Bullpen Report: August 27, 2015

– Fernando Rodney is going to be shooting arrows a couple time zones over. With Jason Motte hitting the DL, the Cubbies procured themselves another deposed “proven closer(TM)” by acquiring Rodney for a player to be named later. For those thinking “hot lead on new closer candidate!” you can probably stop. The righty’s 5.68 ERA is only slightly uglier than his 4.63 xFIP and the 38-year-old’s plunging K% may be signifying the beginning of the end. The velocity is only off a touch, but Captain Crooked Hat’s Zone% is down and his Contact% is up. Not only are batters making more contact but Rodney is struggling to keep his stuff in the zone. If you are super desperate in holds leagues, you could try Rodney, I guess (although if the league was that deep, he probably wasn’t available to begin with), but I’m expecting small enough things he doesn’t crack the grid.

– Sean Doolittle is back and… it’s a mixed bag. The formerly-flamethrowing lefty already returned once this season, but with a still-cranky shoulder and a fastball that couldn’t crack 90 mph, he hit the trainer’s table pretty quickly. This time around, the velocity is sitting around 91-92. Better, but still not where he usually hangs out (94-95 mph). While there was some speculation he could hop right into a late inning role (especially with Oakland “flavor of the week” closers rotating on a consistent basis), he hasn’t looked great in a couple outings — giving up earned runs and walks in both while punching out no one. It’s too early to draw any major conclusions, but with the improved velocity and a few swinging strikes (which he did get), I’m not ready to throw in the towel. While his effectiveness will likely be worse than usual, I’d still hold Doolittle if you need SV and can afford the roster spot. Maybe he just needs another week to shake the rust off in a messy pen.

– Speaking of guys who do not look good, Greg Holland did not pitch well in a non-save situation today. The righty’s xFIP continues to climb, and while it’s at a not-terrible 3.63, it’s still a far cry from where he was last year when he was anchoring the Royals pen. Also concerning — his velocity, which was already low, seems to have taken a downturn over the last couple of weeks after providing some hope around the all-star break. He did have plenty of rest (4 days) coming into this one and still only averaged 93 mph. Not bad, but remember, he sat 96 the last three years. I’m going to move him back to red until we see what’s up. It would not shock me in the least if he got “temporarily relieved” of his duties in the near future, especially with Wade Davis behind him.

– Foxy Boxy looked good striking out the side against the Twins. Then again, it was the Twins. Brad Boxberger has hit somewhat of a rough patch over the last month, owning the worst FIP (4.68) over the past month amongst all Rays relievers. While the whiffs are off somewhat, the walk rate is the big bugaboo, as he’s been sitting in the Carlos Marmol stratosphere for a surprisingly long time. His velocity hasn’t been fantastic as of late, so perhaps he’s wearing down a touch, but owners are going to hope the clean performance today is a springboard going forward. With Jake McGee out for the season, we’ll move him to yellow since there isn’t a lot behind him, but I’ll leave him there because he needs to get the 15% BB% under control.

– Looking for cheap rates help? Mychal Givens has looked fantastic upon his recall from Double-A earlier this month, posting a 2.00 FIP and 35% K%. He hasn’t garnered any saves, but it wouldn’t shock me to see him work his way into the later innings of September. Doesn’t hurt that he’s pretty much available in every fantasy league out there.

– Quick hits: Mark Melancon polished off save number 41. Remember when we were all worried about his velocity? Jonathan Papelbon gave up a run, but otherwise escaped unscathed. Which of course, prevents us from hearing “woe is the Nats!” all day tomorrow. Kenley Jansen Jim Johnson, Huston Street, David Robertson and Shawn Tolleson all rang up uneventful saves. The Rockies cleaned bullpen house, ditching Rafael Betancourt and optioning recently-demoted closer Tommy Kahnle to Triple-A.

Closer Grid:

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