Bullpen Report: July 31, 2019

The closer grid will likely look much different on Thursday, but for now, Felipe Vázquez, Alex Colomé, Raisel Iglesias, Ken Giles, Edwin Díaz and Shane Greene, among other potential trade candidates, have yet to switch teams.

The Mets did not shy away from using Díaz on Tuesday night, as he came in to protect a 2-1 lead over the White Sox in the bottom of the ninth inning. He was wild from the start, walking Ryan Goins on five pitches and, two batters later, he plunked James McCann on the shoulder. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch, and then Goins scored on Tim Anderson’s sacrifice fly. The Mets ultimately prevailed in the 11th inning, after Colomé shut them down in the 10th inning.

Liam Hendriks was called into a similar situation for the Athletics, as he was asked to protect their 2-1 lead against the Brewers. He, too, blew the save, but in his case, it was one bad pitch that cost him. Eric Thames homered off a letters-high fastball to tie the game. Otherwise, Hendriks was superb, striking out each of the other three batters he faced. For the second game in a row, former closer Blake Treinen followed Hendriks and vultured a win. There are no indications that Bob Melvin will go back to Treinen as his closer, even though Hendriks has blown three of his last four save opportunities. If he does go that route, it’s encouraging that, over his last three appearances, Treinen has a 21.4 percent SwStr% and a 37.5 percent O-Swing%.

Treinen was able to collect his fifth win of the season, as Josh Hader gave up Matt Olson’s walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th. The home run was the 10th allowed by Hader this season and the fourth he has allowed this July. Nonetheless, Hader is second only to Kirby Yates in Roto value for relief-eligible pitchers, according to ESPN’s Player Rater.

The Rangers dealt their interim closer on Tuesday, sending Chris Martin to the Braves for lefty Kolby Allard. The Braves could make more moves on Wednesday, but as of now, Martin has a chance to supplant Luke Jackson as the team’s closer. Whether he will do that immediately will not only be the product of organizational decisions but also influenced by Martin’s health, as he has dealt with a stiff back since Sunday. Jackson did pitch the ninth inning on Tuesday night against the Nationals, but it was with an 11-5 lead. Still, he did himself no favors by allowing a two-run homer to Juan Soto and an RBI single to Brian Dozier.

In their 8-5 loss to the Mariners, the Rangers did not need a closer, but as long as Shawn Kelley (biceps) is out, José Leclerc appears to be the most likely candidate to get save opportunities.

Once the Mariners took the lead in the top of the seventh inning, they started to set up for a potential save, but Hunter Strickland, who was activated on Sunday, was not a part of the mix. Sam Tuivailala, who got the last out in the sixth inning, stayed on for the seventh, and Anthony Bass took on his customary eighth-inning role. Then Roenis Elías pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his 14th save.

Torey Lovullo had his first opportunity to employ his closer committee on Tuesday night, and this time around, he called on Archie Bradley to get the save. He preserved the Diamondbacks’ 4-2 win over the Yankees, recording the final four outs. Each of the other three members of the committee — Andrew Chafin, Yoan López and Yoshihisa Hirano — appeared in a setup capacity.

Mychal Givens, who could be dealt before the deadline, was not used in the Orioles’ 8-5 win over the Padres, as Shawn Armstrong handled both the eighth and ninth innings for a two-inning save. The two scoreless frames left Armstrong with his third save of the season, and it may reveal Brandon Hyde’s preference for handling save situations should Givens be moved.

Quick hits: Roberto Osuna (24), Héctor Neris (19), Taylor Rogers (16), Carlos Martínez (11) and Emilio Pagán (8) all converted saves on Tuesday…The Blue Jays did not need Giles in their 9-2 win over the Royals, but he was unavailable. Giles received a cortisone shot in his right elbow earlier on Tuesday. He also had an MRI, which revealed no structural damage…As had been anticipated, the Astros placed Ryan Pressly (knee) on the 10-day IL, retroactive to July 27…The Cubs placed Pedro Strop on the 10-day IL with left neck tightness on Tuesday. They also acquired David Phelps from the Blue Jays in exchange for starting pitching prospect Thomas Hatch. Phelps could absorb some of the high-leverage assignments normally filled by Strop…The Angels activated JC Ramírez on Tuesday. In making his return from Tommy John surgery, Ramírez will initially pitch in long relief…The Phillies signed Blake Parker to a major league deal on Tuesday. He did not pitch in the team’s 4-2 win over the Giants.