Bullpen Report: May 11, 2023

The 2023 version of Bullpen Report includes five different sections, as well as the closer chart, which can be found at the bottom of the page.

  1. Notable Workloads: Primary closers or valuable members of a closer committee who have been deemed unavailable or likely unavailable for the current day due to recent workload.
  2. Injury News 
  3. Outlier Saves: Explanation for a non-closer earning a save during the previous day.
  4. Committee Clarity: Notes on a closer committee that clarify a pitcher’s standing in the group.
  5. Losing A Grip: Struggling closers who could be on the hot seat.

The “RosterResource” link will take you to the corresponding team’s RosterResource depth chart, which will give you a better picture of the full bullpen and results of the previous six days (pitch count, save, hold, win, loss, blown save.)

Click HERE to view the full Closer Depth Chart.

Notable Workloads

None

 

Injury Report

Liam Hendriks, CHW: Could be activated early next week. | RosterResource

In his third appearance for Triple-A Charlotte, Hendriks pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning to close out a 7-1 win on Wednesday. Prior to his outing, White Sox manager Pedro Grifol gave an update on plans for what could possibly be the remainder of his rehab assignment.

If the White Sox conclude that the 34-year-old Hendriks is ready to return after Sunday, he could be back in action on Tuesday when they open a three-game series at home against the Guardians. In the meantime, they’ll continue to go with some combination of Kendall Graveman, Reynaldo López, and others to close out games. Graveman, Lopez, and Keynan Middleton have each picked up a save since the team ended a 10-game losing streak on April 30.

Additionally, Garrett Crochet, who missed all of the 2022 season recovering from Tommy John surgery, might not be that far behind Hendriks. The 23-year-old lefty has made five rehab appearances and, while the results haven’t been great so far (5 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 6 K), it’s important to note that he hadn’t previously pitched in the minors because the White Sox felt he was ready to help out of the bullpen immediately after they selected him with the 11th pick in the 2020 draft. They were right. He pitched six shutout innings in September and then followed up with a terrific rookie season in 2021 (2.82 ERA, 54.1 IP, 65 K, 12 holds). He’s preparing for a multi-inning role and isn’t likely to be in the mix for saves once he returns, but he could quickly force his way into the late-inning mix and head into the offseason as the team’s top candidate for saves in 2024.

 

José Alvarado, PHI: Placed on 15-Day IL. | RosterResource

Just as he was establishing himself as one of the top relievers in the game, Alvarado will be sidelined for at least the next two weeks due to elbow inflammation. While an IL stint for this type of injury rarely results in a pitcher missing just 15 days and returning without issue, it appears that the MRI didn’t reveal the worst-case scenario.

Still, the Phillies will likely be extremely cautious with the hard-throwing lefty, who had a 1.88 ERA, 24 strikeouts, five saves, and four holds over his first 14 appearances. He had yet to walk a batter, which is remarkable for someone who came into the season with a career BB/9 rate over 5.0.

The timing of this would never be good for the Phillies, but it comes only a week after Craig Kimbrel had a pair of terrible outings against the Dodgers (6 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, 2 HR in 1 IP). However, the 34-year-old has looked terrific in his last two appearances, including a scoreless 10th inning in Wednesday’s extra-inning win over the Blue Jays.

Without Alvarado on the roster, Kimbrel appears to be the primary closer for now. Despite an ERA over 7.00, he had allowed only 1 ER with 14 strikeouts over a 9.2 inning span after allowing runs in his first two appearances of the season. Then came the Dodgers disaster. Now, he’s looked dominant over his last two games (2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 4 K). Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto, who have been mostly good after rough starts, could quickly join the mix if Kimbrel struggles, as well as Matt Strahm, who recently returned to the bullpen after making six starts.

Outlier Saves

Yennier Cano, BAL | RosterResource

I can’t guarantee that Cano’s save in Wednesday’s 2-1 victory over the Rays was an outlier, but it’s safe to say that closer Félix Bautista was not available after he threw 29 pitches in Tuesday’s game. He recorded the final four outs of that win for his 8th save, lowering his ERA to 1.59.

So, why would there be any reason to question whether Cano’s save was an outlier? Bautista continues to get the job done after being one of the breakout stars from 2022, but he’s been a bit shaky over his last five appearances with nine walks and nine strikeouts in 5.1 innings. That’s not really a huge cause for concern at this point. But, when the guy who has quickly gone from being an afterthought — the 29-year-old Cano began the season in Triple-A — to probably the most dominant relief pitcher in baseball in a matter of four weeks, you can’t afford to have any flaws in your game or he’s gonna pass you up.

Not only did Cano pick up his 3rd save on Wednesday, he also extended his scoreless streak to begin the season to 18.2 innings. He has 22 strikeouts and zero walks. If you thought Alvarado going from a career BB/9 of over 5.0 to zero walks in 14.1 innings was crazy, how about a guy who had a 4.4 BB/9 in 128 career minor league innings all of a sudden being in complete command of the strike zone?

Cano probably won’t go much longer without allowing a run or without walking a batter, but he appears to be the real deal. At least for now, the Orioles have one of the most formidable late-inning relief duos in the game.

Deivi García, NYY | RosterResource

It wasn’t that long ago that García had emerged as one of baseball’s best young pitching prospects and on the cusp of becoming a mainstay in the Yankees’ rotation. But, as is the case with many young pitchers, inconsistency and injuries have sidetracked his career. Pitching exclusively out of the Triple-A bullpen in 2023, the 23-year-old has a 4.50 ERA with 16 walks and 18 strikeouts in 20 innings. A one-day call-up on Wednesday to give the big league team a fresh arm might be about as good as it will get this season. So, at least he made it count.

Entering the game with a commanding 11-2 lead over the A’s, Garcia was called upon to pitch the final three innings. He allowed a solo homer to JJ Bleday in the 7th, but that was it. He allowed just the one run in three innings to close things out and pick up his first career save. He was optioned to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre after the game.

 

 

Committee Clarity

None

 

Losing A Grip

None

 

Click HERE to view the full Closer Depth Chart.

 

Not Very Stable
Hot Seat
Committee
Bullpen Report — 5/11/2023
Team Closer First Up Second Up Injured List
ARI Andrew Chafin Miguel Castro Scott McGough
ATL Raisel Iglesias A.J. Minter Nick Anderson
BAL Felix Bautista Yennier Cano Bryan Baker Dillon Tate
BOS Kenley Jansen Chris Martin John Schreiber
CHC Mark Leiter Jr. Adbert Alzolay Michael Fulmer
CWS Kendall Graveman Reynaldo Lopez Keynan Middleton Liam Hendriks
CIN Alexis Diaz Lucas Sims Derek Law
CLE Emmanuel Clase James Karinchak Trevor Stephan
COL Pierce Johnson Justin Lawrence Brent Suter
DET Alex Lange Jason Foley Will Vest
HOU Ryan Pressly Rafael Montero Bryan Abreu
KC Scott Barlow Aroldis Chapman Taylor Clarke
LAA Carlos Estevez Matt Moore Ryan Tepera Jose Quijada
LAD Evan Phillips Brusdar Graterol Caleb Ferguson Daniel Hudson
MIA AJ Puk Dylan Floro Tanner Scott Anthony Bender
MIL Devin Williams Peter Strzelecki Elvis Peguero Matt Bush
MIN Jhoan Duran Jorge Lopez Griffin Jax
NYM David Robertson Adam Ottavino Drew Smith Edwin Diaz
NYY Michael King Clay Holmes Ian Hamilton Jonathan Loaisiga
OAK Zach Jackson Sam Moll Spencer Patton Trevor May
PHI Craig Kimbrel Seranthony Dominguez Gregory Soto Jose Alvarado
PIT David Bednar Colin Holderman Robert Stephenson
STL Ryan Helsley Giovanny Gallegos Genesis Cabrera
SD Josh Hader Nick Martinez Steven Wilson Robert Suarez
SF Camilo Doval Tyler Rogers John Brebbia
SEA Paul Sewald Justin Topa Trevor Gott Andres Muñoz
TB Jason Adam Colin Poche Ryan Thompson Pete Fairbanks
TEX Will Smith Jonathan Hernandez Brock Burke
TOR Jordan Romano Erik Swanson Yimi Garcia Chad Green
WSH Kyle Finnegan Hunter Harvey Carl Edwards Jr. Tanner Rainey





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tomerafan
10 months ago

I still can’t figure out what the Cubs are doing, but now’s the time to stash Jeremiah Estrada if he’s available.