Bullpen Report: July 25, 2019

• Charlie Morton pitched 7 strong innings for the Rays who then went with Adam Kolarek and Chaz Roe in the 8th leading to Emilio Pagan for the 9th. Pagan pitched a perfect frame, striking out a pair for his 7th save of the season. Pagan is still in a committee with Oliver Drake and Diego Castillo involved along with those who pitched today. With that said, Pagan has been the most consistently effective reliever on the Rays all year and isn’t a left. Jose Alvarado should get back into the mix soon when he returns from the IL with an oblique strain but his return isn’t imminent. Even if Alvarado returns soon, he will have to prove his effectiveness before usurping Pagan. While the Rays won’t resort to traditional closer usage it seems like the head of the committee is Pagan’s job to lose, so long as he’s pitching well he should get more saves than any other member of the pen.

• Greg Holland entered the game last night in 9th inning for a save opportunity but was removed after walking the only two batters he faced on 9 pitches. Yoan Lopez got the final three outs without allowing a run to score for his first save of the season. Holland has struggled with his control all season and is running a 5.45 BB/9 on the year after last night’s performance. While his job is fairly safe, I’m going to change it to yellow on the grid since Holland could blow up fairly quick. If anything were to happen to Holland I would put Lopez as the first in line, and behind him it is a bit of a mess. Andrew Chafin has had a solid season but he’s also a lefty. Yoshihisa Hirano has closing experience in Japan and could be in the mix along with Archie Bradley, who has also struggled this year with his control but has long been considered a closer of the future.

• With Josh Hader pitching in the 7th and 8th innings yesterday, the Brewers went with Freddy Peralta for the save chance. Peralta succeeded in getting his 1st save of the year while striking out a pair in a perfect 9th. Peralta has struggled in the rotation but not everyone is made to navigate a lineup several times and he might find a successful home as a reliever. I’m adding Peralta to the grid below as Craig Counsell had nice things to say about him yesterday and if Perlata continues to pitch well, Hader could move into a more fluid setup role with a Peralta/Jeffress committee in the 9th. It’s a small sample size but as a reliever this year Peralta has a 20.8% K-BB% and a 3.13 FIP. The Brewers have rotational needs as well but given Peralta’s struggles there and his two-pitch repertoire I would expect the Brewers to keep him in the pen.

• Kirby Yates may or may not be closing for the Padres in August but he’s still there now. Of increasing interest is Andres Munoz who pitched in the 8th inning with Craig Stammen getting the 7th. There could be a changing of the guard here and I’m going to put Munoz next-in-line in San Diego. With no save situation and larger lead in the 9th, Luis Perdomo finished the game. If Kirby Yates is moved, look for the young Munoz to be thrown in to the fire but based on the early returns so far, I would expect him to be a legitimate option.

• Edwin Diaz and the Mets have been disappointing and now there are rumors that Diaz is available via trade. Although Diaz hasn’t been as successful as last year his 4.81 ERA overshadows a still very solid 2.80 SIERA and 3.50 FIP. Diaz is still running a 17.0% SwStr% that ranks 9th among qualified relievers and its clear that Diaz would still be the likely best reliever on any team he would be traded to. Whether or not Diaz is moved is another question as the Mets price tag is sure to be quite high as they would want to recoup some of the value lost in trading top prospect Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn. If Diaz were to be on the move, I would expect him to remain as the closer with the Mets looking at Seth Lugo as the likely replacement.

• Quick Hits: Roenis Elias pitched a perfect 9th for his 13th save of the year for the Mariners. Elias allowed four earned last Saturday but since then has had two clean saves. If the Mariners don’t make a move Elias should continue to get saves but if he’s traded as an extra lefty arm for a contender his chances of seeing saves become essentially zero. After blowing the save on Tuesday, Roberto Osuna  pitched a clean 9th for his 23rd save. Sean Doolittle was a low key trade rumor but with the Nationals playing pretty well he likely stays put and should continue to add to his save total which reached 22 last night. No save situation for the Phillies with a four run lead but Hector Neris struck out the side in the 9th. He’s susceptible to the long ball which limits his ceiling and could remove him from the closer’s chair if the Phillies upgrade there but so long as he’s pitching in the 9th he’s one of the better options with gobbles of strikeouts on a good team so long as you can live with the occasional clunker. Ian Kennedy’s contract prohibits him from being an auto trade candidate but he pitched another clean 9th for the save. Of all the trade rumored closers, he might be the most likely to stay. Craig Kimbrel pitched around two hits for his 7th save for the Cubs. Kimbrel may not always offer a clean inning but he should continue to rack up saves and strikeouts for the Cubs.