• With Anthony Swarzak on the shelf, the Mets end of game situation has turned into a bit of a committee approach. Last night Bobby Wahl got the second out in the 7th and handed the ball off to Gsellman who finished the 7th and 8th innings. In the 9th, Jerry Blevins came in for the save, his first of the year. Gsellman looks like he’s being used as the relief ace with Wahl, Blevins and Seth Lugo lingering around for potential saves. Wahl has the stuff you would normally see in a closer but it doesn’t look like the Mets are going to turn over closing duties to him right away by any means. I’m keeping Gsellman ahead of the committee here but look for Lugo, Blevins and Wahl to get involved as well moving forward. If the Mets get enough leads over the next week, we will have a better idea which direction they might be leaning.

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• The first of two big trades in the bullpen world yesterday was the Houston Astros trading with the Blue Jays for Roberto Osuna in a deal including Ken Giles. The Astros are deserving of all the bad publicity they’re getting for acquiring Osuna and his disgusting recent transgressions but on a purely baseball level, Osuna is an upgrade to their bullpen. Osuna is expected to pitch in another minor league appearance this week before being activated in Houston for Sunday. While we expect Osuna to be the main closer in Houston once he is acclimated, Hector Rondon should man the ninth until then.

Ken Giles was demoted after struggling a bit this year in Houston, but now in Toronto it’s expected that he will be back in the majors, closing games. However, we’re going to start the grid with Ryan Tepera still manning the ninth inning for now even if the expectation is that Giles has it soon.

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• There was no save last night between the Cardinals and the Reds but there was a save opportunity that was blown as Bud Norris allowed two runs in the ninth for his third blown save and third loss on the year. Jordan Hicks threw a scoreless eighth inning and weirdly enough both relievers now support matching 3.38 ERAs. Hicks has the blazing fastball but Norris’ peripherals have been quite a bit better. Hicks has been better of late generating whiffs but on the year has a 3.55 FIP and 3.98 SIERA compared to Norris’ 3.06 FIP and 2.36 SIERA. With the Cardinals closer to last place than first in the division at a .500 record, it’s possible they are mini-sellers with Norris being a trade candidate. But at the same time, it’s already July 24th, which doesn’t leave considerable time for a move to be done. If the Cardinals do decide to pack it in, they may give Hicks an extended look either way as Norris is a Free Agent next year and isn’t necessarily likely to return to St. Louis.

• Sergio Romo wasn’t feeling well last night and the Rays turned to Jose Alvarado for a four-out save against the Yankees. Things got a bit interesting in the ninth when Alvarado allowed two guys on but he closed the door for his fourth save. Sergio Romo is still the closer in Tampa but Alvarado looks to be securely behind him and ahead of Diego Castillo who gave up two runs in the seventh inning last night. Like every other soon to be free agent reliever on a non-playoff team, Romo is a trade candidate but there are no real rumors that he has been involved in of late, which is probably because he isn’t all that good. If he is moved, it’s hard to expect what the Rays will do but Alvarado and Castillo look like potential closers.

• Jacob deGrom pitched great and to the surprise of nobody, didn’t win which gave San Diego a save opportunity for Kirby Yates. Yates finished the 9th for his third save of the year and his first since being named closer after Brad Hand was moved. With two years of team control after this season, the Padres are in no rush to move Yates but as we saw with Hand, they aren’t in the business of hoarding relievers. I expect Yates to stay on the team however and enter next season as a close to top tier closer. Whether he’s closing on an upstart young team ready to take a leap or on another rebuilding team ready to be moved at the deadline, we don’t know.

• OK closers on bad teams are always trade candidates but I didn’t actually expect Soria to be quality enough this year to be wanted in a trade. However, after getting his 15th save last night Soria is supporting a 2.63 ERA, 2.18 FIP, and 2.81 SIERA with the second highest K% of his career at 30% which is supported by the highest swinging strike % of his career (14.9%). If Soria isn’t dealt, he won’t get many saves for the remainder of the year but his grasp on the job would be firm and the way he’s pitching he would provide ratio and strikeout help. However, if he is moved it’s unlikely he’s seeing saves.  Who closes for Chicago if Soria is moved was asked in the comment section yesterday and I agree with Al’s assessment that it might be best avoided. While Soria is proving to be a quality reliever this year, the same can’t quite be said about Jeanmar Gomez, Juan Minaya, Jace Fry and co.

• Joe Jimenez was a popular pick for future closer this year but Shane Greene is still there in Detroit and there aren’t too many rumors with Greene leaving. Greene picked up the save last night against the Royals, for his 20th on the year. While he’s unlikely at this time to be on the move, if he struggles the Tigers could put Jimenez in the ninth in a more permanent role as he’s the future. However, with the Tigers looking at a more lengthy rebuild, Jimenez figures to be a cost controlled highly valued trade deadline piece next year.

A quick apologies on a belated Bullpen Report going over Monday’s games.

• Monday’s doubleheader was quite interesting for Phillies reliever Victor Arano. Arano pitched in the 10th inning of a tie game in the first game but his outing didn’t last long as Wilmer Flores hit a walk off homer for the Mets. Seranthony Dominguez pitched a perfect two innings in the 8th and 9th which still establishes him as the leading closer candidate, even if Kapler might play the matchups or use Dominguez for multi-inning outings.

In the second game, Arano found himself pitching in the ninth inning and only needed one out to get his 3rd save of the year. Tommy Hunter got the previous 5 outs for the hold. With Dominguez unavailable after his heavy workload in the previous game, Arano was available to get the last out. Edubray Ramos is also in the setup mix with Tommy Hunter and Pat Neshek, but it seems that only Arano and Dominguez are in any committee for saves.

• There was no save situation last night for the Giants as the game was tied but Tony Watson threw in the 7th, Mark Melancon in the 8th and Will Smith in the 9th. With Smith picking up the last few saves his place on top of the closing totem pole seems safe with Melancon and Watson behind him. Melancon’s salary suggests he might sneak in for saves but he will need to prove it on the field and so far Smith has been outstanding with a 1.03 ERA, 1.11 FIP and 2.02 SIERA. He may be a lefty but he’s getting everyone out and has a fairly strong grasp on the 9th.

• Blake Treinen continued his all-star season with another scoreless inning, dropping his ERA to 0.79 for his 23rd save.  Treinen historically was a hard thrower and worm killer but this year his posted his worst GB% at 47.3% but is having by far his best year with a 18.5% swinging strike rate, far higher than last year’s 13.1%. Treinen still doesn’t allow too many fly balls, throws 97 mph and gets whiffs among the elite as only Josh Hader has a higher swinging strike rate among qualified relievers this year. Add it all up and he’s an elite closing option. Of other interest in Oakland is the guy setting up Treinen – Lou Trivino who threw two perfect frames in the 7th and 8th while also striking out three batters. His 14.7% SwStr% is far below Treinen but still ranks 22nd among qualified relievers. On the year he has a 1.34 ERA, 3.05 FIP, and 3.15 SIERA. A 28.7% strikeout rate is nothing to sneeze at either and it actually might see some growth considering all of the whiffs he’s able to get. Treinen’s job is super safe, but if something happens to him Trivino is the obvious replacement.

•  Fernando Rodney danced in and out of a little trouble, getting his 20th save on the year. His Age + Twins Record = Trade Rumors and he’s been linked with the Red Sox the last I heard. He will probably get traded this summer and likely would lose his closing gig wherever he went. If he ends up getting moved, expect Trevor Hildenberger to get the first crack at saves with Addison Reed and Zach Duke behind him.

• The Royals situation is a mess but Kevin McCarthy and Brandon Maurer are likely in the committee with Wily Peralta still in charge. As we discussed when Kelvin Herrera was first moved, if you need saves and snagged Peralta off the wire then you still need saves. I would almost recommend moving off of this situation entirely as neither pitcher is particularly good and save totals can’t really be expected moving forward outside of a handful.

• Nobody is perfect, not even Josh Hader has he blew the lead for the Brewers against the Marlins, allowing two homers in 1.2 innings. Drew Steckenrider blew the lead for the Marlins in the 8th and Brad Ziegler received a win in the 10th after Corey Knebel gave up the game winning run. In between Kyle Barraclough threw a scoreless 9th in a tie game. Barraclough is starting to regress a tad, having given up hits and run sin his previous outings but his job is still very safe, so long as he’s still on the Marlins. In Milwaukee, Knebel’s job as closer is still green as well with Hader picking up innings, strikeouts and holds ahead of him.

•  Quick Hits: Raisel Iglesias got the last two outs for his 18th save against the Indians. Sergio Romo “blew” the save last night but also recorded four outs without giving up a run – he still looks like the closer (or the closest approximation of one) in Tampa. Felipe Vazquez recorded his 19th save, pitching around two hits in the 9th. It’s been 11 appearances since he’s allowed a run as he’s put his terrible end of May behind him. Zach Britton closed the first game against the Yankees helping his trade value. In the second game Giovanny Gallegos got a three inning save in a blow out and I might bet the under on another save on the Yankees for the rest of his career.

• With Shane Greene on the DL, Joe Jimenez was called on for  his first save last night and proceeded to blow the lead in the ninth, allowing three walks and a hit but only one run. Jimenez was handed a win when the Tigers scored in the 10th with Blaine Hardy securing his first save of the year. Right now we currently have Alex Wilson and Louis Coleman ahead of Hardy on the grid as they have been relievers all season and have pitched in the set up innings. Hardy has made 15 appearances overall this year with 8 of them as starts. It sounds like the Tigers are making him a full time reliever which might place him on the grid if this usage continues. However, since he’s transitioning from the rotation, the Tigers might use him for multi-innings than as a 7th inning set up. Either way, one blown save won’t move Jimenez as the closer while Shane Green remains on the shelf.

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• Edubray Ramos was placed on the DL and in a corresponding move the Phillies recalled Hector Neris from AAA. Hector Neris threw two innings in the minors, striking out two while issuing a walk. While we can’t clean much from that performance he pitched better in the majors than his ERA would suggest with a 2.96 SIERA not matching his 5.79 ERA. Neris pitched in the 7th inning last night, striking out two batters in a perfect inning. Although he won’t lead the saves committee in Philly, I put him back on the grid with Seranthony Dominguez and Tommy Hunter ahead of him. As you know, it’s hard to tell how Kapler will run the bullpen on any given day but Neris should have a chance to make some noise again.

• When Kelvin Herrera was hurt I went through almost every reliever in Kansas City except Wily Peralta. So naturally Peralta gets the save chance last night, getting his first save and striking out two in the process. I’m going to put Peralta in the lead for saves with Kevin McCarthy next in line as he pitched a perfect 8th. As for the last slot, it’s between Tim Hill and Brandon Maurer but for now I will keep Hill on the grid, as a lefty he might see high leverage innings against lefty heavy lineups. While it looks like Peralta could run away with the job if he pitches well, he’s not likely to rack up a ton of saves on the Royals. I would pick him up if you need saves, but I wouldn’t consider the category safe because you have Peralta now.

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• Arodys Vizcaino was placed on the DL with right shoulder inflammation and it looks as if the Braves are going to proceed with a two-headed committee in Dan Winkler and AJ Minter. Last night, Dan Winkler took the 8th inning, pitching a scoreless inning (1 HBP) for his 14th hold and Minter pitched in the 9th but there was no save situation as the Braves scored two runs in the bottom half of the 8th.  Winkler and Minter have both been very solid this year putting up 2.46 and 3.49 SIERAs respectively and although this is a committee, since Minter got the first chance we will put him first on the grid. There were rumblings about Vizcaino becoming a committee earlier in the year, so if Minter or Winkler runs away with this while Vizcaino is on the shelf, I’m not entirely sure he grabs full ownership whenever he returns.

• As we all know, Brad Boxberger has struggled quite a bit of late. In his previous 8 June appearances, Boxberger has allowed 7 earned runs with three homers, which has been a problem for him. On the year he has a 20.8% HR/FB% which should regress but we are also heading to summer in Arizona and he’s never shown the ability to really limit the homers either, although his career high 50.8% GB% is a good start. Anywho, in spite of his recent struggles, Box threw a scoreless ninth, allowing just a base hit. While it would be nice for Boxberger owners to see a three stirkeout, shutdown inning, we will take a clean save to hold off the calls for Archie Bradley.

• Ryan Tepera entered the game yesterday in the 8th but allowed inherited runners to score leading to a blown save. Luckily for his owners though, he pitched a scoreless ninth and received a win for his troubles. Tyler Clippard closed the game for his 4th save and has his spot in the pecking order fairly firm. The Blue Jays will be sellers not buyers so while Tepera’s job is safe in Toronto, he garnering trade interest. As Jon Morosi notes, he’s not a Free Agent for a few years so the Blue Jays are in no rush to trade him, but by that same token, they would get a bigger haul for him. We have already seen Alex Colome and Kelvin Herrera traded before July and as we get closer to the deadline we will only see more trades leading to closing carousels.

• The ageless Fernando Rodney struck out the side for his 17th save on the year and now owns a 2.73 ERA and a K/9 approaching 10 (9.91). Every year before the draft, everyone (myself included) targets the Rodney handcuff and every year he keeps them at bay. At 41 I don’t know how much longer he can do this but his job is green and he will continue to rack up saves for the Twins. Trevor Hildenberger received his 9th hold pitching a perfect 8th and if something were to happen to Rodney, he would definitely be the man to own.

• While we all wait for Kyle Barraclough’s ERA to regress he keeps on putting up clean innings and getting saves, picking up his 7th save yesterday and dropping his ERA to 1.05. As mentioned his 3.40 FIP /3.70 SIERA and .093 BABIP (!!!) lead you to believe a few runs might be crossing the plate soon but his job is secure. Brad Ziegler pitched a scoreless 8th and Adam Conley a scoreless 7th, striking out a pair in the process. We have mentioned Conley before and it’s worth noting him again even if he’s far from saves at the moment. In 14.2 innings in relief he has a 17/4 K/BB, a 2.61 SIERA, 14.6% SwStr% and a 95.4 mph heater which is up from 89.9 last year. Stuff usually plays up in relief and after a few middling years as a starter it looks like Conley might have found a home. Conley might be more of a play for saves/high leverage innings in 2019 but he could help ratios and strikeouts from the pen this year.

•  Brad Hand blew the save last night, allowing two hits and a walk, raising his ERA to 2.82. He’s in trade rumors but on a good contract so the Padres could elect to hold onto him. Craig Stammen threw a scoreless 7th with two strikeouts, and Kirby Yates a scoreless 8th and 9th. Stammen is under contract next year as well with Yates a free agent, which might make him the most likely candidate to be moved. If Hand is to be moved, teams will obviously want to make sure he’s pitching well, as he’s blown his last two opportunities and has allowed runs in three of his last four outings.

• Quick Hits: The Brewers lost yesterday but Corey Knebel struck out three while issuing a walk. Seranthony Dominguez blew the save in the 8th last night. You never know how Kapler will use his pen and but I would still consider Dominguez the leader of the group. Sean Doolittle got his 21st save and so long as he’s pitching well he shouldn’t be too worried about Kelvin Herrera behind him.

• Instead of waiting until the deadline to improve their bullpen, the Nationals went out and got Kelvin Herrera from the Royals for three minor leaguers. While Herrera was the closer for the Royals (and pitching quite well) he will likely be a setup man in Washington. However, with the lefty Sean Doolittle and now Herrera the Nationals could have a two-headed closing monster as they work towards October. Ryan Madson, Brandon Kintzler (when he’s back from injury), and the recently  dominant Justin Miller should all help as well in the setup innings.

As far as Kansas City’s new closer is concerned, the  names to consider are Kevin McCarthy, Brandon Maurer, Jason Adam,  Tim Hill, and Justin Grimm. In no particular order, let’s go through the options with a few indicators:

• Kevin McCarthy: 30.1 innings pitched, 3.86/3.49/3.38/3.31 ERA/FIP/xFIP/SIERA, 15.7 K%, 5.8 BB%, previously used in the 10th, 7th, and 7th innings. Saved games in the minors.
• Brandon Maurer: Only 5.1 innings pitched, 13.5/12.65/5.96/4.77 ERA/FIP/xFIP/SIERA, 17.9 K%, 10.7 BB%, previously used in the 8th and 8th innings. Closing at AAA this year and the previous two years in San Diego
• Jason Adam: 15.1 innings pitched, 4.70/7.26/4.73/3.53 ERA/FIP/xFIP/SIERA, 25.0 K%, 6.3 BB%, previously used in the 9th on 6/13. No closing experience.
• Tim Hill: 21.1 innings pitched, 4.89/2.81/3.19/3.08, ERA/FIP/xFIP/SIERA, 24.2 K%, 8.4 BB%, previously used in the 8th/9th, 6th, and 8th. Saved games in the minors.
• Justin Grimm: 9.2 innings pitched, 16.76/7.44/7.10/6.57 ERA/FIP/xFIP/SIERA, 13.7 K%, 19.6 BB%, previously used in the 7th, and 8th/9th.

Based on previous experience, Brandon Maurer would be the leading candidate for saves. Looking at production this year, Kevin McCarthy would be the likely candidate. But if one looked at strikeouts and a mixture of the other indicators, Jason Adam and Tim Hill could be in line as well which leads to a total free for all/committee until we see how it plays out.

If I had to rank them I would go McCarthy, Mauerer, Hill, Adam, Grimm but I don’t have much confidence in either that rank or anyone being a particularly good closer moving forward. The Royals are likely to get worse with additional trades so there won’t be too many save opportunities and none of the relievers mentioned, at least at this time, look like potential ace relievers either.

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• As Al mentioned yesterday, Zach Britton was activated from the DL yesterday. While he won’t see save chances right away, at his best he’s the best reliever in the bunch and if he’s healthy in the ninth it only helps his trade value. The Orioles are a cool 25 games back in the division and as Al also mentioned, the other relievers will certainly be on the block as well. It’s hard to construct a closer grid with so much turmoil between a returning ace closer, relievers closer to saves but likely on the move (Brad Brach, Darren O’Day) and relievers possibly further from saves today but closer in the 2nd half in Mychal Givens and Richard Bleier. It’s worth mentioning that the Orioles only have 13 saves all season and while saves are saves, there likely won’t be many going around in Baltimore after the dust settles whether it’s Mychal Givens, Richard Bleier, or someone like Brad Brach who isn’t moved.

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• Justin Anderson received the last save opportunity for the Angels on Sunday, walking three batters but nonetheless securing the save. Blake Parker had pitched in the previous days so the speculation was he was still in the lead for saves and that remained true with Parker getting the call last night, pitching a scoreless ninth for his 4th save on the year. Parker walked and struck out a batter and now has a 2.86 ERA, 3.36 FIP, and 3.43 SIERA, which is good stuff considering how his season started.  Parker’s SwStr% of 11.5% is behind his impressive 13.8% last year and his 28.9% GB% is far below last year’s mark of 47% which should cause some apprehension for anyone thinking he will run away with this, especially with Mike Scioscia at the helm.  The Angels are currently 4 games back in the Wild Card, and if they are in the race in late July it’s possible an outsider will be brought in but among his peers in the pen in LA, Parker looks to be in the lead.

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