Bullpen Report: April 30, 2017

It was another exciting weekend for bullpen activity across the major leagues. There were several late blown leads, and there could be multiple role changes this week. On Saturday, we witnessed one of the most improbable 9th-inning comebacks in recent memory. Since there was so much activity on both days this weekend, this report is broken into two sections, one for each day:

Sunday:

• Bud Norris continued to shine as the fill-in for the injured Cam Bedrosian. With the Angels leading 4-2, Norris entered in the 8th inning with two on and two out. He struck out Rougned Odor to end the inning, then came back out for the 9th with the Angels up by three. After walking Elvis Andrus to start the inning, Norris struck out the next three batters he faced ­— Joey Gallo, Shin-Soo Choo, and Mike Napoli — to notch his fifth save of the season (and of his career). In 14 innings this season, Norris has 19 strikeouts against six walks and zero home runs allowed, good for a 2.57 ERA/1.78 FIP/2.97 xFIP. The formerly mediocre starting pitcher has been lights out for the Halos, and may be worth owning in deeper leagues even after Bedrosian returns. Bedrosian hasn’t started throwing yet in his attempt to return from a groin injury that has kept him out of action since April 21.

• Zach Britton is expected to return from his stint on the DL for forearm tightness early this week, and it couldn’t come at a better time for the Orioles, whose bullpen nearly cost them a game on Sunday. Manager Buck Showalter used impromptu closer Brad Brach in the 8th inning with his team leading 4-2, and Brach allowed just a Chris Carter single in an otherwise clean inning. However, in the 9th inning, right-handed pitcher Darren O’Day was summoned to face the switch-hitting Aaron Hicks, who popped out, and righties Matt Holliday and Starlin Castro. Holliday singled, Castro grounded into a force out, and O’Day remained in the game to face the right-handed Aaron Judge, who walked. Both runners then advanced on a balk, and Chase Headley walked to load the bases with two outs. Finally, lefty Donnie Hart was brought in to face Didi Gregorius, who singled to tie the game. The Orioles eventually won the game in extra innings, but after the meltdown, expect Brach to get any save opportunities before Britton returns (should there be any), and after that, look for things to return to normal with Britton dominating at the back end and Brach being one of the better set-up arms in baseball.

• Alex Colome entered in relief of Chris Archer with a 1-0 lead in the 8th inning and a runner on second with one out. He promptly allowed a game-tying double to Jose Bautista, and after an intentional walk and a strikeout, he surrendered two run-scoring singles that put the Rays behind by two. The performance ultimately counted as a blown save and a loss for Colome, who, in 12 innings this year, has walked five and struck out only eight. To his credit, he hasn’t allowed any home runs, which explains his 3.00 ERA and 2.91 FIP, but his 4.44 xFIP is unsightly. Colome had a career year last season, striking out 31.4% of the batters he faced, but his career average is just 21.3%. The season is still young, and Colome has been very good since being converted to a full-time reliever, but his strikeout rate is something to monitor moving forward. If he can’t match the projections that anticipate somewhere between nine and 10 batters per nine innings, he may not be the dominant reliever we thought he was.

• Mark Melancon blew his second save of the season, allowing a tying two-run homer to Hector Sanchez with one out in the 9th. It was unfortunate for the Giants, who ended up losing the game in extra innings, but Melancon’s job is about as safe as they come. The Giants signed him to a guaranteed $62 million contract this off-season, and Melancon had converted five straight save opportunities since blowing one on Opening Day.

• Pirates set-up man Daniel Hudson allowed five earned runs in 1/3 of an inning. Hudson, who has seven holds on the season, saw his FIP jump from 3.20 to 4.80 because of the outing. He now has a 9.90 ERA and 4.69 xFIP in 10 innings on the year. It’s a small sample, and he’s likely to rebound, but Hudson is someone to watch moving forward, as he may lose hold opportunities if can’t turn things around on the mound.

• Rangers reliever Sam Dyson gave up a walk and a home run in a non-save situation. In 7 1/3 innings this year, Dyson has allowed 14 earned runs. He has a 17.18 ERA/10.22 FIP/6.95 xFIP. Needless to say, it’s been a disastrous start to the season for Dyson, who was the Rangers closer to open the year. Matt Bush has since replaced him and remains the team’s closer. Dyson should be benched (or cut) in all formats until he proves he can be an effective reliever again.

Saturday:

• The grand theatrics of the weekend belonged to the Dodgers, who put together a most improbable comeback at the expense of Phillies reliever Hector Neris. With a 5-2 lead in the 9th inning, Neris served up three consecutive home runs to open the inning, to Yasiel Puig, Cody Bellinger, and Justin Turner, that tied the game at 5-5. After a strikeout and a single, Neris was pulled from the game, but his runner later scored on an Adrian Gonzalez single, so Neris was charged with a loss on top of a blown save. Neris was very good for the Phillies last season, and he was finally getting an opportunity to close this year. However, after Saturday’s meltdown, it will be interesting to see if Neris gets the lion’s share of the team’s save opportunities moving forward, or if Joaquin Benoit will be given another shot. The two had flip-flopped roles a couple of times already this season, and it could happen again now. The immediate future remains unknown for the back of this Phillies bullpen.

• Diamondbacks closer Fernando Rodney blew a 6-4 lead to the Rockies, surrendering three earned runs on two hits, two walks, and two wild pitches in the top of the 9th inning. While it was just the second blown save for Rodney, he now has a 12.60 ERA/5.40 FIP/4.46 xFIP in 10 innings for an upstart Arizona team that has visions of contention this year. With other bullpen arms like J.J. Hoover, Archie Bradley, and Jorge de la Rosa pitching well for the Diamondbacks, Rodney may not last long as the closer if things don’t turn around in a hurry.

• Jeurys Familia stuck out one in a perfect 9th inning to save a 5-3 lead for the Mets against the Nationals. It was the right-hander’s first save of the season in technically his second opportunity. The Mets carefully transitioned Familia back into the closer’s role after he served a 15-game suspension to open the season for his connection with domestic violence accusations last year. Now that he’s back in the role, look for Familia to re-gain the solid form he displayed last season, when he was one of the game’s better ninth-inning arms. Familia’s greatest strength on the mound is his ability to induce ground balls and limit home runs. He does so while notching his fair share of strikeouts.

Closer Grid:

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