Bullpen Report: June 19, 2013

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June 20, 2013

• So it looks like the horrible rehab outing by Chris Perez last night might affect his timetable to return as he won’t be activated off of the disabled list Friday anymore.  Perez will need another rehab appearance but it still shouldn’t be too long until he’s closing in Cleveland. In his place of course is currently Vinnie Pestano, who has two saves in place of Perez but has not been without his own troubles this year. 

• Heath Bell notched his 13th save of the year but not before allowing a home run, a single and a walk to the Miami Marlins. In his last four appearances hes allowed five runs and with JJ Putz starting a rehab assignment this week, Bell’s days of closing in Arizona might be numbered. Similarly to Chris Perez in Cleveland, if their are no setbacks, Putz will be back to his familiar place in ninth inning once he’s activated off of the DL. Bullpen mate David Hernandez, pitched a scoreless eighth inning tonight picking up his fourth win of the year. Hernandez hasn’t been without his faults this year either (4.62 FIP in 2013 after a 2.08 FIP in 2012) but he remains a top set up option in Arizona for holds and if Bell continues to struggle he could become a preferred back-up option for saves in the desert.

• Valverde’s chances of seeing saves might be gone after today’s outing: 1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HR. I fully expect Joaquin Benoit to receive the next opportunities in Detroit, with Drew Smyly as a sneaky option. Bruce Rondon has been solid in AAA, with a 1.93 FIP and 12.83 K/9 in 26.2 innings pitched and remains an option to help out the pen at some point this year and Detroit could certainly look outside the organization as well. Either way, in the meantime make sure you have Benoit in your lineup.

• Oliver Perez entered the game in the seventh inning last night while Yoervis Medina recorded the first save of his career. Tom Wilhelmsen was initially supposed to only leave the ninth inning briefly but after blowing the lead in the eighth inning tonight and continuing his struggles, his temporary leave of absence might become more permanent. In his place Seattle could play the matchups, with Medina getting the bulk of the opportunities and Ollie having a chance to get out any tough lefties. Carter Capps was initially thought to be in the closer mix but he’s struggled of late as well particularly with the long ball, falling behind Perez and Medina on the depth chart. Medina has a fastball/slider combo that gets a fair share of strikeouts (9.51 K/9) and keeps the ball on the ground and in the yard, but like many a hard-thrower, Medina struggles a bit with his control (5.32 BB/9). The door has opened due to Wilhelmsen’s struggles and if Medina can keep his walks in check, he could be an adequate option.

Closer Grid:

Closer First Second DL/Minors
Arizona Heath Bell David Hernandez Matt Reynolds J.J. Putz
Atlanta Craig Kimbrel Jordan Walden Cory Gearrin
Baltimore Jim Johnson Darren O’Day Tommy Hunter
Boston Andrew Bailey Junichi Tazawa Koji Uehara
CHI (NL) Kevin Gregg Carlos Marmol James Russell
CHI (AL) Addison Reed Jesse Crain Matt Thornton
Cincy Aroldis Chapman Jonathan Broxton J.J. Hoover Sean Marshall
Cleveland Vinnie Pestano Joe Smith Bryan Shaw Chris Perez
Colorado Rex Brothers Wilton Lopez Matt Belisle Rafael Betancourt
Detroit Joaquin Benoit Drew Smyly Jose Valverde
Houston Jose Veras Hector Ambriz Wesley Wright
KC Greg Holland Aaron Crow Kelvin Herrera
LAA Ernesto Frieri Scott Downs Robert Coello Ryan Madson
LAD Kenley Jansen Brandon League Ronald Belisario
Miami Steve Cishek Mike Dunn Chad Qualls
Milwaukee Francisco Rodriguez Jim Henderson John Axford
Minnesota Glen Perkins Jared Burton Casey Fien
NY (NL) Bobby Parnell Brandon Lyon LaTroy Hawkins Frank Francisco
NY (AL) Mariano Rivera David Robertson Joba Chamberlain
Oakland Grant Balfour Ryan Cook Sean Doolittle
Philly Jonathan Papelbon Mike Adams Antonio Bastardo
Pittsburgh Jason Grilli Mark Melancon Tony Watson
St. Louis Edward Mujica Trevor Rosenthal Fernando Salas Jason Motte
SD Huston Street Luke Gregerson Dale Thayer
SF Sergio Romo Jeremy Affeldt Jean Machi Santiago Casilla
Seattle Yoervis Medina Oliver Perez Tom Wilhelmsen
TB Fernando Rodney Joel Peralta Jake McGee
Texas Joe Nathan Tanner Scheppers Jason Frasor
Toronto Casey Janssen Steve Delabar Brett Cecil Sergio Santos
Wash. Rafael Soriano Drew Storen Tyler Clippard

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





 

When he's not focusing on every team's bullpen situation, Ben can be found blogging at Ben's Baseball Bias and on Twitter @BensBias

11 Comments
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evydevymember
10 years ago

Have there been any other reports talking about the Milwaukee bullpen situation? Is K-Rod keeping the job after he notches his 300th save or is Henderson getting the ninth back?

1
Snoozemember
10 years ago
Reply to  evydevy

Also wondering about this.

0
FeslenR
10 years ago
Reply to  evydevy

I think Jim Henderson is still the main guy in Milwaukee, but if you have K-Rod, it’s best to keep him around just in case.

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Benjamin Pasinkoffmember
10 years ago
Reply to  evydevy

I don’t have any updates. When Henderson was coming off of the DL, K-Rod was only a little ways away from 300 saves and it seemed like a good opportunity to ease Henderson back and let K-Rod get 300.

They seem committed to get K-Rod to 300, and he’s done quite well in place of Henderson.

Before getting hurt Henderson was having a fantastic year, so I imagine he’ll get his chance again this season but Roenicke might find it difficult taking K-Rod out if he’s converting every save.

0