Bullpen Report: June 20, 2016

Since it’s a slow day on the mound for relievers, here’s a brief rumor roundup:

• We mentioned Fernando Rodney’s success earlier today and it seems like his performance is “not going unnoticed by contenders” according to Peter Gammons. The Padres have about three trade pieces – Wil Myers, Drew Pomeranz and Fernando Rodney. It’s unlikely they trade the first two and maybe increasingly likely that Rodney goes. If Rodney is moved, expect breakout lefty Ryan Buchter to replace him in the ninth. Although 29 years old, Buchter has a history of striking out batters with iffy control in the minors and so far this year he’s supporting a 1.74/2.51/3.49 ERA/FIP/xFIP pitching line with a fantastic 37% strikeout rate and a walk rate of 10.7% which is above the league average of 8.2%.

• The Yankees are currently still four games back of the Wild Card and although they’re unlikely to unload any pieces before we get closer to the deadline, it’s becoming somewhat likely that they move a reliever if you ask me. The Giants, Cubs, Dodgers, Nationals and others are also likely in the market for a major reliever. Theo Epstein is appropriately defending his bullpen at the moment but the rumors persist with the Cubs linked to Aroldis Chapman and/or Andrew Miller.

And on to the games:

• Brad Ziegler only needed 9 pitches to throw a scoreless inning for his 15th save, lowering his ERA to 2.64 on the year. Ziegler doesn’t have particularly impressive control and doesn’t get many whiffs but his worm killing magic (63% ground ball percentage) is doing the trick yet again in Arizona. Small sample alert but he’s even been impressive against lefties, allowing a .278 wOBA against them thus far this year. Although the Diamondbacks are far back of the playoff race and have a compelling closer and set up man (Daniel Hudson) to trade at the deadline, it looks like they might be looking at extensions. It’s not necessarily the strategy that I would take but that seems to be how business is conducted in the desert. Expect Ziegler to remain in Arizona for now and continue to get saves.

• Mark Melancon saved his 20th game for the struggling Pirates tonight. It’s tough for a small market team like the Pirates to go all in for a Wild Card and with the Cubs crushing this year, they could be sellers at the deadline. Melancon has been as steady as they come both this year and over the past four seasons and he could be on the move as well as he is in his walk year in Pittsburgh.

• Cody Allen received a save opp after Erasmo Ramirez gave up three runs in the eighth inning, and closed his 14th door on the season. Erasmo Ramirez hit a real rough patch in May allowing 11 runs in 14.1 innings at one point but he’s been better of late before tonight’s outing. I’ll still keep him as second in line in Tampa but it’s save to say Alex Colome’s job is still secure.

Closer Grid:

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