Bullpen Report: April 14, 2017
On a night that didn’t have much bullpen drama, Francisco Rodriguez had a notably messy save. Entering the bottom of the ninth inning with a 7-1 lead, it seemed unlikely that the Tigers would have a reason to employ Rodriguez in this game, but William Cuevas loaded the bases and allowed a one-out Yandy Diaz RBI single. Rodriguez inherited a five-run lead but a bases-loaded situation. After striking out Abraham Almonte, he coughed up a pinch-hit grand slam to Lonnie Chisenhall.
Rodriguez protected the one-run lead that remained by striking out Austin Jackson, notching his fourth save in five tries, but he lifted his ERA to 5.40. On just about any other team, this could be cause for a controversy, but Rodriguez does not have any real rivals for the job at this point. Justin Wilson has been effective and could be a candidate if Rodriguez has protracted struggles. Joe Jimenez carries the label of “closer of the future,” but he was optioned to Triple-A Toledo earlier on Friday to make room for Cuevas, who was promoted from Toledo.
Alex Colome, who hadn’t pitched since April 8, also got called in to clean up a ninth-inning mess. The Rays went into the bottom of the ninth with a 10-2 lead over the Red Sox, but by the time Colome took over for Austin Pruitt with one out, the lead was down to 10-5, and there were runners on first and second. Colome had a much less eventful outing than Rodriguez, getting two outs on five pitches. Unlike the Tigers’ closer, Colome did not qualify for a save.
Two nights after A.J. Ramos entered the ninth in a tie game and took the loss, he made another ninth-inning appearance in a tie game at home. This time, Ramos preserved the tie, and the Marlins walked off against the Mets on a J.T. Realmuto double. The win was Ramos’ first of the year.
Meanwhile, deposed Phillies closer Jeanmar Gomez entered a tie game with the Nationals in the bottom of the ninth and allowed just a walk. However, manager Pete Mackanin brought Gomez back out for the 10th inning, and he failed to retire either Bryce Harper or Daniel Murphy, with the latter winning the game on an RBI double. After the game, Mackanin told The News Journal that he did not want to risk having to pitch closer Joaquin Benoit for multiple innings.
David Robertson (2, perfect inning), Tony Watson (3), Aroldis Chapman (3), Jim Johnson (2) and Edwin Diaz (2) all received saves after pitching a scoreless inning. Zach Britton gave up three hits and a run, marking the fourth time in six appearances that he has allowed multiple baserunners. Nonetheless, he got his fifth save of the season and has a 1.29 ERA.
Perhaps the reliever eliciting the greatest level of concern on Friday was Nate Jones. He did his job in handing over a 2-1 lead to Robertson, allowing only a Miguel Sano walk. However, he needed 20 pitches to get through the eighth inning, throwing just 11 strikes and getting one swing and miss. His whiff rate on the season is now 8.2 percent. Jones’ fastball and slider velocity are near last season’s levels, but he isn’t getting as much horizontal movement on his slider or throwing it as often for strikes. The Robertson trade rumors probably aren’t going anywhere, but unless he improves, Jones is not looking like an attractive closer-in-waiting.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
Al Melchior has been writing about Fantasy baseball and sim games since 2000, and his work has appeared at CBSSports.com, BaseballHQ, Ron Shandler's Baseball Forecaster and FanRagSports. He has also participated in Tout Wars' mixed auction league since 2013. You can follow Al on Twitter @almelchiorbb and find more of his work at almelchior.com.
would it be time to speculate on Keone Kela for TEX pen? I know its SSS, but he is doing well at AAA and the he has to be called up soon, right?
I don’t know that I’d rush out to add a player that other Rangers players apparently “overwhelmingly” supported being demoted, per http://www.star-telegram.com/sports/mlb/texas-rangers/article142465809.html. Someone even called him a clubhouse cancer. He might get back in the team’s good graces at some point, but I’m not sure it’ll be about two weeks into the season.