Bullpen Report: July 2, 2018

On a day where there were far more developments regarding setup relievers, Sergio Romo further consolidated his status as the Rays’ primary closer. He did allow the second of Evan Gattis‘ two home runs in Sunday’s 3-2 win over the Astros, but a walk to Tyler White was the only other blemish on Romo’s ninth inning. He recorded his eighth save of the season and has been the recipient of seven of the Rays’ last eight saves.

The lone exception came on Friday, when Jose Alvarado retired Marwin Gonzalez for a one-out save. Even then, it was Romo who started off the ninth inning with a one-run lead. Alvardo was summoned only when Romo yielded a two-out Gattis single, and Kevin Cash opted to turn Gonzalez around to bat right-handed. Entering Friday’s game, Gonzalez’s .285 wOBA against lefties was 25 points lower than his mark against righties. While Alvarado could take an occasional save away from Romo when matchups dictate, it looks safe to assume that the former Giant and Dodger will be receiving the vast majority of save chances.

It’s taken the Rays, as well as the Phillies, awhile to move from a committee to a more traditional late-inning relief hierarchy, so we may need to be patient while the Giants sort out their bullpen situation. They had two save situations in their three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks this weekend, and in both of them, Tony Watson pitched the eighth inning and Will Smith wound up with a save. The pattern was not really that clear cut. In both games, there were no right-handed hitters due up for the Diamondbacks in the eighth inning. While it was the left-handed Smith who followed up Watson to begin the ninth inning on Friday, it was the righty Mark Melancon who got the call to relieve Watson on Sunday. It was only after Melancon had given up back-to-back-to-back two-out singles that Bruce Bochy turned to Smith to handle the left-handed Jake Lamb.

There are some early signals that Smith may have the edge to break away as the Giants’ primary closer. Watson being used in the eighth inning to face lefties and switch-hitters when Smith was available is one clue. Smith could also earn the role strictly due to merit. His return from Tommy John surgery has been nothing short of triumphant, as he has posted a 1.11 ERA, 0.70 WHIP and 38.2 percent strikeout rate. Perhaps most important, Smith may be allowed to pitch on three consecutive days after the All-Star break. Bochy has stated a preference for having a closer with that kind of durability, and that may be the only thing keeping Smith from seizing the role right now.

In the short term, none of the late-inning options, including Smith, Melancon, Watson and Reyes Moronta, may pay off much in fantasy, but Smith looks like the best option to stash for the longer run. With the All-Star Game just two weeks away, it may not even be that long of a wait.

Update: The Tigers placed Shane Greene on the 10-day disabled list with a right shoulder strain on Monday morning. Joe Jimenez becomes a solid source of saves immediately. It probably goes without saying that he should be prioritized ahead of Smith for owners looking to pick up a closer for the weeks ahead.

Now for those setup reliever developments…Adam Ottavino’s velocity has rebounded in each of his last two appearances, but the results were mixed. On Saturday, he pitched a scoreless ninth inning against the Dodgers for his second save of the season. Then on Sunday, Ottavino returned to his customary eighth-inning role and began the inning by allowing a go-ahead Matt Kemp home run. He recovered to strike out Cody Bellinger, but that would be the last out he would get. Ottavino would face three more batters, all of whom got base hits, and then he was lifted for Mike Dunn.

Over his last four innings, Ottavino has allowed five runs on nine hits and five walks. It’s time to bench him until he shows signs of a sustained turnaround.

A quartet of relievers entered the setup picture this weekend. It was Tim Peterson, and not Anthony Swarzak or Robert Gsellman, who set up for Jeurys Famila against the Marlins on Sunday. Gsellman was likely unavailable, having thrown 27 pitches on Saturday, but Swarzak’s absence was more mysterious. Peterson did allow a Cameron Maybin solo home run, but with a four-run cushion, he pitched more than well enough to get the game to Familia. The 27-year-old rookie struck out J.T. Realmuto and Justin Bour and got Lewis Brinson to ground out. Peterson is not yet included in the closer grid, but he is on the verge of supplanting Swarzak or Gsellman, depending on what happens in the coming days.

Jesse Biddle has been added to the grid, after picking up a pair of holds in the last eight days and getting called to clean up a mess left by Shane Carle in the seventh inning of the Braves’ 6-5 win over the Cardinals on Sunday. Biddle has been charged with one run on one hit and four walks over his last seven innings, while Carle has allowed five runs in his last two performances covering 3.1 innings.

Edgar Santana stumbled through most of June, allowing seven runs (six earned) and three home runs over his final 7.1 innings last month. That may be why he was brought in to relieve Jameson Taillon in the fifth inning against the Padres on Sunday. He has been replaced in the grid by Tyler Glasnow, who recorded his third hold of the season by pitching a perfect eighth inning in the 7-5 win over the Padres.

Daniel Hudson followed up a perfect two-inning performance on Saturday with a spotless eighth inning against the Rockies on Sunday. As mentioned above, the Dodgers surged ahead in the bottom of the inning against Ottavino, and that allowed Kenley Jansen to earn his 22nd save. Hudson has moved into the “Second Up” spot in the Dodgers’ portion of the grid.

Quick hits: The Astros and Red Sox have expressed interest in trading for Raisel Iglesias, so now is the time to stash Jared Hughes for future Reds saves…The picture for saves down the stretch in Miami is less clear, as they have talked to the Dodgers about trading several of their relievers, including Kyle Barraclough, Drew Steckenrider and Adam Conley…Edwin Diaz struck out the side against the Royals on Sunday for his 32nd save. He has now accomplished that feat seven times this season. That excludes a three-strikeout inning against the Indians on opening day when he also hit two batters…Jonathan Holder ended his streak of 28.2 innings without an earned run on Saturday when he allowed an RBI single to J.D. Martinez…The Phillies activated Pat Neshek on Sunday. He faced two batters in the Phillies’ 13-inning win against the Nationals, allowing a Mark Reynolds single and a Pedro Severino ground ball out in the seventh inning.