• Jason Grilli was officially placed on the 15-day disabled list. The good news? Sounds like Grilli didn’t hear the dreaded “pop” signaling a serious acute injury. GM Neil Huntington has also apparently insinuated that the injury might not be as bad as first feared (season-ending). However, Grilli was clearly suffering from some degree of discomfort at least four pitches before he was eventually yanked — I question what exactly the trainers were looking at. Either way, keep Grilli rostered.

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• We still don’t know the extent of Jason Grilli’s injury and even though some of the early signs have been encouraging, he’s been placed on the 15-day DL. As we mentioned last night, Mark Melancon will take over as closer and it should be fun to watch Melancon take his 0.95/1.78/2.21 ERA/FIP/xFIP line from the eighth inning to the ninth. I’ve long agreed with Aaron Gleeman’s premise that “closing is a rollrole, not a skill” and Melancon owners should fully expect him to continue his great season just with saves instead of holds. As we find out more information on how much time Grilli is expected to miss we will be sure to inform you here. In the meantime, Melancon pitched a scoreless ninth today, something we might be saying a few more times here on out.

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Apologies for interrupting your Ryan Braun coverage but here is tonight’s Bullpen Report.

• In the midst of one of the worst outings of the season, Jason Grilli had to exit tonight’s game with his pitching arm in pain. Grilli certainly looked uncomfortable and left the game without even throwing a warm up/test pitch. We don’t know of any specifics as to the severity of the injury at the moment, but for the sake of all Pirates fans and Grilli owners, let’s hope it’s nothing major. Fellow all-star Mark Melancon should fill in if Grilli were to miss time. With a 0.97/1.75/2.20 ERA/FIP/xFIP line, Melancon should make for a solid option and should be picked up immediately in most, if not all, leagues.

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• Andrew Bailey’s shoulder put a quick end to any of the recent speculation that he may have been a candidate to move back to the ninth inning in the next few weeks. Bailey suffered labrum and shoulder capsule damage (supposedly acutely during his last outing) and will undergo surgery this Wednesday. Shoulder surgery is a big deal, and Bailey will be sidelined for the remainder of 2013 and at least the early part of 2014. He’s likely to be non-tendered by the Red Sox this offseason and outside of extraordinarily deep dynasty leagues, has virtually no fantasy value.

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Hope y’all enjoyed the All-Star break, I know I did. Here are just a few bullpen notes from today:

Rafael Betancourt landed on the 15-day disabled list today after undergoing a last-minute appendectomy. The 38-year-old showed up to the stadium hoping to play through the pain, but his 10-year-old son wisely informed the Rockies’ medical staff that his father had been awfully sick the night before. After a quick evaluation the medical staff suspected the closer was suffering from appendicitis, resulting in the procedure. Betancourt could need two-to-three weeks of recovery time. The Rockies shelved Betancourt back in June for a groin strain causing the veteran to miss 25 games. So in just 28 appearances this season, Betancourt is 15-of-16 in save chances with a 3.16 ERA (1.20 WHIP) and a 22.2% K%. Not bad for fantasy purposes, but the red flags continue to ascend as his fastball velocity, K% and SwStr% have all dipped while his BB% spiked for the fourth consecutive year.

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With baseball taking their annual mid-summer break, I thought maybe it was worth trying to read the tea leaves with some bullpens that might see some potential shakeups as we head towards the MLB and many fantasy league trade deadlines. Some guys might be sell-highs, some might be waiver wire stashes, but the key here is to target guys of interest before the real chatter starts to pick up around baseball in the next week or so.

Milwaukee Brewers: Perhaps one of the messiest closing situations of the first half. Francisco Rodriguez feels like he’s been around forever, but (somehow) he is only 31 (that’s only one year older than Brandon League for those keeping score at home). He’s enjoying a renaissance of sorts, too. His 1.19 ERA is certainly not sustainable (the man has a 99.1% LOB%!), his K% is up about 5% this year and his BB% has even dropped a tick from 10.2% to 9%. His velocity hasn’t moved much, and his SwStr%, while a bit up on 2012, is still well below his career average, so some K% regression might be coming. That said, no one can deny he hasn’t done an admirable job out of the Brewers pen.

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There might not be any games but the Bullpen Report keeps going!

• Ron Harper showed a solid cutter pitching to his son Bryce in the Home Run Derby and there is some chatter that the Cubs might give him a look if/when Kevin Gregg is moved at the deadline.  Additionally, Jose Cano showed some velocity and although he last pitched in 1989 for the Astros, there were whispers at Citi Field that a return to Houston is imminent for Robinson Cano’s father.

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Final Bullpen Report before most players embark on a mini-vacation. I like Mariano Rivera if you are in some sort of high-stakes “who gets the save in the all-star game” pool. Or is that just me?

• There’s been some chatter over the last week or so that Jonathan Papelbon might be one of a host of closers who could be had in a trade this month. Unfortunately for Ruben Amaro, he certainly didn’t help his value today, blowing save number five and robbing Cole Hamels owners of a ‘W’ (luckily for the Phanatic, the Phils still won in extras).

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Apologies for the tardy and abbreviated Bullpen Report this morning.

Here we go…

Chris Perez needed just 12 pitches to earn his 12th save of the season in a clean inning of work last evening against the Royals. The 28-year-old is now 12-of-14 in save opportunities this season, including a perfect 6-for-6 since coming off the disabled list in late-June. The right-hander has allowed just one earned run with a 16.6% K% and an 8.3% BB% since returning to action. The velocity on his primary offerings are down a tick this season but the good news is that it appears to have rebounded about half-a-tick over his last nine innings of work. Perez’s rates and ratios aren’t exactly exciting for fantasy purposes, but he’s earning saves again which is obviously beneficial for those in need of help in that category. He’s still available in 28% of Y! leagues. I’m adding and/or holding Perez right now.
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-For the second consecutive evening Kevin Gregg found himself in a bit of trouble on the hill, but unlike last night, the right-hander overcame a few mistakes — including, but not limited to a throwing error and a walk — en route to his 16th save of the twenty-thirteen campaign. Sure, Gregg didn’t take the conventional route to seal the victory for the Cubbies tonight, but he did in fact provide keep the Cardinals off the board. The save aside, are we starting to see Gregg turn back into a pumpkin? I’m not exactly sure, but the 35-year-old reliever is 0-1 and 5-of-7 in save opportunities in his last eight trips to the hill. He’s allowed four earned runs and two homers in those same eight appearances after allowing just two earned and homer in his first 24 outings. Gregg’s recent struggles parlayed with the potential of him wearing a different uniform and serving a different role come the trade deadline, I’d be asking your leaguemates what they’d be willing to give up to acquire his services.
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