Bullpen Report: April 26, 2017

Two of the more noteworthy closer developments occurred off the field on Wednesday. Terry Collins told the Bergen Record that Jeurys Familia has been returned to the closer’s role. This means the end to his phase-in period following his 15-game suspension for a violation of Major League Baseball’s domestic violence policy. Collins had used Familia in non-save situations for his first three appearances. This also means the end of Addison Reed’s solid run as the Mets’ closer, which resulted in four saves but also a loss to the Marlins in which he gave up a walk-off home run to J.T. Riddle to break a ninth-inning tie.

In his 2 2/3 innings to date, Familia has six strikeouts and 11 swinging strikes, but he has also walked four batters. If I own Reed, I’m hanging on to him if possible, at least until Familia shows that he will be reliable now that he is back in the closer’s role.

The other bit of news was that the Nationals placed Koda Glover on the 10-day disabled list with a left hip impingement. Glover got back-to-back saves against the Mets over the weekend, as Shawn Kelley was getting a breather from closing out three games in four days. With or without Glover on the DL, Kelley figured to get most of the save opportunities in the near term, now that he is rested. Should Kelley have to pitch in a flurry of games like he did last week, though, it’s not clear whether Dusty Baker would go back to Blake Treinen to be the back-up closer, or if he would try Enny Romero or Joe Blanton.

Alex Colome was charged with his first loss of the season Wednesday. His night got off to a promising enough start, as he was brought in to hold a 3-3 tie with the Orioles in the bottom of the 10th inning. Colome pitched a clean inning and was brought back out for the 11th, this time with a 4-3 lead to preserve. He loaded the bases with two singles and a walk and then lost the lead on Jonathan Schoop’s sac fly. After reloading the bases with a walk to Ryan Flaherty, Danny Farquhar saddled Colome with the loss by walking in the winning run on four pitches to Seth Smith.

It was an ugly outing for Colome overall, but the two runs he was charged with were his first earned runs of the season. If there is a reason to be concerned, it’s the one Benjamin raised in Tuesday’s Bullpen Report. Colome has now induced only 16 whiffs on 159 pitches for a 10.0 percent rate. While we are still dealing with small samples at this stage of the season, Colome is already eight swinging strikes behind last season’s pace. It’s too early to be speculating on Farquhar or any other possible successor, but this is a trend that needs to be watched.

Fernando Rodney‘s string of six successfully converted saves is now broken, and he did so in dramatic fashion. He coughed up the Diamondbacks’ 5-3 lead over the Padres on a three-run Ryan Schimpf home run, and then he stayed in the game to allow three more hits, including a two-run double by Yangervis Solarte. It’s not a bad idea to put a claim on J.J. Hoover, but if he is gone, Jorge de la Rosa might be worth a try. Better yet, check on Archie Bradley’s availability. I doubt he will be moved into the closer’s role, but he had yet another superb multiple-inning outing in this game, holding the Padres to one run on two hits and no walks with five strikeouts over three innings.

Aroldis Chapman did not blow a save against the Red Sox, but he looked shaky, needing 33 pitches (and a late hook on a long fly by Josh Rutledge) to close out the Yankees’ 3-1 win. He averaged 98.7 mph on his fastball, dipping below 97 on two of his pitches to Rutledge,who just missed a three-run walkoff homer. For just about any other pitcher, that’s an absurd statement, but for Chapman, it’s a notable drop in velocity.

Saves roundup: Tony Watson (7), David Robertson (5), Chapman (5), Brandon Maurer (4), Cody Allen (4) and Bud Norris (3) all converted saves. Watson and Allen each pitched 1 1/3 innings, with Allen turning in a perfect outing.

Other closer activity: Neftali Feliz, Hector Neris, Brad Brach, Edwin Diaz and Mark Melancon pitched in non-save situations. Brach and Melancon were brought in to preserve tie scores, and only Neris (1 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 2 K) allowed a run.

Closer Grid:

[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]