• “I wish they all could be California girls beards.” The Beard returns, this time to LA as Brian Wilson signed with the Dodgers today. The deal is worth $1 million with incentives. Wilson will start in the minors but should be in LA by mid-August, at which point he should be used as a righty in late innings, setting the table for Kenley Jansen. I’m not sure what to expect from Wilson but the Dodgers weren’t the only interested team, so he certainly showed something enticing during his throwing sessions. We’ll have to see how Wilson looks like before making any conclusions but Wilson certainly has a good chance of pitching in big spots in LA and should be monitored by those in hold leagues. And if it doesn’t work out, I guess Wilson just wasn’t meant for these times.

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• By now you have heard the news, Jose Veras has been shipped out of Houson to Detroit. Veras was closing games for the Astros but in Detroit he will be relegated to setup duty as Joaquin Benoit will continue to pitch in the ninth, something he’s done quite well going 10/10 on save opportunities. When Benoit needs a break, I’d put Veras second in the pecking order ahead of Drew Smyly. Smyly has been the better pitcher this year and even  fares well against opposite handed hitters with a .281 wOBA against right-handed batters this year. However, Veras comes with the Closer Experience™ label that  Jim Leyland seems to prefer, and this could also allow Smyly to throw multiple innings on occasion.

As far as the Astros side is concerned, Mike Petriello had a great breakdown on what Houston’s bullpen will look like following the trade. I also agree with Mike that Jose Cisnero will take over the ninth in Houston and rather than echo all of his points, I suggest you read his take. Setting up Cisnero should be lefty Wesley Wright who has a pretty solid 3.55 xFIP on the year, but has struggled against right-handed batters his whole career (.369 wOBA against righties in 126.1 IP). Placing whoever is behind Wright might be anyone’s guess at the moment. Previously I might have said Hector Ambriz but he was sent to AAA today with Josh Zeid and Chia-Jen Lo getting the promotion to Houston. Although he just got the call, with names like Travis Blackley, Brett Oberholtzer and Josh Fields my money is on Josh Fields seeing some of the more higher leverage innings that are left. Acquired from Philadelphia in the Hunter Pence trade, Fields is a tall right-hander with some swing and miss stuff (10.92 K/9 in AAA this year), the Astros should be curious to see what he has.

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• We still don’t know the extent of Jason Grilli’s injury and even though some of the early signs have been encouraging, he’s been placed on the 15-day DL. As we mentioned last night, Mark Melancon will take over as closer and it should be fun to watch Melancon take his 0.95/1.78/2.21 ERA/FIP/xFIP line from the eighth inning to the ninth. I’ve long agreed with Aaron Gleeman’s premise that “closing is a rollrole, not a skill” and Melancon owners should fully expect him to continue his great season just with saves instead of holds. As we find out more information on how much time Grilli is expected to miss we will be sure to inform you here. In the meantime, Melancon pitched a scoreless ninth today, something we might be saying a few more times here on out.

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Apologies for interrupting your Ryan Braun coverage but here is tonight’s Bullpen Report.

• In the midst of one of the worst outings of the season, Jason Grilli had to exit tonight’s game with his pitching arm in pain. Grilli certainly looked uncomfortable and left the game without even throwing a warm up/test pitch. We don’t know of any specifics as to the severity of the injury at the moment, but for the sake of all Pirates fans and Grilli owners, let’s hope it’s nothing major. Fellow all-star Mark Melancon should fill in if Grilli were to miss time. With a 0.97/1.75/2.20 ERA/FIP/xFIP line, Melancon should make for a solid option and should be picked up immediately in most, if not all, leagues.

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There might not be any games but the Bullpen Report keeps going!

• Ron Harper showed a solid cutter pitching to his son Bryce in the Home Run Derby and there is some chatter that the Cubs might give him a look if/when Kevin Gregg is moved at the deadline.  Additionally, Jose Cano showed some velocity and although he last pitched in 1989 for the Astros, there were whispers at Citi Field that a return to Houston is imminent for Robinson Cano’s father.

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• It’s not the highest endorsement one could receive from their manager but if/when Kevin Gregg is traded, the Cubs could turn to Blake Parker as a replacement. Blake Parker is a rookie but he’s on the older side at 27 years old and with a 2.25/2.82/4.03 ERA/FIP/xFIP line, Parker’s deserving for the ninth inning even if he’s only thrown 16 innings thus far. Parker doesn’t have a fastball in the upper nineties but he’s still been able to generate a lot of whiffs with a 12.7% SwStr% leading to a solid 9 K/9 while exhibiting enough control (2.81 BB/9). Parker has shown an ability to miss bats throughout his minor league career but his control has held him back. If he’s able to maintain his walk rate like he has this season he should have continued success, if not, the Cubs might have to look elsewhere.

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• Joe Nathan is on quite a tear at the moment after pitching a perfect ninth picking up two Ks along the way tonight for his 30th save of the year, sharing the league lead with the one and only Jim Johnson. Nathan lowered his ERA to 1.40 and hasn’t given up a run in his last eleven appearances, striking out 14 batters in those 11.1 innings. Nathan’s strikeouts have dipped a little this year (9.53 K/9) compared to last (10.91) K/9 but since posting a particularly low rate in April (7.30 K/9), he’s upped it in each subsequent month. Nathan might not finish 2013 with an ERA starting with a one, but he’s still a top option for saves both in real life and our fantasies.

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Apologies for the belated and brief BR this evening morning.

• Mariano Rivera recorded a one-out save, his 27th of the year. In more interesting news, the Twins gave Mo a the “Chair of Broken Dreams” as he played his final game in Minnesota in his swan song year.

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Welcome to July and the halfway point of the season! Now is the time to see how much ground you can gain in saves and holds as we inch closer to both the MLB trading deadline and your league specific deadline. A few bullpen situations are sure to change and we’ll provide the latest and greatest rumors so you can snag that next-in-line closer before the current one is moved.

• Koji Uehara blew his first save as the anointed Red Sox closer last night but was actually fortunate enough to receive the win. The last time the Sox made a closer switch, Junichi Tazawa was named closer but the Sox are now going with Uehara. I don’t think the Red Sox will be so fickle as to remove Uehara because of a rough outing or two, especially since he’s pitching to a 2.58 xFIP. However, considering the Sox gave him the first chance and the fact Uehara might receive a few more days off than a normal closer to keep him fresh, Tazawa should remained owned in fantasy leagues. Even if he wasn’t going to sniff the ninth inning Tazawa is worthwhile of a roster spot with a 2.94 xFIP, a 9.73 K/9 and the third best strikeout to walk ratio among all relievers.

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• The Carlos Marmol saga in Chicago comes to an end as he was designated for assignment today. The Cubs now have 10 days to trade Marmol, but considering they’ve been trying that for parts of two or more seasons, I don’t think that’s a possibility. Carlos Marmol has been the Adam Dunn of pitching with a fantastic 29.8% career K% but with all those swings and misses were the bases on balls of course (15.5% BB%). For a brief stretch Marmol was one of the better fantasy closers in the game. Although his ERA and WHIP were never elite, he struck out 138 batters in 2010 with a 2.55 ERA. Marmol slipped since then and has never reached that peak, bottoming out in 2013 with a 5.86 ERA and 6.16 FIP. If someone else picks him up, it should at least be intriguing watching him the feast or famine from Marmol.

It’s strange to say, but Kevin Gregg’s cemented as the Cubs closer (until he gets traded) and behind him to see the late innings is James Russell, as well as Blake Parker . James Russell has been solid all season although he’s struggled against right-handed hitting with .346 wOBA against them thus far. Blake Parker’s only thrown 9.2 innings this year but he’s been effective with a 3.16 xFIP and a 10.24 K/9. There is trade interest in Kevin Gregg as we mentioned and if he’s gone, Parker is someone to keep an eye on for potential saves.

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