Oh likely to get first crack at saves with Rosenthal injured

August 18, 2017

St. Louis Cardinals — If Thursday’s game is any indication, Seung Hwan Oh is the most likely guy to grab saves in St. Louis with closer Trevor Rosenthal on the shelf. Oh was warming in the bullpen with the Cards up 7-5, but entered the 9th with an 11-5 lead, so there was no save chance to be he had. With the increased cushion, Oh allowed two runs before shutting the door. Lefty Tyler Lyons pitched the eighth inning ahead of Oh, and should get any save chances when Oh needs a breather. Meanwhile, the Cardinals are holding their breath as they brace for news about Rosenthal’s elbow. An MRI is scheduled for Friday.

Hierarchy remains: *Oh | Lyons | Brebbia.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Yankees — Aroldis Chapman threw a bullpen session Thursday and did not appear to show discomfort with his leg. As for now, he is not on the disabled list, but consider him day-to-day until further notice. Dellin Betances made the most of the save opportunity Thursday, shutting the door in the ninth on 11 pitches for his eighth save.

Hierarchy remains: Chapman | Betances | Robertson.

Minnesota Twins – An old friend was back in the bullpen for the Twins on Thursday. Glen Perkins made his long-awaited return from a 2015 surgery to reattach the labrum in his left shoulder. The 34-year-old said it felt like his major league debut again. For now, he’s obviously rusty (0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB in Game 1 of a doubleheader Thursday), but congratulations are due for his big league return. It’ll remain to be seen how he factors into the late-inning plans for the Twins, who are still competing for one of the Wild Card spots in the American League. In the nightcap, Matt Belisle closed the door for his third save.

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

Washington Nationals — Ryan Madson was placed on the disabled list Thursday because of a sprained finger. Shawn Kelley was activated to take his spot on the roster. It’s a big blow for the Nationals to lose Madson, who hadn’t allowed a run in nine innings of work with his new team. Expect Matt Albers, Enny Romero and perhaps Kelley to see more late-inning chances.

Updated hierarchy: Doolittle | Kintzler | Albers.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today:
1. Michael Lorenzen— Raisel Iglesias has thrown 53 pitches over two of the last three games.
2. Ryan Tepera — Roberto Osuna has gone in three of four, throwing 41 pitches.
3. Tyler Lyons — Seung Hwan Oh has pitched in two straight and could need some rest. He threw 28 pitches Thursday.
4. David Robertson — Dellin Betances has pitched in four of the last five days, while Aroldis Chapman may still need rest.

Saturday:
1. Brandon Kintzler — Sean Doolittle has pitched three of the last five days. Friday would make four of six.
2. Jose Leclerc — Alex Claudio hasn’t been that busy lately, but over his last three outings since Aug. 11, he has pitch counts of 35, 21 and 28 (Thursday). If he throws a lot in an appearance Friday, that’d be two straight stressful outings for him.

All of a sudden, we have a committee in Cleveland

June 19, 2017

Cleveland Indians – After Andrew Miller got the save in yesterday afternoon’s 5-2 victory, Terry Francona said that Allen and Miller would be temporarily trading roles. Apparently, this was Allen’s idea, and Francona was on board because, as the league’s thought leader in progressive bullpen usage, he’s fully aware that Miller usually enters in a higher stress spot than Allen, even though the latter is the one racking up the saves. Since this move appears temporary, we’ll keep Allen in the closer role for now with the understanding that he might not reclaim his job for a while.

Updated hierarchy: *Allen | Miller | Shaw.
* = closer-by-committee

Philadelphia Phillies – Hector Neris blew another save yesterday, leading to an eventual Phillies loss, and now has just three saves in the past 46 games, and might not get the next save chance. But given recent usage, and the notion that Pat Neshek actually prefers a set-up role, suggested here, it might be Joaquin Benoit that gets the next opportunity. If you’re the type of person who values a save chance every two weeks, then this is a situation to watch closely.

Hierarchy remains: *Neris | Neshek | Benoit.
* = closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s – A day after being hit with a foul ball, Santiago Casilla got the afternoon off, and Sean Doolittle picked up his third save of the season. Score one for the Vulture Save Watch, and know that all signs still point to Casilla being fine going forward.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Doolittle | Madson.

Washington Nationals – The Nationals beleaguered bullpen took another hit on Sunday, with Shawn Kelley going on the DL. Then again, with Kelley and several other Washington relievers performing below replacement level, maybe this won’t actually hurt them very much.

Updated hierarchy: *Romero | Albers | Turner.
* = closer-by-committee

New York Yankees – Aroldis Chapman returned from the DL on Sunday and pitched a scoreless inning. Despite Dellin Betances’s dominance, the Yankees bullpen suddenly really needed him back, as it’ll allow Joe Girardi to move the big righty back to the 8th, and revert to using Tyler Clippard and Chasen Shreve in earlier spots.

Updated hierarchy: Chapman | Betances | Clippard.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Arodys Vizcaino – Jim Johnson has gone back to back games, and has yet to pitch in three straight this year.

Tomorrow
1. Jerry Blevins – If Addison Reed goes today, it’ll be three straight.
2. Mychal Givens – If Brad Brach goes today, it’ll be three straight.
3. Pedro Baez – If Kenley Jansen goes today, it’ll be back to back and three of four.
4. Andrew Miller/Bryan Shaw – If Cody Allen or Andrew Miller go today, it’ll be three straight; monitor usage tonight to see who’s available tomorrow.
5. Arodys Vizcaino – See above. If Johnson DOES pitch tonight, he’ll definitely be off tomorrow.

Enny Romero gets save, Santiago Casilla gets hit with foul ball

June 18, 2017

Washington Nationals – Enny Romero got the last five outs in yesterday’s Nationals’ win to record his second save of the season.  Romero has not given up an earned run in June, and moves to the top of the committee on the virtue of actually converting a save chance.

Updated hierarchy: *Romero | Albers | Kelley.
* = closer-by-committee

Oakland A’s — As predicted in yesterday’s Vulture Save Watch, Santiago Casilla got the day off and the A’s used Sean Doolittle for the save opportunity.  Doolittle responded by striking out the side in a scoreless ninth inning to pick up his second save of the season.  Although Casilla was unavailable yesterday just due to rest, he may be unavailable for a little while longer after getting hit with a foul ball in the dugout.  The A’s say he’s OK, but we will have to wait for more information to see if he is going to miss any time.

Hierarchy remains: Casilla | Doolittle | Madson.

Tampa Bay Rays – Jumbo Diaz picked up the eighth inning hold ahead of closer Alex Colome yesterday.  That was his second eighth inning hold since returning from the disabled list a week ago, and it appears the Rays trust him in the later innings again after his struggles in May.

Updated hierarchy: Colome | Farquhar | Diaz.

San Diego Padres — Phil Maton came on to get the last two outs of the eleventh inning to secure his first career save.  Brandon Maurer, who blew the save in the ninth, and Brad Hand both appeared earlier in the game.  Maton is a young hard throwing righty who had great strikeout numbers in the minors, and could be a guy to keep your eye on later in the season.

Hierarchy remains: Maurer | Hand | Buchter.

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Jacob Barnes – Corey Knebel has pitched in two straight and four of the past five games.
2. Sean Doolittle/Ryan Madson – Santiago Casilla got hit with a foul ball yesterday
3. Juan Nicasio – Felipe Rivero has gone in two straight, including 1.2 innings yesterday.

Monday
1. David Phelps – A.J. Ramos threw 34 pitches on Saturday so if he pitches again on Sunday, he will likely get Monday off.
2. Danny Farquhar – Alex Colome pitched 1.2 innings yesterday and the Rays may rest him on Monday if he pitches again on Sunday.

Matt Albers blows his first post-Glover chance

June 13, 2017

Washington Nationals – With Koda Glover sidelined, Matt Albers got the last out of the 8th inning and then stuck around to try and close the door in the 9th. But he walked two of the first three hitters he faced, and then allowed a three-run dinger to Tyler Flowers. After the game, Baker called Albers “our most dependable guy” and mentioned that basically everyone who pitched on Monday gave up a home run, so they might just run Albers right back out for another save chance tomorrow. They could also look to mix and match with Shawn Kelley and Enny Romero/Oliver Perez, and with no one in the clear driver’s seat, we’ll slap the committee tag on and monitor usage going forward.

Hierarchy remains: *Albers | Kelley | Romero.
* = closer-by-committee

Philadelphia Phillies – A week ago, Pat Neshek bailed out Hector Neris and picked up his first save of the season. With Pete Mackanin saying that Neris needed to work out his splitter and the Phillies looking to showcase Neshek as trade bait, we figured that the veteran would get a few more chances in the 9th inning going forward. The Phillies haven’t had a save opportunity since then, but Neshek has pitched twice, both in the seventh inning. Neris pitched after him on Sunday, and then was ostensibly going to be the 9th inning guy last night, but Joaquin Benoit blew the save. At the very least, Neris seems to have climbed back into the committee lead for the time being.

Updated hierarchy: *Neris | Neshek | Benoit.
* = closer-by-committee

VULTURE SAVE WATCH
Today
1. Shawn Kelley – Even if Matt Albers is still in the driver’s seat, he could get the day off after struggling Monday.

Tomorrow
1. David Hernandez – If Bud Norris goes today, it’ll be three straight.

Koda Glover placed on DL

June 11, 2017

Washington Nationals – Koda Glover has been placed on the DL with a sore back. Matt Albers has been the best reliever in the Nats bullpen lately, though Shawn Kelley could also get a chance.

Updated hierarchy: Albers | Kelley | Romero.