Bullpen Report: April 21, 2022
The 2022 version of Bullpen Report includes five different sections, as well as the closer chart, which can be found at the bottom of the page.
- Notable Workloads: Primary closers or valuable members of a closer committee who have been deemed unavailable or likely unavailable for the current day due to recent workload.
- Injury News
- Outlier Saves: Explanation for a non-closer earning a save during the previous day.
- Committee Clarity: Notes on a closer committee that clarify a pitcher’s standing in the group.
- Losing A Grip: Struggling closers who could be on the hot seat.
The “RosterResource” link will take you to the corresponding team’s RosterResource depth chart, which will give you a better picture of the full bullpen and results of the previous six days (pitch count, save, hold, win, loss, blown save.)
Click HERE to view the full Closer Depth Chart.
Notable Workloads
•Scott Barlow, KCR: Back-to-back days; 14 pitches on Wednesday. Josh Staumont, KCR: Back-to-back days; 12 pitches on Wednesday. | RosterResource
Amir Garrett and Dylan Coleman are likely candidates for a save chance on Thursday if neither Barlow nor Staumont is available.
•Aroldis Chapman, NYY: Back-to-back days; 15 pitches on Wednesday. | RosterResource
Clay Holmes has also pitched back-to-back days. If neither Chapman nor Holmes is available on Thursday, Jonathan Loáisiga is a likely candidate for a save chance.
•Giovanny Gallegos, STL: Back-to-back days; 15 pitches on Wednesday. | RosterResource
Génesis Cabrera threw 21 pitches on Wednesday, so his status is also in question for Thursday. If neither Gallegos nor Cabrera is available, Ryan Helsley is a likely candidate for a save chance.
Injury News
•Lucas Sims, CIN: Will likely be activated from the 10-Day IL on April 22. | Injury Report
Who wants good #Reds injury news?
• Lucas Sims pitched a scoreless inning at Louisville and should be active Friday.
• Luis Castillo will make a rehab start Sunday for Dayton
• Nick Senzel is in the lineup today
• Jose Barrero was expected to start swinging the bat today
— C. Trent Rosecrans (@ctrent) April 20, 2022
Sims, who allowed one run in four innings (5 K, BB) on his rehab assignment, could be in the mix for save chances right away. The Reds have only won two games, so it was nearly impossible for anyone to separate themselves from the committee while Sims was out. Tony Santillan and Art Warren each picked up a save, but struggled in their latest appearance.
The Reds’ most impressive reliever thus far might be Alexis Diaz, the brother of Mets’ closer, Edwin Díaz. But it is very likely that the closer’s job will belong to Sims very soon as long as he can stay healthy.
•Paul Sewald, SEA: Placed on COVID-19 IL. | Injury Report
While he had yet to pick up a save in 2022, Sewald has retired all 11 batters faced and should be in the mix for save chances once again after his breakout 2021 (11 saves, 16 holds, 10 wins, 3.06 ERA, 14.5 K/9). But it will have to wait until he returns from the COVID-19 related IL, which means he could miss one day or he could miss 10 days.
In the meantime, Drew Steckenrider and Diego Castillo will likely handle closer duties while Andrés Muñoz continues to make a case to join them.
Outlier Saves
•None
Committee Clarity
•Jorge López, BAL | RosterResource
López has been the leading candidate to become the Orioles’ primary closer since the start of the season and he also had the team’s only save through their first 11 games. But not only has the lack of opportunities made it difficult to know if the Orioles would go with a closer committee, they have several relievers who have been making a strong case to be part of that committee.
So, what appeared to be a potential “closer committee because no one is trusted enough” could be turning into a potential “closer committee because there are several reliable options”. But after watching the 29-year-old Lopez retire the final five batters, three by strikeout, to finish off a 1-0 shutout win over the A’s on Wednesday, it would be hard to see the Orioles going in another direction anytime soon. If he can put together a solid first half, he could be a valuable trade chip in July.
•Scott Barlow, KCR | RosterResource
After he picked up his second save in two games on Tuesday, I wrote this about Josh Staumont in yesterday’s Bullpen Report …
Staumont, who had been hyped as a future closer after an impressive 2020 season, picked up five saves last season in a span of 11 appearances from April 24 through May 19. But he didn’t get another save while Barlow appeared to take hold of the job by season’s end. So, maybe we shouldn’t read too much into Staumont’s back-to-back saves. Three in a row, however, and I’d pretty close to calling him the Royals’ closer.
As I said, maybe we shouldn’t read too much into it. On Wednesday, it was Staumont in the eighth and Barlow closing things out in the team’s 2-0 shutout win over the Twins. Royals’ manager Mike Matheny appears to trust both pitchers in save situations and he’ll likely continue mixing and matching that duo to lock down at least the final six outs of close wins.
Losing A Grip
•None
Click HERE to view the full Closer Depth Chart.
Every outing Scott Barlow has had this year has been against some combination of the 1-5 hitters in the line-up. Last night he took down the 3-4-5 hitters for the SV. Seems pretty clear he’s the most trusted reliver and his SV’s are just a matter of how the batting order lines up.
I’m surprised Anthony Bender isn’t shaded yellow… It’s been a rough go for him thus far so I would guess that Miami is looking forward to Floro coming off the IL.
I thought about it, but I try not to overreact to a non-save situation. Maybe Sulser is more reliable in a save situation at this point. But I think they’re just waiting for Floro to come back and re-evaluate at that time. Sounds like he’s getting close.
Curious as to why Steckenrider continues to top the Mariners list? He doesn’t even seem to be part of a committee.
Diego has pitched the 9th the last 3 wins. Seems like a safe bet to have the most saves.
Steckenrider has 4 straight appearances in the 7th inning. Munoz has 2 straight 8th innings. Sewald is a better pitcher than Steckenrider.
I’d argue that Steckenrider is the only one who’s not in the mix at this point.
I hear you and it’s not possible for Steckenrider to get a save when he’s already pitched in the 7th, but they still only have one save each and Steckenrider was their closer at the end of 2021. I can see the argument for listing Castillo above him but still list them both as closers. Seems like only a matter of time before Muñoz is the primary closer, although Servais does like to keep it open and he has a lot of good options.
On the Royals broadcast, they said that Matheny decides before the game which part of the lineup he wants Barlow and Staumont to face regardless of which inning it comes up in. Also worth noting that Barlow’s FB velo has been down 1.7 mph to 93.6 this year and his last two outings the FB usage was only 7%.
Glad that you bumped Jimenez over Puk and Acevedo, it’s not a huge deal now in my opinion since Trivino should be back soon but it’s good to file away. Trivino is an obvious trade candidate for OAK since he’s actually getting paid and not great. Jimenez is a 28 year old rook who could fill as their closer for the next 5 years for basically free if he’s good enough.
This Mets fan would suggest Trevor May is #2 in the Mets pen. After a minor arm issue at the beginning of the season, he’s looked like himself and also picked up a SV the other day. Arguably, Ottavino is a tad ahead of Lugo who really hasn’t looked great so far.
Gallegos is a Yankee again???
I do occasionally make this kind of mistake when my brain won’t stop connecting a player to a former team, but this was just a copy/paste error. Gallegos’ 20 appearances as a Yankee must not have been very memorable.