Bullpen Report: July 28, 2016

A pair of bullpen arms that could be on the move this weekend — Jeremy Jeffress and Jeanmar Gomez — continue to lock down saves for their respective clubs as the trade deadline quickly approaches. For the Brewers’ right-hander, tonight’s 19-pitch effort resulted in his 24th save in 25 opportunities this season. He fanned one and induced two consecutive worm burners to seal the 6-4 victory over the Diamondbacks. Philadelphia’s Jeanmar Gomez surrendered an earned run on a pair of hits and a walk, but escaped with his 27th save in 30 chances.

Some feel it’s unlikely, but if by chance Jeanmar Gomez takes his show on the road, ERA estimators, K-BB% and usage lead us to believe that Hector Neris could get first crack at saves in Philly. David Hernandez isn’t too far off when considering those same statistics and does have 20 careers saves (compared to just one for Neris) under his belt, but Neris is inducing more soft contact and owns the superior ground ball rate, which may tip the scales in his favor. Both are available in more than 85% of Yahoo! leagues at the time of this writing. Along with Jeffress, both Tyler Thornburg and Will Smith have been mentioned as players who could be on their way from Milwaukee to a pennant race. In the event of a trade, I’m sticking to the chart — Jeffress, Thornburg then Smith for saves.

Joe Maddon called on newly acquired fireballer Aroldis Chapman with two down in the eighth to finish off the final four outs against the White Sox. The southpaw did just that, fanning two en route to his first save as a Cub and 21st of the year in 22 chances in the 24-pitch effort.

Quick hits: Carlos Estevez fanned Michael Conforto of the Metropolitans in a clean inning of work (eight pitches) to secure his 11th save of the year in 14 chances. In the same game, Jeurys Familia gave up a pair of hits, a pair of walks and a pair of earned runs while only pitching a third of an inning to take his third loss of the season. Cam Bedrosian hasn’t allowed a run since the May 31st. Sam Dyson yielded one free pass, but notched his 21st save. Brad Ziegler surrendered a trio of singles, blew his third save and earned his second loss, but maybe that all could’ve been avoided if Hanley made a better throw? Oh is green in St. Louis. Ten pitches and the seventh save for the Cardinals’ closer.

Closer Grid:

[Green light, yellow light, red light: the colors represent the volatility of the bullpen order.]