There weren’t many games on the schedule today so just a few brief bullet points for tonight. I’ll be sure to use the comment section below with any additional news that comes up later this evening or into tomorrow.

• Jim Johnson lost his closer’s role to a committee in Oakland but he might be returning to the ninth inning. Via Jane Lee, Johnson’s latest run has “elevated” his chances of regaining the closer’s role according to A’s manager Bob Melvin. Johnson’s 5.73 ERA isn’t fun to look at but he’s thrown 7.2 scoreless innings in a row since April 11th with eight strikeouts against just two walks.  Earlier this season Johnson was struggling with his command, so it’s promising to see him throw strikes more consistently. A 3.83 xFIP doesn’t equate to shutdown closer, but it’s close to his career norms. If Johnson’s control is back to form while he continues to kill worms, his chances of being the closer in Oakland relatively soon look promising.

• Carlos Martinez threw a scoreless eighth inning tonight lowering his ERA to 2.93. Martinez “only” has 13 strikeouts in 15.1 innings pitched this year but his fantastic 13.5 SwStr% indicates more Ks are in his future. Martinez has maintained his high 90s velocity this year (96.9 mph) and projects to be one of the better set up men in the league. In a holds league, I’d look to buy low on Martinez’ good but not great and average K-rate if possible, knowing that both are likely to improve. Martinez won’t be sniffing saves unless Trevor Rosenthal gets hurt or moves to the rotation, neither are necessarily likely scenarios but the latter might be something to keep an eye on in deep dynasty leagues, as Martinez would clearly be the next in line.

• Brewers lefty Will Smith (2.46 xFIP) struck out both batters he faced tonight and has yet to allow a run in 11.1 innings this year. Smith’s walk-rate has been a bit high thus (4.79 B/9)  far but it’s been basically average throughout his minor league career and brief time in the majors, so I don’t envision it being a concern. Smith is still behind Jim Henderson (who threw a scoreless inning tonight) on the saves ladder, but if K-Rod needs a day of rest (the dude gets saves daily) Smith could see an opportunity against a lefty heavy lineup.

Closer Grid:

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

• Well, it wasn’t quite a save situation, but Bullpen Report favorite Hector Rondon looked good in Chicago today. The Cubs right-hander put the finishing touches on a 4-0 win, doing so in fine fashion by striking out the side. Rondon doesn’t quite have eye-popping numbers, but his mid-90’s fastball is enough to keep his swinging strike rate in the double digits and complement his slider (which gets whiffs one of every five times he throws it). His primary knock historically was health, he’s dealt with a fractured arm and has already undergone Tommy John surgery once. However, he managed to make it through 2013 relatively unscathed and continues to look fairly healthy in 2014. While Pedro Strop also tossed a scoreless inning today, Rondon’s outing (both usage and the subsequent punchouts) seems to make him the odds on favorite for the next save at Wrigley. The Cubs don’t project to be a save-heavy team, but Rondon is one of the few nice speculative adds among guys with sub-10% ownership percentages.

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-Welp, Daisuke Matsuzaka earned a save today — the first of his career — in a 1-2-3 top of the ninth-inning for the Metropolitans. Glad I didn’t make the “I’ll eat my hat bet” with Dice-K never earning a save, like I almost did last evening. Not sure how well I’d digest a brim. Anywho, Matsuzaka needed just 15 to pitches to retire Allen Craig, Daniel Descalso and Peter Bourjos to give the Mets a 4-1 victory over the Cardinals in Flushing. He now owns a 1.69 ERA (2.16 xFIP) in 5.1 innings on the hill. But don’t go racing to the waiver wire to put in your claims just yet, Kyle Farnsworth is still the go-to man for Terry Collins in save situations, thankfully. It’s just nice to know that the skipper considers Matsuzaka a sturdy backup just in case Farnsworth is unable to go, for whatever reason. Please pass the Tums.

–Jonathan Broxton notched his fourth save of the season as the Reds sunk the Pirates, 2-1. The burly right-hander needed just twelve pitches to seal the deal in a clean inning of work in the bottom half of the ninth. Broxton is doing a fair job of keeping the closer’s chair warm for Aroldis Chapman, who is slated to toss another live bullpen session this weekend in Atlanta. This time, Chapman will go without the screen, then head off to a rehab assignment if all goes well. Seems like a speedy recovery for what appeared to be a disastrous injury. It’s unlikely that you can pry Chapman from his fake owners if they’ve been waiting on him this long, but hey, maybe it’s worth a shot?

–Addison Reed made quick work of the Cubs in the home half of the ninth-inning today. The former crosstown rival fanned Mike Olt, then induced a Welington Castillo pop out and a groundout off the bat of Ryan Kalish on just ten pitches to clinch his fifth save of the young season. Reed is now 5-of-6 on the season in save chances with a 3.27 ERA (3.61 xFIP) and a 26% K%.

–Glen Perkins picked up his fifth save of the year in a 9-7 Twinkies victory over the Rays. Perkins has two strikeouts in five of his nine appearances. Not bad. Joe Nathan walked one, but struck out two en route to his fourth save of the season. As I noted in earlier versions of the Bullpen Report, Nathan’s velocity and ability to induce swings-and-misses are down a tick in the early part of ‘14. Hopefully those numbers creep back up as the season wears on. Huston Street surrendered a leadoff double to Bryce Harper, but escaped a bit of a jam to grab his eighth save of the season.

Lots of yelling and screaming on the Twitter machine regarding Ernesto Frieri’s status in the Angels’ bullpen. His last five appearances have been awful. He’s surrendered six runs on twelve hits in three-and-two-thirds. Some think he won’t hold down the ninth in the near future. And some think whoever said that is just crazy. If you’re not sure what to think but are chasing saves, Joe Smith seems to be the “just in case” add in Anaheim.

Closer Grid:

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

• Ernesto Frieri may be pushing himself out of the ninth inning in Los Angeles. A homer, then single, walk, and a double and the Angels’ closer bought himself another blown save (in a game the team would eventually lose 5-4 on another walkoff homer). Frieri actually continues to own a decent 3.30 xFIP but an ugly 8.80 FIP. So it comes down to homers (xFIP assumes league average HR/FB, FIP does not). The righty has given up a longball to 5 of the 42 batters he’s faced this year. That’s an unsexy 38.5% HR/FB%. Wow. Read the rest of this entry »

• The Yankees activated David Robertson from the DL today but he didn’t enter tonight’s game against the Red Sox. Shawn Kelley did an admirable job filling in but the ninth inning definitely belongs to David Robertson in the Bronx. If Robertson’s healthy, his above average control and elite strikeout ability could easily make him a top ten closer. Of course we all know that, it’s why we drafted him as such just a few months ago. Of more interest might be Dellin Betances, who’s 0.93/1.59/2.15 ERA/FIP/xFIP and 14.90 K/9 could make him a more major player in the back of the Yankees bullpen as the season goes on. Adam Warren received a save opportunity this season, but projecting these guys forward Betances will likely provide more value with his strikeouts, and once he develops a trust with Girardi he could see more consistent meaningful innings.

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• Kyle Farnsworth received his first save opportunity as the Mets closer tonight and converted it, allowing just one base hit to Yadier Molina in a scoreless inning. Colin went into some great detail last night about this situation so I certainly recommend you check out what he said if you have not already. Farnsworth is getting saves and therefore is worth owning (duh), but just as he was worth owning with Valverde at the helm, Gonzalez Germen is now worth a look for those in need of saves.

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• As Ben alluded to last night, the Mets seemed to be on the verge of making a change in the ninth inning. This morning, Terry Collins made it official. Kyle (Professor) Farnsworth is the newest closer in New York. Now that you are done racing to the wire to try and grab him, let’s chat. Farnsworth turned 38 last week, which aside from making me feel old, doesn’t portend good things for his career arc. His fastball velocity has fallen every year since 2009. It used to be a blistering 96 mph, now it barely broaches 91. Last season was the first his SwStr% had been below 10% since 2007, and it was only the second time in his career he didn’t make it into double digits.

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• Jose Valverde’s days as closer might be numbered. Valverde entered the ninth inning tonight and gave up a three run homer to Justin Upton. Although none of Valverde’s runs were “earned” it’s the fourth home run he’s allowed in his last three outings. Papa Grande’s been able to miss more bats this year (13.5 SwStr%) but his gopheritis and control issues may have come to an end, at least as the closer. Via David Lennon Collins is going to “have to talk about Valverde as closer“, which means teams should look to add Kyle Farnsworth immediately. As of this writing a change has not been made but I’d expect Kyle Farnsworth to get the next save opp for the Mets.

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–Jonathan Papelbon notched his 4th save of the young season on 14 pitches as the Phillies clipped the Braves 1-0. Pap induced a fly ball to center field off the bat of Braves’ first baseman Freddie Freeman, then fanned both Justin Upton and Chris Johnson to finish off Atlanta in the top half of the ninth.
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• Two games, two shutouts, two saves, two different closers for the Yankees today. Current closer Shawn Kelley polished off Masahiro Tanaka’s gem in game one of a doubleheader, while Adam Warren finished off the day’s eighteen straight scoreless innings against the Cubs in the nightcap. Kelley’s easy save solidifies his role in the ninth; he should be available to finish the game tomorrow. He impressively has yet to walk a batter this season. That the team went to Adam Warren when having the rest of the bullpen available in the second game speaks to his position as second-in-command on the depth chart. The concern about this bullpen appears it will be short-lived, however. David Robertson is going to try throwing off a mound tomorrow and hopes to return when eligible next week.

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