Bullpen Report: June 5, 2019

The Cubs activated Pedro Strop on Tuesday, and we quickly found out there would be no easing-in period for him. Kyle Hendricks gave the Cubs seven strong innings against the Rockies, and when he left with a 5-3 lead, erstwhile closer Steve Cishek came in to pitch the eighth inning. Newcomer Carlos Gonzalez hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the inning that extended the lead to three runs, and then Joe Maddon called on Strop for the save in the ninth.

Though only one of his 17 pitches resulted in a swinging strike, Strop’s return was drama-free, as he induced three ground ball outs. His average fastball velocity of 93.8 mph was only slightly below his prior average of 94.3 mph. Strop is starting to find some new owners now that he has been activated, but he is still widely available in 12-team mixed leagues. He is clearly an upgrade over Blake Parker, both in terms of likely usage and skill set, yet Parker is more widely owned in both CBS and ESPN leagues.

Mychal Givens also got back in the saves column on Tuesday night, but it didn’t appear to be by design. The Orioles built up an 11-3 lead against the Rangers going into the seventh-inning stretch, and Brandon Hyde opted to use Branden Kline in the bottom of the inning, even though he had been deploying the 27-year-old rookie in higher-leverage situations of late. The Rangers shaved a run off the lead, and then they did the same against closer committee member Shawn Armstrong in the eighth inning (though it was an unearned run). The Orioles got that run back in the top of the ninth on Pedro Severino’s third homer of the night, so the Orioles’ bullpen had plenty of cushion to finish out the game.

That low-leverage assignment was given to Josh Lucas, but he did not retire any of the three batters he faced, thanks to a Richie Martin error and two walks. He gave way to Richard Bleier, who got only one out while allowing all three of Lucas’ baserunners to score, plus three more of his own. Only then, with a mere 12-11 lead, did Hyde turn to Givens. He rewarded his manager by striking out Delino DeShields and Elvis Andrus, picking up his fifth save of the season.

No one has stepped up to seize the role of primary closer, and meanwhile, Givens has shown some improvement recently Over his last three appearances covering 2.2 innings, he has struck out six batters, issued no walks and the only hit he allowed was a John Hicks solo homer. While we should not assume that the Orioles’ next save opportunity will belong to Givens, it would hardly be a surprise if it did.

The Nationals and Athletics have struggled to find a reliable bridge to get to their closers, but neither bullpen had a problem making it to the ninth inning with the lead on Tuesday. That’s not to say that the Nationals’ path to a 9-5 win over the White Sox was a completely smooth one. The sixth- and seventh-inning pitchers, Matt Grace and Tanner Rainey, did not get holds, as the Nationals were up by four runs, but both turned in scoreless frames. It is worth noting that Rainey has been impressive through his first 7.1 innings as a member of the Nationals’ bullpen, compiling a 20.1 percent SwStr% and a 36.1 percent O-Swing%, and he is already being entrusted with some higher-leverage situations.

Wander Suero pitched a perfect eighth inning but had to cede the mound to Sean Doolittle in the ninth after giving up a pair of singles. The Nationals’ closer got the final two outs en route to his 13th save. Though he has yet to pick up a hold, Rainey is profiling like an add candidate in holds leagues, while the inconsistent Suero is on the upswing with four consecutive scoreless appearances.

As for the A’s, Yusmeiro Petit and Liam Hendriks both earned holds by pitching scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth, respectively, against the Angels. Blake Treinen pitched his first clean inning since May 21, nailing down his 12th save of the season. It’s too soon to know if Petit and Hendriks will supplant Joakim Soria and Lou Trivino as Oakland’s setup relievers. Bob Melvin’s only comment on Trivino’s status was that he planned on using him in fewer multiple inning situations.

Nick Wittgren has settled in as the Indians’ eighth-inning bridge to Brad Hand, but could Oliver Perez see more time in the late innings? On Tuesday night, he pitched the eighth inning with a 5-2 lead over the Twins, entering with no outs and a runner on first base. He struck out Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco and Nelson Cruz in succession for his fifth hold, and Hand followed through with his 17th save. Over his last three outings, Perez has tallied 4.2 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, no walks and only one hit allowed.

Quick hits: Shane Greene (19), Raisel Iglesias (12), Hector Neris (11) and Ken Giles (11) all converted save opportunities on Tuesday…The soonest Jose Alvarado (family medical emergency list) could return to the Rays is this weekend, but The Athletic’s Josh Tolentino writes that it is not likely to happen then…Dellin Betances (shoulder) is scheduled to face live hitters on Wednesday, according to James Wagner of The New York Times…The Blue Jays activated Tim Mayza (forearm) from the IL on Tuesday…The Mariners placed Connor Sadzeck on the IL on Tuesday with elbow inflammation. The move was made retroactively to Monday…Kyle Crick gave up a three-run homer to Austin Riley — the first home run he had allowed in 20.1 innings this season. It gave him his third blown save and second loss of the year and left Kirby Yates and Emilio Pagan as the last qualified relievers to not have allowed a home run…Robert Gsellman was charged with five runs and the loss against the Giants. He got only one out in the 10th inning before giving way to Hector Santiago. Gsellman has now allowed 12 runs on 14 hits and five walks over his last 6.2 innings.

Not Very Stable
Hot Seat
Committee
Bullpen Report — 6/5/2019
Team Closer First Up Second Up Minors/DL
ARI Greg Holland Archie Bradley Yoan Lopez
ATL Luke Jackson Sean Newcomb Jacob Webb A.J. Minter
BAL Shawn Armstrong Richard Bleier Mychal Givens Nathan Karns
BOS Matt Barnes Brandon Workman Marcus Walden Brian Johnson
CHC Pedro Strop Steve Cishek Brandon Kintzler
CWS Alex Colome Kelvin Herrera Evan Marshall
CIN Raisel Iglesias David Hernandez Amir Garrett Robert Stephenson
CLE Brad Hand Nick Wittgren Oliver Perez
COL Scott Oberg Bryan Shaw Chad Bettis Wade Davis
DET Shane Greene Joe Jimenez Buck Farmer
HOU Roberto Osuna Ryan Pressly Hector Rondon Collin McHugh
KC Ian Kennedy Jake Diekman Wily Peralta
LAA Hansel Robles Ty Buttrey Cam Bedrosian
LAD Kenley Jansen Pedro Baez Dylan Floro
MIA Sergio Romo Tayron Guerrero Adam Conley Drew Steckenrider
MIL Josh Hader Jeremy Jeffress Alex Claudio
MIN Blake Parker Taylor Rogers Ryne Harper Trevor Hildenberger
NYM Edwin Diaz Seth Lugo Robert Gsellman
NYY Aroldis Chapman Zack Britton Adam Ottavino Dellin Betances
OAK Blake Treinen Lou Trivino Joakim Soria
PHI Hector Neris Seranthony Dominguez Jose Alvarez David Robertson
PIT Felipe Vazquez Kyle Crick Francisco Liriano Keone Kela
STL Jordan Hicks Carlos Martinez John Gant
SD Kirby Yates Craig Stammen Robbie Erlin
SF Will Smith Tony Watson Sam Dyson
SEA Anthony Bass Roenis Elias Austin Adams Hunter Strickland
TB Diego Castillo Jose Alvarado Emilio Pagan
TEX Shawn Kelley Jose LeClerc Chris Martin
TOR Ken Giles Joe Biagini Daniel Hudson
WSH Sean Doolittle Wander Suero Tanner Rainey





Al Melchior has been writing about Fantasy baseball and sim games since 2000, and his work has appeared at CBSSports.com, BaseballHQ, Ron Shandler's Baseball Forecaster and FanRagSports. He has also participated in Tout Wars' mixed auction league since 2013. You can follow Al on Twitter @almelchiorbb and find more of his work at almelchior.com.

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David Chenokmember
4 years ago

Hey Al—is there a recent article speculating on which current closers are strong candidates to be moved to contenders, and what it means for saves? Or are any forthcoming that you know of?

CJ311NYM
4 years ago
Reply to  David Chenok

All of them. (End of article)