Bullpen Report: June 19, 2017

• The biggest news of the day is that Andrew Miller and Cody Allen have switched roles, for now. Terry Francona suggested that he was throwing Andrew Miller too much and the change in roles should remain “for the time being.” How long that is, nobody is really sure but since it’s not a matter of performance I don’t think the change will last too long. This situation remains green as it’s definitely Andrew Miller’s job but it just may not remain that way for all that much time.

Now is as good a time as any to brag about Andrew Miller this season. In 35.2 innings he has a 1.51/1.92/2.70 ERA/FIP/xFIP with a 2.16 SIERA and 51 strikeouts against just eight walks. Miller will see fewer innings but the increase in saves will certainly only help his value, in a save focused league of course. Allen has been great as well but he’s more the generally great reliever with a 2.00/2.57/3.86 pitching line and not the top tier that Miller is. Allen’s value will fall a bit pitching in the eighth but he also might see an uptick in his overall usage, helping those ratios and strikeout totals. This might end up being more noise than anything else but adjust your saves projections accordingly.

• With Koda Glover still on the shelf it looks like Enny Romero and Matt Albers are both seeing saves in Washington. Matt Albers has the better numbers but Dusty moves in mysterious ways. Koda Glover is still on the shelf with a tweaked back but he also has an ERA over five. He’s better than that but this is all another way to tell you the Nationals will acquire a reliever outside the organization that will close games for them. Whether that’s David Robertson, Mark Melancon, Jim Johnson, Kelvin Herrera or someone else I’m not entirely sure but I wouldn’t expect Albers, Romero or Glover to be closing games in late July/August in Washington. Shawn Kelley joined Glover on the DL and by the time he returns he likely won’t be throwing high leverage innings in DC.

In today’s outing Enny Romero entered the eighth in a tie game and tried to finish the ninth as well but allowed a walk-off hit to Marcell Ozuna with the bases loaded to end the game. The two-inning save attempt is a good sign that he’s a fixture in the late innings but blowing the lead doesn’t help either. To that point Albers blew his last save attempt as well. To that point please see above where the Nationals will likely acquire some bullpen help, especially now that the draft is over and rebuilding teams can focus on trades. Normally in this case one could expect a team to acquire a bullpen piece but in the Nationals case they could acquire several as they don’t necessarily have even one reliever that Dusty can trust with any regularity.

• Michael Lorenzen blew the lead for the Reds but threw another inning and received the win when the Reds regained the lead. There was no save situation but Raisel Iglesias closed out the game. Outside a blip on June 11th, Raisel has been cruising. Although he won’t sustain a .200 BABIP all season long his 1.59/2.84/3.38 pitching line with 3.46 SIERA is plenty good. Iglesias was a damn intriguing starting pitcher in 2015 and he’s fully transitioned to successful closer and it looks like he will be here to stay. The Reds need to work on the important part of a pitching staff but a back of the pen with Iglesias, Lorenzen and Wandy Peralta is a solid foundation for a bullpen.

• Wade Davis has had an excellent start with his new team in Chicago but his control eluded him a bit tonight. After getting the first out of the ninth, Davis hit Jose Pirela, then threw a wild pitch moving Pirela to second, walked Yangervis Solarte, and then threw another wild pitch moving runners to second and third. In that spot with one out Davis then struck out Wil Myers and got Hunter Renfroe to ground out to hold on for his 14th save. Wade Davis might still remain a low key injury risk due to some elbow concerns last year but he’s still a top closing option and with the Cubs expected to play better here on out, expect his save totals to increase as well.

Closer Grid:

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