Bullpen Report: June 26, 2018

• Edubray Ramos was placed on the DL and in a corresponding move the Phillies recalled Hector Neris from AAA. Hector Neris threw two innings in the minors, striking out two while issuing a walk. While we can’t clean much from that performance he pitched better in the majors than his ERA would suggest with a 2.96 SIERA not matching his 5.79 ERA. Neris pitched in the 7th inning last night, striking out two batters in a perfect inning. Although he won’t lead the saves committee in Philly, I put him back on the grid with Seranthony Dominguez and Tommy Hunter ahead of him. As you know, it’s hard to tell how Kapler will run the bullpen on any given day but Neris should have a chance to make some noise again.

• When Kelvin Herrera was hurt I went through almost every reliever in Kansas City except Wily Peralta. So naturally Peralta gets the save chance last night, getting his first save and striking out two in the process. I’m going to put Peralta in the lead for saves with Kevin McCarthy next in line as he pitched a perfect 8th. As for the last slot, it’s between Tim Hill and Brandon Maurer but for now I will keep Hill on the grid, as a lefty he might see high leverage innings against lefty heavy lineups. While it looks like Peralta could run away with the job if he pitches well, he’s not likely to rack up a ton of saves on the Royals. I would pick him up if you need saves, but I wouldn’t consider the category safe because you have Peralta now.

• Rough night in Detroit as Joe Jimenez allowed three runs in his inning of work before handing the ball off to Shane Greene who gave up a homer to Jed Lowrie to break up the tie in the 9th. Jimenez had been on fire before last night and on the year still has a 2.14 FIP and 3.10 SIERA. He’s the best reliever in the group but it’s still Shane Greene’s job to close, in spite of his 4th loss last night. Greene is getting strikeouts this year at a career high 27.1% K% and his SIERA matches Jimenez. He’s been loosely named in trade rumors this year but mostly as something that would make sense for the Tigers with their future closer already in tow than as a hard target for teams. Either way, if he were to be traded his performance over the next few weeks will be crucial which creates an interesting dilemma for Green owners. The best hope would be for him to pitch well enough to keep the job before the deadline but not too well that he becomes a trade target. However it plays out, if I could get value for Greene I would look to move him.

• Blake Treinen continued his fantastic year getting his 18th save and lowering his era to 0.96. With the way he’s pitching, he’s an elite closing option which around this time of year gets the trade rumors starting. Treinen is cost controlled until 2020 and the A’s are playing better than.500 ball so the A’s aren’t in a rush to trade him. With that said he’s also 29 and the A’s aren’t really in the business of holding onto a depreciating asset. While I don’t think a trade is likely, it’s worth monitoring trade rumors and the A’s record as we enter July. If something happens with Treinen, expect Lou Trivino to replace him.

• Brandon Kintzler was activated from the DL but with Kelvin Herrera in town, his view of saves is pretty far off. We still have Ryan Madson ahead of him on the grid too and there’s also Justin Miller who is making a new name for himself this year on the Nationals. Getting Kintzler is nice for the Nationals bullpen depth but likely won’t play a role on any fantasy team.

• Quick Hits: The Yankees called on Aroldis Chapman for four outs last night and despite giving up a homer to Maikel Franco, Aroldis secured his 23rd save. With so many flame throwers and multi-inning relief aces in baseball nowadays, it’s easy to lose track of Chapman who has been insane with a 1.59 FIP/1.98 SIERA and 60 strikeouts in 35 innings. Speaking of great seasons, Edwin Diaz closed his 28th game and has 66 strikeouts of his own in 40 innings. Felipe Vazquez is putting prevoius concerns and blips behind him, getting his 15th save while striking out the side. Keone Kela pitched around a couple of base hits for his 19th save. Kela throws 97 mph and has a 3.15 SIERA and he has the feel as just a guy these days. Crazy relief world we live in. Seung Hwan Oh recorded his 2nd save of the year last night with Ryan Tepera and Tyler Clippard unavailable. Although Clippard is ahead of him on the grid, I’ve added Oh in lieu of Axford.