A relatively slow night out of the bullpens as the MLB season is coming close to an end. Here are a few things that came to mind on Thursday:

Addison Reed served up a ninth-inning walk-off tater to Wilin Rosario to blow his sixth save of the season. That’s now seven earned runs that Reed has surrendered in his last five trips to the hill. Not good. The Diamondbacks’ closer is now 1-7 on the year with 31 saves in 37 chances with a 4.40 ERA (4.15 FIP) and owned a 21.1% K% entering Thursday. The right-hander’s 13.3% HR/FB% prior to tonight’s longball represents a career high and appears to be one of the primary culprits for the spike in ERA. And with roughly half of his home games at Chase Field and a good chunk at Coors, maybe this is more of the Addison Reed we should expect going forward with respect to ratios — not the 2013 version.
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Notes from Friday:

Koji Uehara made his first appearance since being pulled from the closer’s role on September 4th. In a clean inning off work, Uehara dished 15 pitches — 11 fastballs and four splitters — while facing the minimum to notch the hold. Prior to last evening’s game, Uehara indicated to reporters that he didn’t feel like the life on his splitter “still wasn’t there,” but also noted he may be able to “get it back once he gets into a game and faces a hitter.” Of the four splitters used, Uehara averaged just over 81 mph and induced one swing-and-miss. The results are a step in the right direction for the Red Sox former closer.
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A brief set of notes from Thursday’s games:

Multiple reports indicate that Sean Doolittle will likely be activated from the disabled list in time for Friday’s game. The A’s closer threw a 40-pitch session on Wednesday and reported no soreness or setbacks from the intercostal injury that caused him to miss 17 games, but will take the extra day of rest (Thursday) to ensure he’s fully ready after the laborious workout. Prior to hitting the shelf, Doolittle performed like one of the best closers in the game. He converted 20-of-23 saves with a 2.28 ERA (1.44 FIP) and a 36.2% K-BB%. The chart will be updated upon his official activation tomorrow.
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Some quick news and notes from Friday’s games:

On Thursday I noted that the Red Sox were considering shutting down Koji Uehara, but I was hesitant to make the change in the grid because I was waiting to hear the same from additional sources. At this point, it’s clear that Uehara has been stripped of his ninth-inning role, leaving Edward Mujica to take over. Mujica is 3-of-4 in save chances this season with a 12% K-BB% and a 4.05 ERA, which isn’t exactly pretty. But, he’s been named the closer for the time being and is available in 81% of Yahoo! leagues.
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It’s been some time since I’ve been on the hook for a Bullpen Report due to the birth of my third child — and second daughter — so thanks for your patience with me as I ease myself back into this high leverage situation. Thankfully, it appears as if this evening’s edition will be like facing the bottom of the order due to just a few noteworthy items from today’s action. A huge thanks goes out to Colin, Dan and Ben for picking me up during this special time.

Anyway, here are just a few things that you may or may not be more interested in:

Huston Street took the hill for the Halos with a 5-4 lead over the Twinkies in Minnesota today. He surrendered two consecutive singles to Danny Santana and Brian Dozier, but induced a strikeout sandwiched between two fly outs to seal his 12th save as a member of the Angels and 36th total for the ‘14 season in 38 total chances. Street now owns a 1.04 ERA (2.55 FIP) with a ~26% K% in 52 frames on the bump between the Padres and the Angels. Tonight’s save, Street’s 270th career conversion, keeps him 30th on the list of career leaders in said category. He’s holds the fifth most saves among active closers, behind Joe Nathan, Francisco Rodriguez, Jonthan Papelbon — and if you count him as active — Jose Valverde.
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As previously noted, we’ll be posting some of the weekend Bullpen Reports the morning after. With that said, here’s a few things that stuck out to me from Friday’s action:

Koji Uehara served up five earned runs on five hits and a walk last night to the Seattle Mariners in the top of the ninth. The blowup earned Uehara his third blown save of the year in 29 chances and he’s now yielded seven earned runs in his last three outings. Velocity may be down a hair at the moment, but I’m not sure it’s something that we could blame on his recent misfortune. The 39-year-old right-hander now owns a 2.28 ERA (2.66 FIP) with a 0.89 WHIP and a 28.5% K-BB% during his 2014 campaign.
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Just a couple of notes on this rather sluggish Thursday.

Kevin Quackenbush notched his first career save Wednesday evening in Chavez Ravine as the Friars clipped the Dodgers, 4-1. The Padres’ rookie reliever tossed a clean ninth-inning on 15 pitches (12 strikes), surrendering just one hit to seal the deal for the away squad. News out of San Diego today suggests that Quackenbush could see more save chances this season if current closer Joaquin Benoit’s shoulder continues to act up. And more importantly, Quackenbush could end up being the closer next season should the Padres move him “before the end of this month or in the offseason.” Moving the 37-year-old Benoit and anointing the 25-year-old righty the ninth-inning man would get the Padres off the hook for the former’s $8M salary next season, which seems like a realistic possibility for Friars. Quackenbush is 2-2 with a save and seven holds this season. He owns a 2.29 ERA (2.65 FIP) with a 15.6% K-BB% in 42 trips to the bump.
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In an effort to publish some of the essential bullpen news and notes over the weekend, there’s a good chance you’ll see me or one of my esteemed colleagues here on Saturday mornings going forward.

Here’s a few items that stuck out to me during Friday’s games:

–Rafael Soriano notched his 29th save of the season last evening, but it didn’t come easy. Soriano allowed an earned run on three hits before sealing the 5-4 victory for the Nationals over the Bucs. Both Rafael Soriano & Tyler Clippard have appeared in three consecutive days. Therefore, Drew Storen could make for a decent streaming closer option today.
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–Jenrry Mejia dished a clean ninth frame with a strikeout on just nine pitches in a non-save situation against the Nationals. This outing is an interesting one considering Mejia is apparently pitching with a sports hernia. He’ll have these issues taken care of in the offseason, but for the time being, the Mets’ medical staff has cleared him to to take the hill. In 43 appearances this season, the 24-year-old is 5-5 with 17 saves in 20 chances. He currently owns a 3.84 ERA (3.58 FIP) and owned a 1.55 WHIP with a 12.8% K-BB% entering tonight’s contest. If-and-when Mejia does goes under the knife for the sports hernia, he could “gradually return to baseball activities between three-and-six weeks after therapy.”
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Zach Britton notched his 24th save of the season in a 14-pitch effort tonight in Toronto. The southpaw did so by inducing three consecutive worm burners off the bats of Juan Francisco, Danny Valencia and Colby Rasmus to seal the 2-1 victory for the Orioles. Britton is now 24-of-27 in save chances on the season and owns a 1.56 ERA (2.95 FIP). Britton continues to be successful in the ninth-inning thanks to his league-leading ~76% GB% (entering tonight). His 16.1% K-BB% fails to provide fantasy owners with the strikeouts they would hope for, but his ratios and save conversion rate make up for it.
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