Blake Treinen ascending; Cincinnati bullpen a mess

April 12, 2016

Cincinnati Reds – Tony Cingrani and Jumbo Diaz both played a role in letting the lead slip away against the Cubs. The Reds bullpen fell apart trying to preserve the lead after Brandon Finnegan took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. None of the Reds relievers have been particularly impressive in the early going, so expect the potential for shake-ups to be around the corner in Cincy.

Hierarchy remains: Hoover | Diaz | Cingrani.

Washington Nationals – For the second day in a row, Blake Treinen was tapped to pitch the eighth inning ahead of Jonathan Papelbon in a save situation. For the moment, the 27-year old right-hander seems to be the set-up guy in D.C.

Updated hierarchy: Papelbon | Treinen | Kelley.

Texas Rangers – Keone Kela faltered in Seattle last night protecting a big lead, giving up two runs and seeing his ERA inflate to 7.36. Jake Diekman pitched the ninth in a four-run game, and has not given up a hit in three appearances to start the year.

Updated hierarchy: Tolleson | Dyson | Diekman.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Shawn Kelley, Washington Nationals – Jonathan Papelbon and Blake Treinen have both pitched on back to back nights.
2. Darren O’Day, Baltimore Orioles – Zach Britton has pitched the last two days.

Jeanmar Gomez looking like a closer; Glen Perkins blows a save

April 11, 2016

Philadelphia Phillies – Jeanmar Gomez solidified his position at the top of the Phillies committee on Sunday, posting another easy save against the Mets. Though Pete Mackanin hasn’t officially named him the closer yet, Gomez is now in a position where he can expect to be used as the closer until he blows a save, and even then, he might get another shot after the two successful outings this weekend.

Hierarchy remains: *Gomez | Hernandez | Hinojosa.
* = closer-by-committee

Washington Nationals – Blake Treinen got the 8th inning ahead of Jonathan Papelbon on Sunday, and has now started his year with a win and a hold in two scoreless outings. His newfound spot on the hierarchy is nothing against Felipe Rivero, who has a live arm and could be a closer down the line; rather, it’s a showcase of what a deep bullpen the Nationals have assembled. Between Treinen, Rivero, and Shawn Kelley, the Nationals have a number of strong relievers who could nab holds ahead of Papelbon.

Updated hierarchy: Papelbon | Kelley | Treinen.

Minnesota Twins – Glen Perkins had a rough outing on Sunday, blowing the save and then watching as Trevor May took the loss in the 10th inning to drop the Twins to 0-6. Combined with a shaky, injury-ridden 2015, Perkins isn’t looking like the sure thing he once was. Fortunately, his main competitor for the job, Kevin Jepsen, is also off to a bad start, but Perkins’s blown save does make him the 8th most likely closer to lose his job this week: check out our weekly Hot Seat column here.

Hierarchy remains: Perkins | Jepsen | May. 

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Kevin Jepsen, Minnesota Twins – Glen Perkins has pitched in back to back games — including the aforementioned blown save — throwing 48 pitches.
2. Kevin Siegrist/Jonathan Broxton, St. Louis Cardinals – Trevor Rosenthal threw 30 pitches in a 1.1-inning outing on Sunday.
3. David Hernandez, Philadelphia Phillies – Jeanmar Gomez has pitched in back to back games.

Dellin Betances and Luis Garcia head a bumper crop of save vultures

October 2, 2015

Washington Nationals — Felipe Rivero grabbed the first save chance for the post-Papelbon Nationals, delivering two perfect innings and earning praise from Matt Williams. Meanwhile, Bryce Harper and Max Scherzer have honored Papelbon with a new handshake, and Nats fans are pledging thousands of dollars to charity if the team cuts their ex-closer and eats his $11 million 2016 option.

Updated hierarchy: *Rivero | Treinen | Thornton.
* = closer-by-committee

Kansas City Royals — Wade Davis had a sore back on Thursday, so Ned Yost went with Ryan Madson for the save on Thursday night.

Hierarchy remains: Davis | Herrera | Madson.

Arizona Diamondbacks — Daniel Hudson had pitched on three of the last four days, allowing rookie Silvino Bracho to grab his first major league save this season to go with his 16 for the Mobile BayBears (whose mascots can appear at your function!) and three for the Visalia Rawhide (home of Mustache Appreciation Night).

Updated hierarchy: Ziegler | Hudson | Bracho.

New York Yankees — Dellin Betances nailed down the Yankees’ 10,000th win as a franchise, securing a wild card berth. Andrew Miller needed the night off after a two-inning outing on Wednesday.

Hierarchy remains: Miller | Betances | Wilson.

San Diego Padres — Shawn Kelley is at full strength again and pitched the seventh in front of Joaquin Benoit and Craig Kimbrel on Thursday.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Benoit | Kelley.

Philadelphia Phillies — As we predicted, Ken Giles got a day off and Luis Garcia grabbed the save against the Mets on Thursday.

Hierarchy remains: Giles | Garcia | Hinojosa.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Daniel Hudson, Arizona Diamondbacks — Brad Ziegler remains on paternity leave.
2. Xavier Cedeno, Tampa Bay Rays — Brad Boxberger has pitched in three straight games.
3. Keone Kela, Texas Rangers — Kela won’t be used in consecutive games, but he’s had a few days off and Shawn Tolleson has gone in three straight.
4. Ryan Madson/Kelvin Herrera, Kansas City Royals — Wade Davis might need another day off.

Robbie Ross rising in Boston; Bruce Rondon stinks again

September 9, 2015

Boston Red Sox — Jean Machi actually pitched well for the Sox on Tuesday, but it happened to be in the sixth inning of a 1-1 game. He induced a double play to get out of a jam, and in a bullpen in which, save for Junichi Tazawa in the 8th, there are “no set roles,” it seems logical that you would use any pitcher in any important spot, no matter the inning. Manager Torey Lovullo reiterated that he will “mix and match,” but Robbie Ross Jr pitched a clean ninth at home to keep the game tied, and he may be the best pitcher right now in the Sox bullpen. We’ll put Ross at the top of the committee, with Machi right behind him. Next save chance is up for grabs.

Updated hierarchy: *Ross | Machi | Tazawa.
* = closer-by-committee

Detroit Tigers – So much for dropping that asterisk. Bruce Rondon struggled again, and this time was unable to protect a one-run lead and convert the save. After the 13-inning affair, manager Brad Ausmus admitted that Rondon has struggled over his last couple of outings, but didn’t want to “pontificate on the rest of the year.” The asterisk will stay off for now, but Rondon needs to turn it around in a hurry if he wants to keep seeing save chances.

Hierarchy remains: Rondon | Wilson | Hardy.

Texas Rangers – Keone Kela made his first appearance since feeling discomfort in his elbow last week, and he struck out two in a perfect eighth inning to keep Texas ahead by two. Manager Jeff Banister said after the game that they will see how Kela is on Wednesday, but if he continues to pitch like that, it will be hard to keep him out very much as the Rangers battle for a playoff spot.

Updated hierarchy: Tolleson | Kela | Dyson.

Chicago Cubs — Fernando Rodney has allowed just two hits and one run in five appearances since being traded to the Cubs, including a 1-2-3 eighth inning on Tuesday to preserve an 8-5 lead. Joe Maddon appears to have the magic touch that has turned Rodney into a reliable reliever for a likely playoff team.

Updated hierarchy: Rondon | Strop | Rodney.

San Diego Padres — The Padres bullpen has battled injuries of late, with both Shawn Kelley and Joaquin Benoit dealing with problems. Benoit (back spasms) and Kelley (forearm) were both unavailable on Tuesday, which led to Kevin Quackenbush picking up an eighth-inning hold. Quackenbush isn’t supposed to be part of the late-inning plans, but may get more looks if Benoit and Kelley are still nursing their respective injuries. Benoit is day-to-day and the Padres hope to know more about Kelley on Wednesday after he played catch before Tuesday’s game.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Benoit | Quackenbush.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Jim Johnson, Los Angeles Dodgers – Kenley Jansen has pitched in four out of five games and will most likely be unavailable Wednesday.
2. Jean Machi, Boston Red Sox – Even though Robbie Ross is at the top of the committee, the ninth inning in Boston is up for grabs.
3. Alex Wilson, Detroit Tigers – Bruce Rondon has thrown 50 pitches over back-to-back rough outings.
4. Sergio Romo, San Francisco Giants – Santiago Casilla has appeared in three of the last four games.

Koji Uehara out for the season, Jean Machi best bet to close

August 11, 2015

Boston Red Sox – While initial x-rays were negative on Koji Uehara’s injured right wrist, a follow-up CT scan revealed that the 40 year-old Red Sox closer had suffered a non-displaced fracture and has been declared out for the rest of the season. Uehara was struck on the wrist by an Ian Kinsler line drive on Friday night. As mentioned yesterday, Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe expects Machi to be the team’s primary closer.

Hierarchy remains: *Machi | Tazawa | Ross.

Chicago White Sox – Nate Jones continues to impress in Chicago. The flame-throwing right-hander pitched 1.2 innings to close out the game for Chris Sale last night. Jones was given plenty of breathing room, but we expect him to get work in higher leverage spots in the near future.

Updated hierarchy: Robertson | Duke | Jones.

San Diego Padres – Shawn Kelley struck out three in one inning of work against the Reds in a tight ballgame last night. With the scoreless outing, Kelley lowered his ERA to 2.85 on the year. His recent usage — and Brandon Maurer’s recent struggles — suggests that Pat Murphy will rely on him in the late innings and put him in position to add to his holds total.

Updated hierarchy: Kimbrel | Benoit | Kelley.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
1. Bruce Rondon, Detroit Tigers – Alex Wilson has been dealing with shoulder soreness.
2. Junichi Tazawa, Boston Red Sox – Jean Machi has the best chance at the first save opportunity in Boston, but Tazawa could also get a look.
3. Darren O’Day, Baltimore Orioles – Zach Britton threw 36 pitches in a 1.2 inning save last night.