Bullpen Report: September 9th, 2016

It’s been a while since you’ve heard from us and we apologize for that. For tonight, I’m going to first update you on changes in the grid since the last time we put something out. Then I will close out with an update on tonight’s slate.

Bruce Bochy announced he will remove Santiago Casilla as closer and go with a committee. He then used him with a one-run lead tonight in extra innings and he gave up a game-tying home-run to Jake Lamb. This makes the Giants closer job very volatile and although Will Smith is at the top of the grid, this does not mean he will get first shot at save opportunities. If you’re in a Holds/Save league, go for one of the three Giants on the grid. If it’s just Saves, be cautious when picking up these relievers who have no hold on the job just yet.

After another disastrous outing for Fernando Rodney last Sunday where he gave up 3 runs in 0.2 innings, the Marlins have gone back to A.J. Ramos as their closer. He had his first save opportunity since tonight and was perfect striking out two batters in his inning to earn the save (33).

Koji Uehara is back on the active grid and looked sharp in his return on Wednesday pitching a scoreless 8th inning, while striking out two.

Hector Rondon was also activated from the DL this week and gave up a run off of two hits in his appearance earlier in the week, and struck out two tonight for his 6th hold. Aroldis Chapman struck out one for his 33rd save.

Wade Davis is back from the DL and received a loss in his first appearance back giving up two runs on two hits in his only inning of work. He then bounced back the next night striking out the only two batters he faced to earn the save (22).

Andrew Bailey is the new closer for the Angels and he has been perfect in his only two save opportunities. He has continued to struggle with his control this season (4.08 BB/9) and has put up a 5.86 ERA (4.76 FIP). Although the closer’s role is his for now, be weary if you are still needing a positive ERA and WHIP, though he should get you Ks when he pitches.

The Mets acquired Fernando Salas and he is now their 7th inning guy after Hansel Robles has gone through a tough stretch as Robles has walked 11 over 16 innings since August 9th to along with 12 earned runs given up. Salas was nothing special with the Angels (4.47 ERA, 4.64 FIP), but since joining the Mets he has not allowed an earned run over 4.1 innings and has struck out 5. Salas has shown flashes of excellence, especially last season by striking out 10.5 per 9 and had a 3.15 FIP despite his 4.24 ERA. Not a threat for the 8th or 9th with the way Addison Reed and Jeurys Familia are pitching, but could be a source of holds down the stretch for New York. Familia made things interesting tonight giving up a hit and walk, but held on for his 48th save, as Reed got the Hold (35).

Nick Vincent is back on the grid and has not given up a run since August 25th in 6 appearances, striking out one batter in each game. Since his return on August 9th, he has a 3.52 ERA (3.35 FIP) while striking out 9.39 and walking 1.76 per 9. The walks are down from earlier in the season, which is good, but so are the Ks. However, they are not significant to be concerned, as Vincent can be a nice source for Holds.

Quick Hits: Tony Watson earned his second loss in three appearances giving up a sac fly to Jose Peraza after Raisel Iglesias blew his first save of the season, but then earned the win after a scary 9th inning. Dellin Betances gave up a run after a rain delay interrupted the 9th, but he still managed to get the save (10). After Alex Wilson blew his 4th save for the Tigers, Brad Brach came into a tied game in the 8th and gave up a homerun to Victor Martinez. Francisco Rodriguez would then pitch a perfect 9th for the save (40). Cody Allen (27). Seung Hwan Oh (17), Edwin Diaz (14), Sam Dyson (33), and Adam Ottavino (3) all earned saves this evening as well.

Closer Grid:

	Closer	First	Second	DL/Minors
Arizona	Daniel Hudson	Randall Delgado	Jake Barrett
Atlanta	Jim Johnson	Mauricio Cabrera	Ian Krol	Arodys Vizcaino
Baltimore	Zach Britton	Brad Brach	Mychal Givens	Darren O’Day
Boston	Craig Kimbrel	Koji Uehara	Brad Ziegler	Carson Smith
CHI (NL)	Aroldis Chapman	Hector Rondon	Justin Grimm.
CHI (AL)	David Robertson	Nate Jones	Matt Albers
Cincy	Tony Cingrani	Raisel Iglesias	Michael Lorenzen
Cleveland	Cody Allen	Andrew Miller	Bryan Shaw
Colorado	Adam Ottavino	Jake McGee	Carlos Estevez	Scott Oberg
Detroit	Francisco Rodriguez	Justin Wilson	Alex Wilson
Houston	Ken Giles	Luke Gregerson	Will Harris
KC	Wade Davis	Kelvin Herrera	Joakim Soria	Luke Hochevar
LAA	Andrew Bailey	Mike Morin	J.C. Ramirez	Cam Bedrosian
LAD	Kenley Jansen	Joe Blanton	Adam Liberatore
Miami	A.J. Ramos	Fernando Rodney	Kyle Barraclough
Milwaukee	Tyler Thornburg	Corey Knebel	Blaine Boyer
Minnesota	Brandon Kintzler	Ryan Pressly	Taylor Rogers	Glen Perkins
NY (NL)	Jeurys Familia	Addison Reed	Fernando Salas
NY (AL)	Dellin Betances	Tyler Clippard	Adam Warren
Oakland	Ryan Madson	Ryan Dull	John Axford
Philly	Jeanmar Gomez	Hector Neris	David Hernandez
Pittsburgh	Tony Watson	Neftali Feliz	Felipe Rivero
St. Louis	Seung Hwan Oh	Kevin Siegrist	Jonathan Broxton
SD	Brandon Maurer	Ryan Buchter	Brad Hand
SF	Will Smith	Sergio Romo	Hunter Strickland	Derek Law
Seattle	Edwin Diaz	Steve Cishek	Nick Vincent	Tom Wilhelmsen
TB	Alex Colome	Brad Boxberger	Xavier Cedeno
Texas	Sam Dyson	Jake Diekman	Matt Bush	Jeremy Jeffress
Toronto	Roberto Osuna	Jason Grilli	Joaquin Benoit
Wash.	Mark Melancon	Shawn Kelley	Blake Treinen

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