Bullpen Report: July 22, 2019

The Rangers have not had a save opportunity since June 27, including in Sunday’s loss to the Astros. Yet Shawn Kelley, who had not pitched in a game in nine days, was warming up to enter the game with a three-run deficit in the eighth inning with two outs. Kelley felt soreness in his right biceps while throwing his warmup pitches and exited the game before throwing an official pitch. He is now expected to undergo an MRI.

Given that the Rangers have gone close to a month without a save opportunity, it’s hard to get a handle on what Chris Woodward’s preferences might be for handling save situations if Kelley has to miss time. Also, with the Rangers having lost seven games in a row and falling in the wild card standings, we can’t count on any particular reliever still being with the team on the other side of the July 31 trade deadline. However, it is highly unlikely they would trade Jose Leclerc, who signed a four-year, $14.75 million contract back in March, and it is also hard to see them dealing Chris Martin, who won’t be arbitration eligible until 2021.

Leclerc has been in a groove lately, but the same was true of Martin until he gave up a leadoff home run to Michael Brantley in the eighth inning of Sunday’s game. If Woodward needed to replace Kelley as the closer, based on his frequent usage in the eighth inning and his prior stint as Kelley’s fill-in, Martin would seem to be the most likely candidate.

The Red Sox did not need a closer in either of the games they have played since they activated Nathan Eovaldi, so it remains to be seen exactly how they will use him. However, neither his move to the bullpen nor Brandon Workman’s steady work of late as their primary closer has brought an end to the team’s search for a new closer. On Sunday, MLB Network’s Jon Morosi reported that the Red Sox are interested in both Kirby Yates and Ken Giles, both of whom have been rumored to be on the block.

As of now, there would be no clear successor to Yates in San Diego. Andres Munoz has been the trendy pickup, but he has made all of three major league appearances, and only one in a situation that could be construed as high leverage. Craig Stammen has been used consistently as Yates’ primary setup reliever, but he has been inconsistent and could be traded as well. Trey Wingenter appeared to be getting groomed as a future closer, but he has struggled and was sent down to Triple-A El Paso on Sunday.

Entering the bullpen picture over the weekend were a couple of the Padres’ top pitching prospects, Adrian Morejon and Michel Baez. Morejon was the opener in front of Cal Quantrill on Sunday against the Cubs, but Andy Green suggested that both pitchers’ roles could be fluid, with high-leverage relief being one of the options.

As for a possible successor to Giles in Toronto, it’s clear that Daniel Hudson would get the first crack at the closer’s role, assuming he doesn’t also get traded. David Phelps and Justin Shafer are relievers to watch as well.

The Rays don’t need a trade to make their  closer situation wide open. It’s been something of an enigma all season long. On Sunday, Adam Kolarek got his first save of the season, and it wasn’t of the LOOGY variety. The lefty was called in to face right-handed Welington Castillo, left-handed Ryan Goins and switch-hitter Yolmer Sanchez. Kolarek pitched a 1-2-3 inning, sealing a 4-2 win for the Rays over the White Sox. The team’s last three saves now belong to Kolarek, Oliver Drake and Emilio Pagan.

Pagan, who pitched the eighth inning on Sunday, has been getting most of the saves chances in recent weeks, but Drake figures to be a part of the mix going forward. With both Drake and Colin Poche likely unavailable on Sunday, it’s hard to know if Kolarek would have had a save opportunity if Kevin Cash had either of those two relievers at his disposal. I have left Kolarek off of the closer grid for now.

Liam Hendriks and Taylor Rogers have been among the most dominant closers over the past month, yet each blew a save over the weekend in the Athletics-Twins series. Rogers relinquished the Twins’ 4-3 lead on Saturday night after plunking Mark Canha with two outs and then allowing three consecutive base hits. On Sunday, it was Hendriks’ turn to blow a one-run lead. An Ehire Adrianza RBI triple tied the game, and then Max Kepler brought Adrianza in with a walk-off single.

Quick hits: Brad Hand (27), Josh Hader (22) and Carlos Martinez (8) all recorded saves on Sunday…Roberto Osuna also notched his 22nd save of the season, but even more notable was the absence of Ryan Pressly among the relievers who set up the save. Pressly last pitched on Thursday against the Angels. It is worth noting that Pressly trails only Joshua James in innings pitched among Astros relievers with 43.1…As for James, he was lifted after allowing a two-out home run to Nomar Mazara in the sixth inning. He averaged 93.8 mph on his fastball — more than 3 mph below his season norm — and in a postgame interview, A.J. Hinch said that he complained of feeling “general soreness.”…Adam Cimber ended a string of 12 straight scoreless appearances covering 11 innings when he allowed a run in the eighth inning against the Royals on  Sunday. He struck out only eight batters during the streak, but walked only one and induced grounders at a 60.7 percent rate.