• Chris Perez converted his 27th save tonight against the Orioles and though he’s been having a great year for the Indians (2.95 xFIP; 27/29 on save opportunities) his days of closing for them might be coming to an end as the Giants are rumored to be interested in acquiring his services. The Giants could use some bullpen depth with Santiago Casilla in a rut, blowing five of his past nine save opportunities (although he converted the last one) and since the Giants seem to prefer to have Sergio Romo pitch in a set up role, it’s possible that if Perez is traded that he could remain closing games. However, it’s worth noting that the Indians are currently 48-48 and only four games behind the division lead, so they could still try to compete. But, with the trading deadline rapidly approaching, their next few games may determine if they choose to hold onto some of their valuable trade pieces like Chris Perez and while no trade is imminent, the Giants are looking for bullpen depth and they might turn their eyes to Perez.

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• On May 3rd, Mariano Rivera tore his ACL and now he is saying that his goal is to return to pitch in September. Wow. If any 42 year old player would return that quickly from an torn ACL it would have to be Mariano Rivera but color me skeptical on his return this season. However, if he were to return that would sure cause an interesting dilemma at the back of the Yankees bullpen because Rafael Soriano has been very effective closing the door for the Yankees with Mo out. Although he’s been on the good side of some luck (0.0% HR/FB%) Soriano still has a 2.22 FIP and is 24/25 on save opportunities, converting his latest tonight against the Blue Jays. It’s hard to imagine Mo not pitching the ninth inning for the Yankees, but the chances of him returning to the mound this season are slim enough to assume Soriano will be closing games all year.

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• It’s sometimes hard to take Ozzie Guillen seriously, but when he said that the Marlins will use a closer-by-committee approach for their ninth inning duties he didn’t seem to be joking as Mike Dunn converted his first save of the year tonight. While Dunn is great against lefties (.254 wOBA against), he doesn’t fare as well against righties (.317 wOBA against) but a pairing with the righty Steve Cishek, with some platoon problems of his own, could make for an intriguing committee. Heath Bell has pitched in the eighth inning the last two nights, and although he hasn’t received a save opportunity he’s pitched two scoreless innings should be seeing the ninth inning again this season. For the time being however, the Marlins are going with a committee and look for Cishek, Dunn and Bell to get the nod depending on the matchup.

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With the All-Star Break upon us and the trade deadline getting closer, the Bullpen Report will look a little different over the next few days but stay along for the ride we dive into the world of trade rumors and how that might affect some of the bullpens in baseball.

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• Drew Storen looked great in his first rehab outing today needing just eight pitches to complete his perfect inning. Tyler Clippard is still expected to hold onto the ninth inning duties for the Nationals, but Storen is on track to return to the Nationals after the break and is worth keeping an eye on if Clippard were to struggle.

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Apologies for a shorter Bullpen Report tonight but wishing all of you a wonderful holiday!

• Heath Bell entered the 10th inning today for a save against the Brewers but wasn’t able to close the door, giving up a walk off home run to Aramis Ramirez. As Colin mentioned a few days ago, Heath Bell has been pitching well of late while the Marlins setup men have been struggling, so consider this just a blip on the radar with Bell maintaining a firm grasp on closing duties in Miami.

• The Brewers bullpen meanwhile had a bit of a meltdown today, giving up nine runs in total. Jon Axford was able to pitch a scoreless inning but his setup man, Francisco Rodriguez, struggled blowing the save for the Brewers. The Mets have reportedly been interested in K-Rod, but the days of Rodriguez being a top notch reliever appear to be over. K-Rod hasn’t been particularly awful this season (3.92 xFIP) but he clearly isn’t the same pitcher he used to be, losing a lot of his swing and miss stuff with a 8.7% SwStr%, down from his career 12.7%. K-Rod’s name may float around in some trade rumors, but it’s unlikely that he’ll be the best reliever in any bullpen he goes to and should only be relied on getting holds in 2012, not necessarily saves.

• Drew Storen is set to begin rehab on Thursday and is scheduled to be back on the Nationals for the start of the second half of the season. Nationals manager Davey Johnson has indicated that Storen will start the year as a setup man and Clippard has certainly pitched well enough to deserve to hold onto the job. So long as Clippard keeps pitching the way he has been, it will be hard to remove him from the role, although with Storen waiting in the wings he may not have the longest leash.

For those of you who play daily fantasy games like FanGraphs: The Game, or just like to stream players, here is a matchup you may be able to exploit.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: David Robertson (NYY) at TB

The Rays have the big edge on the better starting David tomorrow with David Price facing David Phelps, but Yankees reliever David Robertson is fully rested and has a chance to show off his elite strikeout stuff (14.77 K/9) against the Rays.

Closer Grid:

[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]

• Glen Perkins didn’t have the prettiest of saves tonight as he gave up two hits, but he still pitched a scoreless inning for his third save of the season. Perkins’ fellow bullpen mate, Jared Burton, has two saves on the year and has been solid himself (3.58 xFIP) this season but I see Perkins picking up the majority of save chances for the Twins. Jared Burton is still worth owning for owners in need for saves though, since he’ll give you a solid ERA and Whip due to his low walk rate (1.91 BB/9) and solid strikeout rate (8.45 K/9).

• The Fernando Rodney Experience™ continues to bear fruit for the Rays with Rodney pitching a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout tonight against the New York Yankees, recording his 23rd save this year.  We now know Rodney will keep the job even when Kyle Farnsworth returns from the DL, and its hard to fault the Rays for making that decision. Rodney’s improved control (1.26 BB/9 this year; career 4.6 BB/9) has enabled him to be on the most consistent and dominant relief pitchers in 2012. Even though Rodney’s been a little fortunate with balls hit in play (.223 BABIP)  and fly balls turning into home runs ( 3.8% HR/FB%), his 2.64 xFIP is more than respectable and Rodney should continue to get save opportunities for the Rays all season.

• After pitching in three consecutive games, Carlos Marmol rested tonight and James Russell came on to complete his second save of the season. James Russell and fellow setup man Shawn Camp can expect to receive some action in the eighth inning for the Cubs, but it is Marmol who will be receiving the ninth inning duty consistently from now on. Marmol did have a disastrous April and May but he’s turned his season around a bit since returning from the DL in late May, recording a respectable 3.73 xFIP in June, compared to his 5.47 xFIP on the year. A 3.73 xFIP isn’t anything to write home about, and in Marmol’s relative successes he still struggles with control (6.10 BB/9 in June) but saves are saves and Marmol will continue to get them for the Cubs.

For those of you who play daily fantasy games like FanGraphs: The Game, or just like to stream players, here is a matchup you may be able to exploit.

A  Pitcher for Tomorrow: Sergio Romo (SF) at WAS

Tim Lincecum is coming off of his best performance of the season and his disappointing season is largely a victim of poor luck (3.70 xFIP/5.60 ERA), so I expect tomorrow’s matchup with the Giants and Nationals (Jordan Zimmermann starting) to be a low scoring affair. Santiago Casilla has struggled lately and while Romo won’t necessarily be closing for the Giants he should have a chance to show off his elite strikeout ability (11.51 K/9/ 17.1% SwStr%) in a close game tomorrow night.

Closer Grid:

[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]

• When the Yankees took the field in the top of the ninth inning up six runs, I don’t think Rafael Soriano was expecting to be finishing the game tonight, but finished he did. After Cory Wade gave up four runs, Soriano came on to get the final out, recording his 16th save of the season. Soriano has done a great job closing for the Yankees this year but his ERA (1.63) is lower than you would expect (3.84 xFIP) because he has been very fortunate with fly balls leaving the park. Soriano has yet to give up a home run in 2012, a trend which certainly won’t continue in Yankee Stadium for a pitcher who isn’t particularly great at killing worms (38.1% GB%). Still, Girardi has confidence in Soriano who maintains a firm grasp on the job and should hold onto it even if and when regression hits him. David Robertson has pitched well in his first four games back from the DL, giving up one run in 3.2 innings pitched while striking out six batters and although he may be the better pitcher, Soriano is the one who will continue to get saves for the rest of the year.

• After blowing three saves in his last six outings, Aroldis Chapman looked right on track tonight, striking out three batters while walking one in the ninth inning for his ninth save of the season. Chapman’s peripherals remain jaw dropping with a 15.85 K/9 and a 1.88 xFIP and while baseball fans may drool at the thought of Chapman’s skills in the starting rotation, it looks like he will remain closing games for Cincinnati. Sean Marshall owners speculating on a closing controversy stemming from a few bad outings by Chapman can stop speculating as he’s not likely to gain the job. However, for ratios and strikeouts, you will struggle to find a better reliever than Marshall this year– Marshall has a 2.14 xFIP and a strikeout rate over 11 (11.17 K/9), numbers that may pale in comparison to his teammate Chapman but still rank in the upper echelon of the league.

• Addison Reed gave up two runs in the ninth inning against the Twins tonight but was still able to hold on for his 10th save of the year. Reed has been a little disappointing since taking over closing duties in Chicago with a pedestrian 4.09 xFIP but he still has a 10.00 K/9, and his competition (Matt Thornton and Hector Santiago) isn’t exactly breathing down his neck, so Reed’s grasp on the job remains fairly firm.

• Jose Valverde has declared himself OK after his wrist sprain and entered tonight’s game in the bottom of the eighth inning down two runs pitching a perfect inning against the Rangers. While Valverde looks to be healed, it will be interesting to see if Jim Leyland goes to Valverde in another low leverage situation before putting him back in for the ninth inning. For now, I would be sure to hold onto Joaquin Benoit until Valverde is converting saves consistently again.

For those of you who play daily fantasy games like FanGraphs: The Game, or just like to stream players, here is a matchup you may be able to exploit.

A Pitcher for Tomorrow: Jason Grilli (PIT) vs. PHI

The Pirates have their ace on the hill tomorrow in Jason McDonald and while the Phillies may be starting the 34 year old journeyman Raul Valdes, a pitching machine would fair pretty well against the Pirates lineup which is a long way to say that this game should be another close matchup with Jason Grilli getting a chance to pitch tomorrow night. Grilli has been sensational this year with a 2.69 xFIP and a fantastic 14.13 K/9 that is supported by his top notch SwStr% (15.2%) which ranks sixth in the majors among all qualified relievers.

Closer Grid:

[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]

• As Colin mentioned in the Bullpen Report last night, the “late scuttlebutt” is true and Matt Capps has been placed on the DL with shoulder inflammation.  It is unknown how long Matt Capps will be out, but what we do know is that shoulder injuries can get pretty tricky, so we can’t assume Capps will be back in action as soon as he’s eligible to return from the DL. We also know that Matt Capps hasn’t been that impressive this year (4.21 xFIP) and has actually been far worse than the new co-closers in Minnesota, Glen Perkins (2.98 xFIP) and Jared Burton (3.26 xFIP). Glen Perkins is the better pitcher and has more closing experience both this year and at the end of last year, but it’s been Jared Burton who has received and converted the last two save opportunities, including tonight’s game against the White Sox. Perkins may be the better pitcher but the lefty closer is a rare breed as managers often side with the right-handed part of a closing platoon like we have seen Mike Scioscia do with Ernesto Frieri and Scott Downs.

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• Joe Nathan pitched  a scoreless ninth inning last night for his 14th save of the year and currently has a 1.63 ERA with the peripherals to back it up. Nathan is showing the elite strikeout ability he had in his prime on the Twins, striking out 31.7% of the batters he has faced this year. However, what is really outstanding about Nathan this year is his walk rate which is currently a career low and league leading  0.65 BB/9. If you add it all up Nathan is pitching to a 2.13 xFIP on one of the better teams in the league — a great recipe for success and many saves. Nathan didn’t have the best year in 2011 after recovering from Tommy John surgery and many people suspected that Neftali Feliz or Mike Adams would take over the closing gig in Texas in 2012, but Nathan has had a fantastic season thus far and should be regarded as one of the top closers in the game again.

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