Bullpen Report: June 24, 2013

• Joe Nathan is having a fine 2013. After picking up save number 25 last night he’s now supporting a 2.90 FIP. Nathan gives up a lot of fly balls (47.6% FB%) and he’s running a little hot with so few of them going over the fence (3.80 xFIP)  but he’s a solid reliever who will give you about a strikeout per inning on one of the better teams in the league. Behind Nathan in the Texas bullpen has been Tanner Scheppers but that soon may change with Joakim Soria on a rehab assignment, scheduled to return around the All-Star break. Soria last pitched in 2011 on the Royals and if he can find some of his former mojo, he and Nathan could form one of the premier set up and closer combos in the game.

• Chris Perez hasn’t had a rehab to remember while recovering from a right shoulder injury (and some marijuana charges) but he continues to work his way back to the majors Tuesday in Mahoning Valley where he will throw in a minor league rehab game. Assuming there are no more set backs (not necessarily a given), Perez should be back in Cleveland soon but until then Vinnie Pestano (4.71 xFIP) will continue to receive opportunities like he did tonight for his fourth save of the year.  Pestano isn’t the same pitcher he once was and Joe Smith (3.13 xFIP) and Cody Allen (3.08 xFIP) are likely better relievers at this point but Francona is sticking with Pestano in Perez’ absence.

• Kevin Gregg (3.06 xFIP; 11/11 saves) and Jose Veras (3.68 xFIP; 15/18 saves) have been solid for a couple of non-solid teams this year and both should be named in many a trade rumor as we near the trading deadline. While it may seem unrealistic (or just straight up surreal) for a playoff bound team to be excited about handing the ball to Gregg in a close game with runners on, a 35 year old closer on a last place team is a bit of a novelty and it shouldn’t take much for a team to acquire Gregg’s services to bolster their pen. If Gregg were to go, expect the Cubs to try to squeeze whatever juice might be left of Carlos Marmol or look to James Russell. If Jose Veras is traded, Hector Ambriz (4.09 xFIP) could step in but keep an eye on Jose Cisnero. In 32.2 innings pitched already this year, Cisnero has 2.20 ERA and 3.73 xFIP and he could be a more valuable fixture in Houston if Veras is moved.

• Fernando Rodney shot his 16th arrow in the air tonight striking out two batters against no walks.  That last part is of particular interest because as Colin noted last night, Rodney has been cutting down his walks of late. Rodney lowered his xFIP to 3.41 and although 2012 will always be his career year, his job is very secure right now and he might end up helping fantasy teams in non-save categories this year if  he maintains his strikeout rate while continuing to limit his walks.

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	Koji Uehara	Junichi Tazawa	Andrew Bailey
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	Al Alburquerque
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	Antonio Bastardo	Justin De Fratus	Mike Adams
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.]