Bullpen Report: June 23, 2017

On Friday night, a couple of shaky closers dug their holes deeper, but perhaps the greatest stress was felt by Roberto Osuna’s owners. The Blue Jays’ closer has been close to automatic since late April, and he was sorely missed as the Toronto bullpen tried to hold a 4-1 lead without him. John Gibbons told Arden Zwelling of Sportsnet that Osuna was unavailable due to illness, so fantasy owners and Blue Jays fans caught of a glimpse of what the ninth inning might look like without their dominant closer.

At least for this one game, it was not pretty. Ryan Tepera, who got the final out of the eighth inning, was brought back for the ninth to get the save. He came within an out of notching his second save of the season, but he was removed after allowing an RBI single to Alcides Escobar. Aaron Loup was summoned to get Alex Gordon out, but instead, he gave up a run-scoring single on the first pitch. Then Gibbons tried Jason Grilli, but he yielded a Whit Merrifield double that brought in Escobar and Gordon, giving the Royals a walk-off win.

Assuming Osuna’s illness is not serious, he will be back to preserve future leads, but how long we can say that for Matt Bush and Seung Hwan Oh remains to be seen. Bush had an opportunity to lock down a 1-0 win for the Rangers over the Yankees, after Aroldis Chapman allowed the go-ahead run (by way of a Gary Sanchez passed ball). However, one out into the bottom of the ninth, the Yankees knotted up the game on a Brett Gardner solo home run. Bush came back out for the 10th inning, but in allowing three singles — the final one being a walk-off hit by Ronald Torreyes — he added a loss to his blown save.

Over his last eight appearances, going back to May 31, Bush is 0-3 with three blown saves in five tries. In that eight-inning stretch, he has allowed 16 hits, nine runs (eight earned) and four home runs. After three-plus weeks of unreliable relief, there is no conclusion to draw other than Bush is not long for the closer’s role in Texas. Keone Kela is now the next big saves target, and he is available in more than 90 percent of CBS, ESPN and Yahoo leagues.

Things have not gone much better for Oh of late. He pitched the top of the ninth inning in a 3-3 tie with the Pirates, but a John Jaso solo homer proved to be a game-winner, dropping Oh to 1-4 on the season. Over his last six games, Oh has allowed 10 hits and six runs over six innings. While he had greater success in the preceding month-and-a-half, Oh has not been as effective in general this season. His slider is not sliding as much as it did last year, and as a result, opponents had posted a 1.040 OPS against it entering Friday’s game, as opposed to the .452 mark they mustered in Oh’s 2016 rookie year. If Oh can take any solace, it’s that Trevor Rosenthal has a 6.00 ERA and 1.67 WHIP in June.

While the Nationals did not have a save opportunity in their 6-5 win over the Reds, Dusty Baker offered another hint that Enny Romero may be the team’s closer. He is the most recent Nationals reliever to attempt — and secure — a save, and on Friday, Baker brought him into a tie game in the top of the ninth inning. For his part, Romero pitched a perfect frame against the Reds. For now, I’m moving Romero ahead of Matt Albers in the closer grid, but the lack of clarity keeps the Nationals in the “red” category.

Then again, it may be close to a moot point, as the rumors around a potential trade for a closer continue to swirl. According to FOX Sports’ Ken Rosenthal, the Nationals are considering acquiring Pat Neshek from the Phillies as a potential closer.

Quick hits: Raisel Iglesias pitched the 10th inning against the Nationals and allowed a run on three hits for the loss. It was only the second time in his last 23 appearances that he had allowed at least one run…The Angels activated Huston Street from the DL on Thursday, and on Friday, he made his season debut against the Red Sox. Street pitched a perfect seventh inning in a 9-4 loss…The Royals signed Neftali Feliz to a major league deal on Friday. He was released by the Brewers last Sunday…Another opening day closer was let go, as the Tigers released Francisco Rodriguez.

Closer Grid:

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