– Uh oh. Glen Perkins had an injection in his neck on Wednesday. Yes, giant needles around my neck area? Sign me up. The scuttlebutt is that he’ll only need a few days off an be available later in the weekend or early next week, but remember, Perkins missed time last year with neck injuries as well. With the Twins going nowhere fast, they don’t have much reason to push him hard. Kevin Jepsen will get first crack at vulturing saves between now and then. The righty has regressed quite a bit after a career-best 2014. His SIERA is north of 4.00 (4.08) and both his K% (19%) and BB% (12%) are mediocre at best. That said, he seems to have a gig, albeit temporary, so pick him up in all leagues you need saves (if he’s not already gone).

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-Right after saying nice things about Bruce Rondon yesterday afternoon, he went out and blew the save a few hours later, giving up a leadoff home run in a one-run game. No save situation for anyone today, although Alex Wilson did give up the game-winning hit to Jose Altuve (Tom Gorzelanny took the loss after putting the winning run on). I’ve heard some people suggest Neftali Feliz could be an option if this pen degrades into a full-blown committee. While Feliz has the “proven closer”(TM) tag, he also hasn’t posted a below-4.00 SIERA in five years, so I’m not super interested in wasting my time there. I still bet Rondon gets the next save opportunity.

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– As intimated a few days ago, it appears Bruce Rondon has leapfrogged Alex Wilson in the Detroit pecking order. Brad Ausmus hasn’t gone so far as to say that Rondon is the only closer, but he is the preferred choice when save situations will arise for the immediate future. There’s really no need to cover this situation significantly more than I did the other night; Rondon has the better peripherals, gets swing-and-misses, and rides a high-90’s fastball. Additionally, Alex Wilson has shown that he can be a highly effective multi-inning guy, so it’s possible reserving him for high-leverage situations in the middle innings may be a better use of his talents. Regardless, Rondon should be owned in all leagues going forward — I’d hold Wilson (unless I need the roster spot) because this pen seems tenuous enough that a few bad outings by the burly righty could put Wilson back in line for a few ninth innings.

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– It’s not 100% clear that tonight helped sort out Detroit’s bullpen quagmire at all. Up 7-4, the Tigers called upon Bruce Rondon (not Alex Wilson) to try and finish off the Royals this evening. After inducing a groundout, things got hairy for Brad Ausmus, as the burly righty hit Alex Rios and then walked Omar Infante to bring the tying run to the plate. This got Wilson (who hadn’t pitched yet) quickly to his feet and warming behind Rondon. To Rondon’s credit, he punched out the noodle-batted Drew Butera and got Alcides Escobar to fly out to end the thread and garner “SV” number 2.

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• While it continues to be a committee in Chicago, it appears Jason Motte is top dog in the Cubbie bullpen at the present. The former Cardinal stopper racked up another save today, notching number six with a pair of punchouts. Motte appears to be almost back to full strength after Tommy John surgery a few years ago, with his fastball velocity only a mph off where it was in 2012 (before he went under the knife). The renewed velocity hasn’t led to a huge strikeout jump, however, with the righty currently owning what would be a career-worst 15% mark. His SwStr% rate is also down, but he is continuing to get good linear weights on the fastball, so it’s unclear whether his stuff is flat or he’s just inducing weak contact (his Hard% is his lowest since 2011). Regardless, the low strikeout rate is helping keep his xFIP at a mediocre 4.61, so while he has value right now because he’s getting the opportunities, the possibility of regression exists. Hector Rondon got the “W” today and still owns a sexy 1.93/2.82 SIERA combination, so I’d cuff Motte with him in all leagues where Rondon has been dropped. Additionally, Rafael Soriano is now in the mix, but with peripherals only marginally better than Motte’s over the last few years, he’s less appetizing to me (besides the whole proven closer(TM) thing, I guess).

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• As Alan intimated last night, Huston Street did indeed tweak something at the end of yesterday’s 299th career save. The Angel closer is probably done for this weekend’s set against the Mariners with a groin strain. Ouch. While the team seems to think it is minor (and that he should be back following the all-star break), Joe Smith is a must grab if you need saves and have the room. Aside from the fact that he could scab a “SV” or two over the next couple of days, groin injuries can be a tricky thing — especially with pitchers. Smith’s 2015 hasn’t been quite as sparkling as his 2014, but still the owner of a sub-3.00 SIERA, he’d be a fine choice to hold down the ninth if needed. A concern with the low-arm-slot reliever has been platoon splits, but his versus LHB xFIP was 3.71 in 2014 and is 4.06 this season. Neither are good, but given that he’s been great against righties, neither seems like a death sentence. I’m stashing where I can until Street is back and proves he is healthy for a couple outings.

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• Not a great day to be Santiago Casilla fan. Or a Giants’ fan. Or a Santiago Casilla owner. Or a Santiago Casilla owner who is also a Giants fan. Or… Well, regardless, Casilla had a game to forget today, giving up a pair of singles before Justin Bour walked the Marlins off with a three-run job. After seeing a pretty sizable gain in the DIPS department last year, Casilla has regressed somewhat in 2015, seeing his SIERA tend closer to where it was in 2010-2013 rather than 2014. This hasn’t been all bad for his owners, as the mark remains passable for the righty to notch some saves. Unfortunately, while Casilla’s K% is up, his BB% is teetering perilously close to the “uh oh” 10% mark, so it’d be nice to see him get the free passes under control. It’s worth noting that Sergio Romo appears to be back to the 2011-2012 version, as the slider specialist now owns a 2.00 SIERA. Unfortunately, the righty also owns a .367 BABIP so his 4.32 ERA does a pretty poor job of screaming “give me the ninth!” I still like rostering Romo as rates hold and a speculative saves add, but even with a couple rocky outings, my guess is Casilla remains safe for the time being.

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• Jeurys Familia is back. After dealing with a bit of groin tightness, the righty closer saw his first in-game action in about a week this afternoon, cleaning up a 2-0 win for the Metropolitans. Good news for fantasy owners? Familia said he was discomfort-free after the outing, meaning the green light is on going forward. The Mets’ closer has been outstanding this year, notching 20 saves with a minuscule 1.34 ERA. While some regression is to be expected, Familia’s 2.48 xFIP implies that his overall line isn’t going anywhere. It’s been an impressive transformation for the righty, who has seen his velocity tick up 2 mph with his full-time move to the bullpen last year. While he’s always generated big whiffs on his slider, he also is generating 10+% SwStr% marks on both his sinker and four-seamer. It seems like a long time ago we were wondering if Bobby Parnell would regain his old gig before July.

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• In “as the closer turns” in Toronto, it was righty Steve Delabar, not Roberto Osuna, notching the save in this afternoon’s matinee versus the Rays. Of course, the game wasn’t your run-of-the-mill affair, as it garnered most attention due to Marco Estrada’s bid for a perfect game that was foiled by a chopper up the middle. When the righty starter gave up hit number two in the ninth inning, Osuna was called on to try to preserve the 0-0 tie, which he did by retiring the only batter he faced. When the Jays finally did go ahead and take the lead a few innings later, it was Delabar who jogged in and set Tampa down 1-2-3, fanning a pair in the process. What does it all mean? Well, it probably means Osuna is not quite 100% “the guy,” although it’s worth noting that he is still only a full rest day removed from a 6-out save, so it’s possible the team didn’t want to push him for more than a batter or two. To Delabar’s credit, he’s posted a 1.42 ERA on the season, although his .128 BABIP will surely go up just as his 100% LOB% will trend down. For now, I’ll go ahead and bump Delabar ahead of Cecil (who picked up the win today, although he allowed three baserunners scattered around a pair of punchouts) on the grid, but will leave him behind Osuna for now. However, those desperate should go ahead and scoop him up for the time being — at least until this pen shakes out with a bit more certainty.

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• Fernando Rodney blew his third save of the season in pretty sloppy fashion last night. The righty’s ERA is now up to 6.85. While his xFIP is a slightly better 4.90, a 19% K% isn’t going to cut it if you are walking 12% of the batters you face. Captain Crooked Hat’s velocity and SwStr% haven’t fallen off a cliff, so there is still some positive signs here, but the footsteps of Carson Smith might be growing just a bit louder. Speaking of Smith, the setup man tossed another scoreless inning yesterday evening and now owns a 2.20 xFIP. He can help your rates in all leagues, but if saves are at a major premium in your deeper formats, speculate away.

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