Bullpen Report: August 15, 2019

• All good things must come to an end, and Seth Lugo is now just a regular, solid but not necessarily spectacular reliever after allowing five earned runs entering in the 7th inning. After the blow up Lugo still supports a 2.99 SIERA and a still excellent 25.9% K-BB%, but entering in the 7th means Lugo wasn’t going to get 9 outs for the save which would leave Edwin Diaz or Justin Wilson for the 9th.  One bad outing after an amazing run doesn’t take Lugo out of the running for saves but it’s clear he won’t be saved for save situations only, meaning Edwin Diaz and/or Justin Wilson could see opportunities depending on the match ups. I’m going to make this a three-headed committee, stay tuned on who the Mets turn to next.

• On the flip side of this game, Mark Melancon was called on in the 9th for the Braves after they secured the lead against the Mets but after allowing two earned runs and four hits, Jerry Blevins recorded the final out for his 1st save of the year. The Braves have had bullpen issues all year and after “addressing” it with deadline additions in Mark Melancon, Shane Greene, and Chris Martin the bullpen situation remains a mess as all three have struggled mightily in their new uniforms. Shane Green has allowed 7 earned in 4.1 innings for the Braves but after throwing a scoreless inning last night, it’s possible he gets the next chance. Mark Melancon was given the job after Greene and Martin struggled and he’s had issues as well but might be more the victim of bad luck with a .526 BABIP and 7/1 K/BB. Meanwhile ex-closer Luke Jackson continues to put up zeroes since the deadline and could re-enter the mix as well. We have a full on committee here in Atlanta and whoever gets the hot hand should get a majority of the remaining save opportunities

• After the Greg Holland experiment ended, Archie Bradley took the reins from Yoan Lopez and Yoshihisa Hirano to gain full control of the closer’s role but last night he received the loss after allowing a walk-off homer to Nolan Arenado. Getting smacked by Arenado happens to the best of them so I’m not going to committee this pen quite yet but Lopez and Hirano are still lingering if Bradley has any continued struggles.

• For quite some time Joe Jiménez was thought of as closer of the future and he now has his shot, getting his 2nd save of the year for the Tigers last night.  Jiménez has had better peripherals than his ERA throughout his brief career and that’s the same this year with a 3.36 SIERA but a 4.76 ERA. Jiménez throws hard (95+ mph) and gets whiffs (15.1% SwStr%) but he ‘s an extreme fly ball guy (47.2%) without excellent command and some of those dingers come with men on base. Jiménez has some of the skills to be a great closer but unless he improves a little bit across the board he might be a more frustrating closer to have, especially since he’s less likely to get gobbles of saves on a rebuilding Detroit team.

•  Quick Hits: Liam Hendriks was called on for a four-out save, securing his 13th save of the year. Hendriks job is plenty safe with Blake Treinen unlikely to reclaim the job here on out having been consistently inconsistent this entire year.  How the A’s distribute saves next year could be interesting although I would lean towards Hendriks holding on. Sergio Romo blew the lead for the Twins in the 8th inning allowing Mat Albers to get his 4th save for the Brewers. With Josh Hader struggling, it’s possible Albers gets an extra opportunity or two but there is no changing of the guard here. Aroldis Chapman struck out a pair for his 33rd save of the year and Kirby Yates and José Leclerc each through scoreless ninths in non-save situations.