Bullpen Report: July 25, 2018

After more than a year of trade rumors, the Orioles have finally dealt Zach Britton.

On Tuesday, the Yankees acquired Baltimore’s long-time closer in exchange for three minor league pitchers: former first-round pick Dillon Tate, lefty Josh Rogers and right-handed reliever Cody Carroll. We can presume that Aroldis Chapman will continue to close games for the Yankees, though Britton adds yet another layer of insurance in the event that Chapman needs time off due to his knee tendinitis.

Given the depth that Dellin Betances, David Robertson, Jonathan Holder and Chad Green provide, we can’t presume that Britton is next in line for saves, should Chapman need a replacement at some point. Though Britton allowed runs in only two of his 16 appearances with the Orioles this season, he threw just 37.5 percent of his pitches in the strike zone and issued 10 walks in 15.2 innings.

In Baltimore, we may have gotten a sense of the what the bullpen pecking order may look like without Britton. Brad Brach got his 11th save of season, and he was preceded by Mychal Givens and Paul Fry in the Orioles’ 7-6 win over the Red Sox. All three relievers gave up a run, though Brach’s was unearned. Both Brach and Givens have been subjects of trade rumors themselves, so a higher-leverage role could be in Fry’s future.

Keone Kela and Jake Diekman have also been mentioned in reports of potential trades. Most recently, the Pirates have developed “legitimate interest” in Kela, but neither he nor his primary setup man did much for their trade value on Tuesday night. Diekman was handed a 10-5 lead in the eighth inning against the Athletics, but a leadoff groundout by Stephen Piscotty would be the only out he would get. He walked three straight batters, and after an Elvis Andrus bobble and a plunking of Nick Martini brought in two runs, Diekman was lifted for Kela.

The Rangers’ closer got out of the inning, but not before allowing a two-run single to Jed Lowrie. Kela came back out for the ninth inning, and in allowing a Piscotty solo homer, he was charged with his first blown save of the season. Now there is only one reliever with more than five saves who has yet to blow a save this season. (Answer will be provided further below.)

Jose Leclerc is still looking like a good speculation target for saves, though if Diekman does not get traded, it is highly conceivable he would get the first crack at replacing Kela, should the need arise.

Wade Davis‘ outing against the Astros started off innocuously enough with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. The game was still knotted at 2-2 when Davis came out for the 10th inning, but it didn’t stay that way for long. He retired only one of the six batters he faced, and he was yanked after allowing a two-run homer to George Springer. All in all, Davis was credited with five runs and his third loss.

We may be able to attribute Davis’ meltdown to this being his first multi-inning appearance of the year, but there were some warning signs even before this outing. Davis had allowed only one run over his previous 11 innings, but despite improved control, he was inducing swinging strikes at a pedestrian 8.9 percent rate. An 11.5 percent soft contact rate in combination with more frequent contact was not an optimal combination. It’s too early to assume that Tuesday’s performance is a harbinger of things to come, but Davis’ fantasy owners should start working on a Plan B for his roster spot.

Quick hits: Edwin Diaz snapped a streak of 10 consecutive appearances without giving up a run, as he allowed the Giants to score the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning. However, Steven Duggar scored when Dee Gordon threw the ball away trying to get Pablo Sandoval at first base, so the run was unearned. Will Smith entered in the bottom of the inning and set the Mariners down in order for his fourth save…After having pitched on consecutive days, Seranthony Dominguez did not appear in the Phillies’ 16-inning win over the Dodgers. Victor Arano handled the tops of the eighth and ninth innings with the teams tied, 4-4…One night after having absorbed a blown save and a loss to the Reds, Bud Norris pitched a scoreless inning for his 19th save…Brad Ziegler did not get a hold for his perfect seventh inning against the Braves on Tuesday, but it added to his string of masterful performances. Since June 5, Ziegler has allowed two runs over 26.1 innings with 20 strikeouts. By inducing three groundouts in his most recent inning of work, he raised his ground ball rate over this stretch to 82.8 percent..After allowing four runs in 0.2 innings against the Phillies on Friday, Robert Stock was nearly untouchable for the Padres on Wednesday. The 28-year-old rookie struck out five Mets over three scoreless innings, getting eight swinging strikes out of 37 total pitches. Zack Wheeler was the only Met to reach base against him, as he lashed a line-drive double in the sixth inning.

Trivia question: Who is the last reliever with more than five saves to not be charged with a blown save this season? Ken Giles (currently at Triple-A Fresno), of course.