As the sun sets on one of the busiest non-waiver trade deadlines in recent memory, it’s somewhat surprising that not many of the deals involved relief arms. This is partly due to the fact that Joakim Soria, Jason Frasor, Huston Street and Joe Thatcher switched uniforms already, but players like Joaquin Benoit, Chad Qualls and Addison Reed that have recently been rumored to be on the move, actually stayed put.
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A rather slow Thursday in the bullpen world, so please accept these few notes on my behalf:
The White Sox closer-by-committee situation may have cleared itself up a bit today, at least for the time being, anyway. Zach Putnam was placed on the 15-day disabled list with shoulder inflammation after recently feeling discomfort. With Putnam shelved, Robin Ventura suggested that “Jake Petricka will pitch in closer situations more often than not.” And Ventura did indeed signal for Petricka this evening with the ChiSox up 5-2 on the Twinkies in a save situation. The right-hander needed just eleven pitches to retire the Twins in order, with two strikeouts, to notch his fifth save of the season.
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The Bullpen Report team welcomes you back from a much needed All-Star Break rest. While there are lots of news and notes that could be covered, tonight I’ll hit you with what appears to be the most essential tidbits. However, if by chance there’s something I missed that you feel should’ve been addressed, please just drop a line in the comments below.
While we were away, the San Diego Padres shipped All-Star closer Huston Street up the 5 freeway to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim for a handful of Halos’ prospects. The addition of Huston Street parlayed with the recent acquisitions of Jason Grilli and Joe Thatcher, should bolster an Angels’ bullpen that ranked 21st in the majors with a 3.75 ERA (3.90 FIP). Street will likely take on the ninth-inning for Mike Scioscia’s bullpen, sending Joe Smith back into the eighth-inning setup role. Not a bad problem to have for the Angels as long as both hurlers continue shoving.
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Some quick notes from today’s bullpen action:
-The Reds ran Aroldis Chapman to the mound on each of the four previous days, leaving Jonathan Broxton to man the ninth-inning in a save situation with a one-run lead. Broxton surrendered a leadoff longball to All-World Andrew McCutchen, his second of the game, resulting in the right-hander’s fourth blown save on the season. He is now 6-of-10 in save chances and his ERA sits at 1.19, which is still far off from what his xFIP (4.30) suggests he should be posting. More rough outings could be on the horizon for the Reds’ set-up man. Broxton remains to be an emergency only reliever to own, with the exception of hold leagues, deep standard leagues and daily leagues when streaming.
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Extremely brief notes in a pinch-hit effort this evening:
With the potential tying run in the on-deck circle for the Tigers in the bottom of the ninth, Joe Maddon pulled starter David Price in favor of flamethrowing Jake McGee to finish the game. And McGee did just that, fanning Austin Jackson on five pitches to notch his fifth save of the season. The 27-year-old southpaw now owns a 1.16 ERA to go along with a ~31% K% in just under 39 innings on the bump. We’ve discussed McGee and the possibility of the Rays wanting to keep him from notching too many saves to keep his arbitration numbers down — which could still be the case — but don’t let that keep you from adding him in your mixed leagues. Jake McGee is available in 64% of Yahoo! leagues at the time of this writing and will bring the heat in the ratio and strikeout categories while picking up the occasional scab win even if the Rays’ brass plays games with his role out of the bullpen.
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Just a few late notes from the bullpens on this holiday weekend:
-A Felix Hernandez/Jose Quintana pitching duel in Chicago this evening seemed like it would provide each club’s bullpen with some extra rest as we approach the All-Star Break. Well, that fact became clear once the game started to be honest, as both hurlers were firing on all cylinders. But, a couple of late runs from each club led to a 14-inning battle that featured 10 relievers combining for eleven-and-two-thirds innings on the hill. None of the five relievers for the Sox appeared impressive. Surkamp, Putnam and Belisario each surrendered earned runs while Javy Guerra gave up two free passes and a hit in his two frames of work. Everything about the White Sox bullpen is red right now. The Mariners, however, failed to allow an earned run on one hit, one walk and struck out seven in six innings. One of the seven strikeouts came from Fernando Rodney, who put forth a clean effort in the bottom of the 14th to earn his 25th save of the year and maintain his ~27% K%. Rodney’s 197 career saves are good enough for sixth among active closers and just 161 behind Joe Nathan’s 358 career saves.
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Happy Fourth of July Eve, my fellow bullpen bystanders. And with tomorrow being a holiday, yours truly will be out-and-about enjoying America’s finest libations and fireworks with the family. Therefore, we won’t be chatting again until late Saturday.
Now, here’s a look at tonight’s short slate:
Southpaw Zach Britton dished a scoreless ninth-inning, yielding just a leadoff double to Chris Gimenez, en route to his 12th save of the season in 14 opportunities. The Orioles’ closer needed just ten pitches to induce a strikeout and two groundouts to seal the 5-2 victory over the Rangers. Tonight’s trip to the hill made it three consecutive days the Orioles called on their closer, so if you’re looking for a reliever to stream tomorrow in search of a save in year-long or daily league, Tommy Hunter could be considered. Three in-a-row for Britton plus an inning and two-thirds tonight for Darren O’Day could mean rest for those two arms on Friday. Keep an eye on the weather though, apparently Hurricane Arthur may have different plans for the contest between the Orioles and Red Sox at Fenway Park tomorrow.
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-Tonight’s ride on the Hector Rondon rollercoaster went off without a hitch. Rondon induced two groundouts to start the ninth before striking out Danny Espinosa to seal the 5-3 victory for the Cubs against the Nationals. The 14-pitch outing for Rondon is a relief for fantasy owners and Cubs nation alike, especially considering he’s allowed eight earned runs in his past five outings. As for the rest of the bullpen, Neil Ramirez finished off the seventh-inning and Pedro Strop allowed a hit in the eighth, but failed to allow the Nats to capitalize on Adam LaRoche’s bunt single. Rondon, available in ~60% of Yahoo! leagues, is now 9-of-11 in save opportunities with a 3.68 ERA (2.19 FIP) and a 28.4% K%.
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A few notes out of the bullpens on Thursday:
-The debacle that is the backend of the Angels bullpen reared its ugly head once again this afternoon in Cleveland. Skipper Mike Scioscia went with setup man Joe Smith in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game on the road, presumably leaving right-hander Ernesto Frieri to work the next frame should the Angels get on the board in their half of the tenth. The Angels indeed plated two in the top of the tenth, but Scioscia went with rookie Cam Bedrosian in the save situation instead of closer Ernesto Frieri. Bedrosian proceeded to surrender two free passes and a hit before being hooked in favor of Ernesto Frieri with one out and the bases juiced. Frieri induced a flyout to short left, then yielded a game-winning grand slam to Nick Swisher to blow his third save of the season.
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Some quick bullpen notes in a pinch-hit effort this evening:
With Glen Perkins unavailable for the Twins in the bottom of the 10th due to a sore back, right-hander Casey Fien earned the nod with a 1-0 lead in the save situation. Manager Ron Gardenhire called upon Fien last week to complete a four-out save — his first of the season — but this evenings effort failed to turn out as nice. He induced a fly out to Dustin Pedroia to leadoff the inning, but surrendered back-to-back homeruns to David Ortiz and Mike Napoli to blow the save and take the loss, 2-1. Despite the blown save, usage indicates that Fien should indeed jump Jared Burton on our grid (change should be reflected below) and would seemingly get the next look if Perkins’ soreness develops into more than a one-day issue. Fien is now 1-of-2 in save chances this season with 11 holds, a 2.76 ERA (3.50 FIP) and a ~18% K%.
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