britton and Brach for now.

Updated hierarchy: Britton | Brach | Givens.

Washington Nationals — The Nationals released former closer Jonathan Papelbon yesterday.  Papelbon has been rumored to have interest in going back to the Red Sox, and the Cubs could also be a landing spot given their recent injury woes.  Blake Treinen should see time in the later innings for the Nationals with Papelbon gone.

Updated hierarchy: Melancon | Kelley | Treinen.

Cleveland Indians – The Indians won by four on Saturday so it wasn’t a save opportunity, but manager Terry Francona still used all three members on our hierarchy.  Bryan Shaw pitched a perfect seventh inning, and then it was Andrew Miller in the eighth and Cody Allen in the ninth.  We will leave Miller as the head of the committee for now, but it’s looking like Allen could see more save chances down the stretch if Francona continues to use Miller before the ninth.

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

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Will Harris, Houston Astros — Ken Giles is on paternity leave.
2. Jacob Turner?, Chicago White Sox — David Robertson, Nate Jones, and Dan Jennings have all pitched in two straight and four of the past five.  Matt Albers threw two innings yesterday while Jacob Turner got the day off so if the White Sox are desperate, maybe they turn to Turner.
3. Carlos Villanueva, San Diego Padres — Brandon Maurer and Ryan Buchter have both pitched in back-to-back games and three of the past four.  Brad Hand has appeared in two straight, including two innings on Friday.

 

Jake Barrett to see more saves for Arizona

July 31, 2016

Arizona Diamondbacks – Jake Barrett got the final four outs of the game last night to record his third save of the season.  The young right hander has impressed manager Chip Hale, who says that Barrett has earned more save chances.  We will move Barrett to the head of the committee for now, and if he is successful in his next couple save chances, he could drop the asterisk and get a chance at the full time closer’s job for the rest of the season.

Hierarchy remains: *Barrett | Clippard |  Hudson. 
* = closer-by-committee

Kansas City Royals — Closer Wade Davis went back to Kansas City on Saturday night for an MRI on his sore right arm.  He has not been placed on the DL but this is not a good sign for Davis, who just returned from the DL a few weeks ago.  We will continue to monitor his status.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Soria.

Washington Nationals — Newly acquired Mark Melancon has been confirmed as the new closer for the Washington Nationals. The Nationals former closer Jonathan Papelbon was reportedly on board with the trade, but this is the first time Papelbon will not be closing games since 2005.  Papelbon has really struggled recently, and he is going to need to pitch better if he wants to see some save chances when Melancon is unavailable.

Updated hierarchy: Melancon | Papelbon | Kelley.

Pittsburgh Pirates — The Pirates traded Mark Melancon to Washington for multiple players, including reliever Felipe Rivero. GM Neal Huntington has named Tony Watson the closer, with Neftali Feliz spelling him if necessary and Rivero pitching the seventh.

Updated hierarchy: Watson | Feliz | Rivero.

Los Angeles Angels – Joe Smith, who has been the subject of trade rumors, pitched 1.1 scoreless innings ahead of Bedrosian and Street on Saturday.  Smith hasn’t allowed a run since the All-Star break and should continue to be used in the later innings if he stays in LA.

Updated hierarchy: Street | Bedrosian | Smith.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH:
1. Kelvin Herrera, Kansas City Royals – Wade Davis is having an MRI on his right arm.
2. Tyler Thornburg/Will Smith, Milwaukee Brewers – Jeremy Jeffress has pitched in three straight.  Thornburg will likely get the call unless match-ups dictate a need for lefty Will Smith to finish the game.
3. Trevor May, Minnesota Twins – Brandon Kintzler and Fernando Abad have both appeared in three straight.
4. Hector Rondon/Pedro Strop, Chicago Cubs – Aroldis Chapman blew his first save yesterday and has pitched in 3 of the last four.  Rondon has also pitched in three of the last four, but has thrown less than 10 pitches in each appearance.
5. Dan Otero, Cleveland Indians – Cody Allen has pitched in two straight, and three of the past four.  Brian Shaw has also pitched in two straight, and four of the past five.
6. Xavier Cedeno, Tampa Bay Rays – Alex Colome has pitched in two straight, and three of the past four.

Pirates, Nationals, and Braves deep in trade deadline drama

July 30, 2016

Pittsburgh Pirates — The Pirates are fielding offers from the Nationals, Indians, and Giants for closer Mark Melancon. Although Pittsburgh is in the playoff hunt and Melancon has been one of the most effective closers in the game, the team may be looking to improve other areas of its roster while trusting some combination of Neftali Feliz and Tony Watson in the ninth. Watson, a lefty, has owned the eighth most of the year, while Feliz has 98 career saves and better peripherals, including a 10.3 K/9 ratio. We still give Feliz a slight edge, but both could be excellent speculative adds; the Pirates are a good team that plays a lot of close games.

Hierarchy remains: Melancon | Feliz | Watson.

Washington Nationals — After the Nationals’ bullpen was rescued in the eighth by a triple play, Felipe Rivero headed out for the save situation. Jonathan Papelbon was unavailable after pitching in four of the last six games. Rivero got the first two outs before giving up a single and being pulled for Shawn Kelley, who secured the vulture save. Although GM Mike Rizzo gave Papelbon a vote of confidence after the game, Dusty Baker suggested that the righthander would be examined after the game and could be headed to the DL. Whether it’s an injury, trade, or straight-up demotion, either way Papelbon is sitting on a burning hot seat.

Hierarchy remains: Papelbon | Kelley | Rivero.

Atlanta Braves — Jim Johnson picked up his fifth save of the year by successfully protecting a one-run lead last night. With Atlanta in selling mode, however, teams like the Mets are inquiring about Johnson, and the Braves could be close to moving him. If he gets traded, it seems that Mauricio Cabrera — who pitched another clean eighth for his third straight hold — would get the first crack at saves.

Hierarchy remains: Johnson | Cabrera | Withrow.

Tampa Bay Rays — Former All-Star closer Brad Boxberger was activated from the disabled list on Friday. Although he’s unlikely to unseat Alex Colome, he should immediately enter the late-inning conversation, just ahead of Kevin Jepsen and Erasmo Ramirez.

Updated hierarchy: Colome | Cedeno | Boxberger.

Texas Rangers — Three holds over the last week entitles Keone Kela to return to the Rangers hierarchy.

Updated hierarchy: Dyson | Diekman | Kela.

San Diego Padres — The Padres acquired Carter Capps in a seven-player deal with Miami. Capps is out for the year after Tommy John surgery, but is a strong candidate to close in San Diego next season.

Hierarchy remains: Maurer | Buchter | Hand. 

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Chris Withrow, Atlanta Braves — Both Jim Johnson and Mauricio Cabrera have pitched in three of four games.

Jonathan Papelbon’s days as Nationals closer nearing end

July 29, 2016

Washington Nationals — While the East Coast was sleeping, there was some late-innings drama in San Francisco when beleaguered closer Jonathan Papelbon entered the ninth inning with a 4-1 lead. He recorded one out, but allowed a single and a walk before he was pulled from the game, which had social media speculating his status as closer was in jeopardy. Oliver Perez made it interesting, allowing an inherited runner to score, but he and Shawn Kelley combined to strike out the final two hitters to secure a Nats victory. After the game, manager Dusty Baker said pulling Papelbon was what he had to do to try to win the game, and that while it was too early to make a decision on Papelbon, he said the team “certainly (has) to figure something out there.” He also expressed concerns about Papelbon’s velocity, which could mean a DL stint or bullpen demotion is near.

Hierarchy remains: Papelbon | Kelley | Rivero.

New York Mets — After an unreal save-conversion streak in the regular season, Jeurys Familia has a new streak of blown saves after he blew his second chance in as many days in the Mets loss Thursday. Manager Terry Collins had been worried about Familia’s fatigue, but he still trotted his closer out there in the 9th despite telling reporters on Wednesday that Familia would be unavailable. Familia has now thrown 52 pitches over the last two days and has pitched in four out of the last five. To be fair, Familia told his manager he was available, but give him a break, Terry!

Hierarchy remains: Familia | Reed | Robles.

Kansas City Royals — The Royals have made closer Wade Davis available in trades, but they’re apparently attempting to attach Ian Kennedy (who is owed $62.5 million after this season) in any Davis deal. The Dodgers and Nationals are supposedly interested, though. In related KC reliever news, Luke Hochevar was placed on the disabled list with a shoulder condition.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Soria.

Arizona Diamondbacks – The Diamondbacks are reportedly near a deal to trade away Daniel Hudson. When asked about a possible Hudson deal, GM Dave Stewart said “close is in the eye of the beholder.”

Hierarchy remains: *Clippard | Barrett | Hudson. 
* = closer-by-committee

Colorado Rockies — The Rockies could be close to dealing reliever Boone Logan to the Blue Jays, but no deal is in place as of yet. Several other teams are interested in the lefty.

Hierarchy remains: Estevez | Ottavino | Logan.

Chicago Cubs – Aroldis Chapman recorded four outs Thursday for his first save with his new team (and his first save of more than three outs this year). His zip-code change hasn’t stopped his heavy flow of triple-digit heat.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Rondon | Strop.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Shawn Kelley, Washington Nationals — Will Dusty Baker pull the plug on Jonathan Papelbon?
2. Kevin Siegrist, St. Louis Cardinals — Seung Hwan Oh has pitched in three straight and four of the last five.
3. Adam Ottavino, Colorado Rockies — Closer Carlos Estevez has recorded a save in three straight games.
4. Hansel Robles, New York Mets — Jeurys Familia and Addison Reed have both pitched in four of five.