Bullpen Report: August 22, 2013

Rafael Betancourt entered tonight’s game in the bottom of the ninth frame with a 4-3 Rockies lead over the Phillies. The crafty veteran retired the first two batters he faced, but then allowed a two-out double to Jimmy Rollins followed by an RBI single off the bat of Michael Young. Immediately following Young’s at-bat, Betancourt signaled for the trainer and was pulled from the game with an apparent elbow injury. The trainer’s evaluation “suggested” a possible tear of the infamous ulnar collateral ligament, which could end his season if Tommy John surgery is indeed needed to repair the ligament. It appears as if Rex Brothers will land back in the closer’s role should in fact Betancourt’s season be over. Brothers is 11-of-12 in save opportunities this season with a 1.51 ERA (3.31 FIP), a 1.16 WHIP and a 25.9% K%. The southpaw is owned in just 44% of Yahoo! leagues as of this writing, but that number needs to increase exponentially by the time the sun rises tomorrow.

Is it me, or do I end up writing about Addison Reed each-and-every week in this here column? It’s great since I think so highly of Reed and his 34 saves on the season, but often times I secretly hope to write about different talents in the league. Anyway, Reed is now 34-of-39 with a 3.13 ERA (2.54 FIP) and a 24.5% K%. Thinking about next season, Reed will likely be a fixture in my top ten among closers, potentially finding his way into the top five.

Mariano RIvera appeared in each of the last two evenings and three of the past four contests, earning a night off on Thursday as the Yankees took on the Blue Jays in the Bronx. With a 5-3 edge heading into the visitor’s half of the ninth, Joe Girardi called for the Bombers’ David Robertson to keep the Jays off the scoreboard. The Yankees’ closer of the future induced two ground outs and a fly out on 18 pitches to secure his second save of the twenty-thirteen campaign and a 5-3 victory.

Quick Hitters: Glen Perkins quietly locked down his 30th save of the season tonight. Aroldis Chapman (rest) and Jonathan Broxton (DL) were unavailable this evening for the Reds in a save situation, leaving Dusty Baker to signal for Sam Lecure to shut the door on the Diamondbacks. Lecure surrendered a couple of singles in the ninth-inning, but escaped unscathed to earn his first save of the year. Rafael Soriano and Tyler Clippard appeared in the ninth and tenth innings respectively, leaving Drew Storen to closeout the Cubbies in the bottom of the 13th. Storen fanned one, then induced a game-ending double play to end the game after Anthony Rizzo reached via error.

While nothing about Betancourt’s injury is official yet, I’ve placed him in the disabled list slot based on information we’ve heard this evening.

Closer Grid:

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