Bullpen Report: July 11, 2022

The 2022 version of Bullpen Report includes five different sections, as well as the closer chart, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

We will always include a link to the full Closer Depth Chart at the bottom of the Bullpen Report each day. It’s also accessible from the RosterResource drop-down menu and from any RosterResource page. Please let us know what you think.

1. Notable Workloads: Primary closers or valuable members of a closer committee who have been deemed unavailable or likely unavailable for the current day due to recent workload.
2. Injury News
3. Outlier Saves: Explanation for a non-closer earning a save during the previous day.
4. Committee Clarity: Notes on a closer committee that clarify a pitcher’s standing in the group.
5. Losing A Grip: Struggling closers who could be on the hot seat.

The “RosterResource” link will take you to the corresponding team’s RosterResource depth chart, which will give you a better picture of the full bullpen and results of the previous six days (pitch count, save, hold, win, loss, blown save).

Click HERE to view the full Closer Depth Chart.

Notable Workloads

•Liam Hendriks, CHW: Nine pitches on Sunday; hasn’t yet worked back-to-back days since coming off the IL. | RosterResource

Kendall Graveman and Joe Kelly will both be available Monday.

•Tanner Scott, MIA: Three straight days; 19 pitches on Sunday. | RosterResource

Anthony Bass has also worked three days in a row, so that leaves Steven Okert and Dylan Floro as the likeliest closers on Monday.

•David Bednar, PIT: Three of four days; 21 pitches on Sunday. | RosterResource

Wil Crowe has also pitched in three of the last four days, which would leave Chris Stratton as the top closing option if Crowe’s out as well as Bednar.

•Seranthony Domínguez, PHI: Three of four days; 25 pitches on Sunday. | RosterResource

Brad Hand is Domínguez’s co-closer from the left side, with Corey Knebel the top righty substitute option.

•Ryan Helsley, STL: Three of four days; 10 pitches on Sunday. | RosterResource

Helsley’s efficiency on Sunday means his availability for Monday could go either way. If he’s not available, Giovanny Gallegos or Génesis Cabrera would probably step in.

Injury News

•Matt Bush, TEX: Activated from the 15-day IL on Sunday. | RosterResource

Bush hasn’t been great this year, but with the Rangers’s closing situation in flux with Joe Barlow removed from the role, it’s worth noting that the hard-throwing righty is back. Bush pitched the seventh inning down by a run and ended up giving up an unearned run that proved to be the difference in Texas’s 6-5 loss. Bush’s strikeout stuff has been excellent, with 37 in 27.2 innings, and he’s walked just eight, so that 3.90 ERA is misleading in many ways. Southpaw Brett Martin has gotten both of the Rangers’ save chances since the move away from Barlow but Bush might be the top righty option now.

 

Outlier Saves

•Brusdar Graterol, LAD | RosterResource

Craig Kimbrel hasn’t had consecutive scoreless appearances since June 22nd and 24th, but he’s still the Dodgers’ closer (for better or worse) and evidently will be no matter what. But he went unused on Sunday after 15 pitches on Saturday and 31 on Thursday, which gave a path for Graterol to buzz through two perfect innings on just 14 pitches. Graterol has picked up three saves on days Kimbrel has been unavailable, and with Daniel Hudson and Blake Treinen on the shelf, is right there with Evan Phillips on Los Angeles’s setup man totem pole. His strikeout numbers aren’t eye-popping but he induces plenty of grounders and his sinking and cutting movement makes him extraordinarily difficult to square up.

Committee Clarity

•Tyler Duffey, MIN | RosterResource

Duffey has been quietly excellent for awhile now, with Sunday’s scoreless save his tenth consecutive scoreless appearance, spanning 13 innings of work. In that time, he’s whittled his ERA from 6.38 to 4.14, earning his way back into Rocco Baldelli’s circle of trust that for awhile has really only included Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran. Duran remains their best reliever and top closing option by far, but Baldelli has never been afraid to play matchups and use Duran earlier, so Duffey looks like his co-closer right now.

Losing A Grip

•None