Junichi Tazawa was unable to find the strike zone on Friday night, and now Jean Machi has been tabbed as the closer for the Red Sox. Tazawa walked four Mets and only found the zone with 11 of his 28 offerings. If you’re looking for a source of cheap holds, Robbie Ross has four in his last four outings and of late is getting those opportunities. His velocity is picking up, and with the volatility in the closer role, who knows? It’s not out of the realm of possibilities to see him getting a few save chances down the stretch. His peripherals aren’t the strongest, and he’s only rocking a 12.3% K%-BB% to go with a 3.88 xFIP, but the options in the Boston pen aren’t the greatest. Of course, if Machi(and his 5.8% K%-BB%) runs with the role, then it’s a moot point. Machi grabbed his third save on Saturday with a perfect ninth, generating three groundouts.

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Vin Scully is coming back for his 67th season, and everything else is secondary.

A.J. Ramos (and his 6.58 FIP and 8.18 ERA over the past thirty days) shut down the Nationals in the ninth for his 23rd save of the year. Carter Capps was still experiencing discomfort throwing his fastball on Monday, so his return is still up in the air, though he hints that he expects to be airing it out soon. For the Nationals, Jonathan Papelbon warmed up, but didn’t get in the game. He pitched each of the previous two nights, so I wouldn’t be entirely shocked if Drew Storen saw a save opportunity in Miami this weekend.

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The Mariners have ended the Fernando Rodney Experience. An All Star closer who led the league in saves in 2014 with 48 has been designated for assignment. Tom Wilhelmsen will move in behind Carson Smith with Edgar Olmos slotting in because who else? Smith had setup duties on Sunday, and Wilhelmsen pitched the ninth for his third save. Lloyd McClendon wanted to give Smith a lower-leverage chance just as a break. He only needed ten pitches to retire four White Sox. Smith still has the closer seat, and I don’t take this as a sign that Wilhelmsen is moving in.

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With the news that Jake McGee is having knee surgery and is likely lost for the season, there is a new name on the grid for the Rays. As you can see in Marc Topkin’s story, Kevin Cash makes it clear that this doesn’t mean the ninth is Brad Boxberger’s now. We could continue to see him pitch in the eighth if the situation calls for it, with any one of four Rays called upon to close it out. The grid isn’t big enough to put them all on, but Steve Geltz, Xavier Cedeno, Alex Colome and Brandon Gomes will all be in the mix for saves in the event that Boxberger needs a night off or if he’s used earlier in the game. I have Geltz as next in line, but it could be any of the four. We’ll have to wait and see if Cash takes a shine to any of the four before we can have much confidence in the order behind Boxberger. For now, I have Geltz and Colome, but that’s written in sand, not etched in stone.

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Kevin Cash went with arguably his best reliever in the eighth inning of a tie game in Chicago, with the heart of the White Sox order coming up. He set them down and with the game still tied, he went with Brandon Gomes to face the bottom of the order, saving Brad Boxberger for the tenth inning to try to keep the Rays alive. After Adam Eaton singled to lead off the inning, he ended up at third after a fielding error on his steal attempt of second. After retiring one, Boxberger was ordered to load the bases by intentionally walking both Jose Abreu and Melky Cabrera. He then walked in the winning run. He’s still in the closer seat for now and his line isn’t as bad as it looked as two IBBs and an error played a huge part. For the White Sox, David Robertson was dominant, striking out four in his extended two-inning outing.

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Shawn Tolleson is remaining in the closer role, but his cohorts on the grid are changing. Keone Kela has been sent to AA, and Tanner Scheppers hits the DL with a knee issue. Newly acquired Sam Dyson and Jake Diekman end up next in line for saves with the Rangers. With Tolleson being unavailable on Sunday after pitching four days in a row, the Rangers turned to the Dyson-Diekman duo to lock down a two-run lead in the ninth. Diekman walked Nori Aoki on four pitches and was replaced with Dyson. He generated three ground balls, the first two ending up in the outfield, and the last one starting a game-ending double play. It was Dyson’s first save as a Ranger.

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The non-waiver trade deadline came and went and left the closer grid looking a little bit different. Rumored trades involving Aroldis Chapman, Craig Kimbrel, and Carter Capps, among others, didn’t come to fruition. As always, if you notice any mistakes on the updated grid, please comment so they can be corrected.

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Ken Giles owners, rejoice!!!! Drew Storen owners, I’m so sorry. Who saw that coming? As you all know by now, Jonathan Papelbon has agreed to be traded to the Nationals, but one of his conditions was that he was guaranteed to be the closer, bumping Drew Storen to a setup role. Don’t hastily drop Storen as he’ll still help your ratios, grab you holds and still grab the odd save. Giles earned his first save of the season for the Phillies with a scoreless ninth in Toronto. Jeanmar Gomez moves into the back end of the Phillies grid.

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Jeurys Familia blew his fourth save of the year for the Mets. For the Mets to make the postseason, they’ll need Familia firing on all cylinders, and for most of the year, he certainly has. Last year’s closer, Jenrry Mejia hasn’t given up a run yet this year, but he did miss the first 80 games due to a suspension. As a result, he’s not available for the postseason. I see Mejia having a place on the grid, but if Familia’s velocity continues to tick down, who will get the save opportunities that the Mets need converted to play in October? Mejia could close games and help them get to the postseason, but then what? Bobby Parnell has been there before, and he’s allowed to pitch in the postseason, should the Mets score some runs and get there. He saved 22 games in 2013. The problem is his miniscule 5.8% K%-BB% in his shortened 2015. And his velocity is down a couple ticks from his healthy 2013. I’d prefer Mejia over Parnell and have slotted him ahead of Parnell on the grid.

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The Cardinals added a nice piece to their bullpen when they acquired Steve Cishek on Friday for a minor leaguer. Regardless of the nice work that Kevin Siegrist has put in, barring injury, the Cardinals grid will soon be Trevor Rosenthal, backed up by Jordan Walden(who started a rehab assignment Thursday), and Cishek. Since being recalled in mid-June, Cishek has appeared in 13 games, and has only given up a run in one of them. His velo has gradually improved as the season has gone on, but he’s still a tick behind where he could be.  Siegrist was given the save opportunity Friday night with Rosenthal unavailable, Walden on a rehab assignment and Cishek still out of state, and he shakily nailed it down, throwing 25 pitches, striking out two, walking one and surrendering a single to Nick Markakis on a pitch he probably couldn’t have thrown any better. Siegrist is a good reliever, but let’s be real, Mike Matheny is going to any of those three before he’s going to Siegrist. Probably. For now, Siegrist is ahead of Cishek, but I doubt that lasts long at all.

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