Bullpen Report: Friday, September 25, 2015
Mark Melancon picked up his 51st save, and his fourth in the last six days. The Pirates will want him closing games while they still have a shot at the division, and bear in mind that they’re still trying to wrap up home field in the wild card game. If they find themselves clinching one or the other, maybe he gets a rest to be fresh for October. The next guys in line, Tony Watson and Joakim Soria have been used heavily as well. I would not be the least bit surprised to see Joe Blanton pick up a garbage save late in the week if things are decided. Otherwise, Clint Hurdle is going to ride those three hard right to the last day.
David Robertson picked up his 32nd save of the year as the White Sox downed the Yankees on Friday. This puts the Yankees almost out of reach of the Blue Jays, and they’re far enough up in the wild card that it looks like they’ve got home field pretty much sewn up. That could be a recipe for Andrew Miller and Dellin Betances to get a little more rest, which would put Justin Wilson next in line for a save chance. I mean if we’re going to grasp at straws, we may as well grasp like we’ve never grasped before.
Jonathan Papelbon has been suspended for three games for throwing at Manny Machado. He’s chosen to appeal, but it looks like he’ll be down for a couple of games over the final week. Who is going to pick up those save chances in his stead? I think that it will be Casey Janssen. Blake Treinen could be the dark horse, as he’s got the better numbers. But he doesn’t have that “closer experience” that certain managers seem to love.
Uh oh. Glen Perkins struggled Friday night and Kevin Jepsen replaces him in the musical closer chair in Minnesota. Back in July, Perkins was as good a closer as there was in baseball, but neck and back issues have slowed him considerably. He came on with a two-run lead in the seventh, and walked Miguel Cabrera with first base open to get to Victor Martinez. VMart promptly doubled in a pair to tie the game. He struck out J.D. Martinez to quell the threat and came back out for the eighth. He went double, k, k and then served up a back-breaking two-run shot to Rajai Davis. Neftali Feliz grabbed his ninth save to nail it down for the Tigers.
Of Note: Zach Britton deemed himself ready to return this weekend from a lat issue. Jake McGee is set to return from the DL on Saturday. He’s going to slot in behind Brad Boxberger and if you can snag him on the wire, he could be a source of a save for you next week. Roberto Osuna picked up his 18th save for the Jays as they pulled four games clear of the Yankees. A.J. Ramos picked up his 30th save on a day when the Marlins announced that anyone who has been holding on to Carter Capps is now free to release him into the wild. He’s shut down for the year.
Closer Grid:
[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]
Darren contributes to RotoGraphs when he isn’t watching the Braves or shoveling snow. Follow him on Twitter @shinesie.