• Bad news for the Blue Jays and people with Ken Giles shares as he went on the IL with elbow inflammation. The current word is that Giles doesn’t expect to miss more than the minimum but I’m going to guess that if we bet the over on length of IL stint with elbow inflammation that we would have some solid pocket change by now. With that said, at least the early prognosis isn’t tragic and Giles might not miss significant time. The Jays are sellers and they sure would want to see Giles performing well by the trade deadline. This might be a little set back but if he’s back soon that could still be in play.

In Giles place the Jays nominated Joe Biagini as the closer in lieu of this news but he struggled last night, called on in the 8th inning and only getting one out while allowing three guys on and two runs. Dan Hudson then came on and got the last four outs for his first save of the year. Since the Jays announced Biagini, I’m putting him atop the grid but made it yellow with Hudson someone to monitor as well. Hudson has a nicer 3.30 ERA but struggling with walks leading to a 4.68 SIERA. In spite of his struggles last night, Biagini stil has a 3.70 SIERA and has been the better reliever this year. Ideally, this is only concerning a few save opportunities with Giles making a quick return but if there are any setbacks, Biagini could receive several chances moving forward.

• Anthony Bass finished the 8th inning and was brought in for the 9th but struggled and blew the save for the Mariners. After they scored a few in the 10th,  Roenis Elias was called on to secure the second save chance and he closed the door for his 6th save. There are no particular good options for the Mariners at the moment but I’m going to put Bass and Elias in a committee for the time being with Austin Adams and Brandon Brennan also lingering behind. This situation is pretty fluid without an obvious answer, especially with Hunter Strickland having a minor set back in his recovery.

• Although there was no save opportunity for the Twins, it’s worth noting their usage last night. Blake Parker was brought in the 8th to try to clean up Trevor May’s mini mess and he proceeded to give up three runs without recording an out. As mentioned, Trevor May wasn’t effective either but I’ve moved May to next-in-line in Minnesota although I’ve maintained committee status for all three. Taylor Rogers is dealing with a sore back and should return soon. If he was healthy he probably would have been used last night. After last night’s outing, Parker’s ERA stands at 4.37 with even worse peripherals. Even thought last night’s usage might have him ahead of May on the grid, I’m content with the order below. It’s worth noting again that as the Twins have been terrific this year they are likely not going to head into October with Taylor Rogers and some dudes ending games. They aren’t linked to any trades specifically, but that should start changing in the coming weeks.

• Quick Hits: Will Smith allowed a few runners to get on but otherwise held on for his 16th save. Lots of teams could use his services and we will track the rumors as they come. Shane Greene pitched around a hit for his 20th save and like Will Smith, as a closer on a bad team he could be on the move, especially if he keeps putting up zeros. Felipe Vazquez got the 8th inning against the Braves last night with the meatier part of the lineup up. Kyle Crick blew the chance in the 9th and Vazquez still holds a firm grasp on the closer’s gig, but in today’s game only a few closers have 100% 9th inning save usage. Greg Holland got the save (10), Blake Treinen pitched a scoreless 9th up four runs striking out a pair and helping easing some minor concerns as he was in a rough patch.

Blake Treinen captured his 15th save of the season on Tuesday night against the Rays, but he was fortunate to have had a two-run cushion entering the bottom of the ninth inning. In starting off with a four-pitch walk to Brandon Lowe, Treinen followed in his recent trend of not throwing enough strikes. Over his six innings pitched in the month of June, he has issued seven walks while locating in the strike zone at an anemic 31.9 percent rate and throwing first-pitch strikes just 41.4 percent of the time.

The walk came back to hurt Treinen, as Lowe scored on a two-out Willy Adames single to cut the Athletics’ lead to one run. However, he stranded Adames by getting Kevin Kiermaier to ground out for the final out.
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Alex Cora tabbed Matt Barnes as his highest leverage reliever in the preseason. This did not translate necessarily to usage exclusively like a traditional closer. Barnes faced the heart of the order in the seventh or eighth innings as necessitated trying to preserve wins for Boston. Last night, Barnes received a save chance but left after 17 pitches to some boos from the home crowd. Barnes induced a pop out on a bunt attempt by Delino DeShields but then yielded a single to Danny Santana, a double to Elvis Andrus and a two RBI single to Nomar Mazara blowing the win for Sale and resulting in Barnes fourth blown save of the season. Barnes bounced back to strikeout Hunter Pence and then walked Asdrubal Cabrera intentionally before departing. Read the rest of this entry »

The back end of the Athletics’ bullpen figured to be a strength coming into this season, but the struggles of Lou Trivino and Blake Treinen continued on Sunday. Trivino’s season had actually been going well until two weeks ago, but it has gone downhill quickly. Heading into Sunday’s game with the Rangers, he had given up nine runs (eight earned) on 10 hits and five walks over his previous 5.2 innings. Trivino had not experienced any notable change in his velocity or pitch mix, but he was suddenly very hittable, getting only six swinging strikes in 115 pitches.

He threw 19 pitches on Sunday without a single swing-and-miss. After retiring Nomar Mazara to start the bottom of the eighth inning, he coughed up four straight hits (two doubles and two singles) and allowed the Rangers to chisel two runs off an 8-3 lead. A third run was charged to Trivino when Rougned Odor stole home with Ryan Buchter pitching, with the lefty having entered the game with two outs and runners on the corners.
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• Jeremy Jeffress pitched a scoreless 8th handing the ball off to Josh Hader who recorded his 15th save of the year. After Jeffress returned from the IL, it was mentioned that he might bite into Hader’s save chances, giving him more flexibility but even though Jeffress has been effective, Hader has kept the sole closer job. The trade deadline hot stove might heat up in Milwaukee with additional relief options, but even if the Brewers bring in another closer, Hader’s value would remain fairly high given how utterly ridiculous he is. There are no strong rumors at the moment but those in redraft leagues should hold firm regardless. However, year to year relievers can be pretty fickle and there may be no higher time to sell Hader if you are in a keeper or dynasty league.

• The Braves surprised me in signing Dallas Keuchel since they had passed on Kimbrel who was maybe a bigger need in the pen. With that said, Luke Jackson remains their go-to-guy, getting the last four outs for his 9th save. Anthony Swarzak pitched 1.2 perfect innings in the 7th and 8th and his recent performances along with Jacob Webb’s struggles have placed him on the grid. Swan Newcomb got two outs in the 8th and he remains the main set up option ahead of Luke Jackson. The Braves still have a ton of young arms that could emerge from the pen or be used for additional seasoned bullpen arms but for now it looks like Jackson could be an above average closer here on out, both in terms of saves and ratios.

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It’s a tenuous time of year for fantasy owners. Amidst all the buy low and sell high noise, one needs to take stock of trends along with the standings. For instance, representing one of the top two picks at the position, Blake Treinen seems a bit off compared to last year. He recorded his 13th save last night, but needed to work around a hit and two walks. Through four innings this month, Treinen’s walked five batters with only two strikeouts. Overall, his 3.16 ERA accompanies a 4.79 xFIP with a drop in ground ball percentage by over 12 percentage points while his walk rate continues to rise sitting at 12.7 percent, his highest rate over his career. It could be mechanics or a hangover from usage last year, but it needs to be monitored. Read the rest of this entry »

I know we’ve heard this before, but Chris Woodward is saying once again that he is close to returning Jose Leclerc to the Rangers’ closer role. The last time Woodward raised this possibility, Shawn Kelley was on the verge of coming off the IL, and in a surprise move, he put Kelley in a save situation the day he was activated and five days after he had lumps removed from his vocal cords (which turned out to be benign).

Maybe Kelley staved off that seemingly inevitable move by nailing down the Rangers’ 4-3 win over the Orioles on Thursday night. If Leclerc is going to take his old job back, it won’t happen in Friday night’s series opener against the Athletics, as neither he nor Kelley will be available. While there is still a lull in Leclerc’s closer activity, now is the time to add him. He is still available in at least 40 percent of leagues on ESPN, CBS and Yahoo. Over his last 11.2 innings, he has been showing the form that made him one of the top relievers in the second half of 2018, posting a 1.54 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 57.5 percent K% and 5.0 percent BB%.
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• The Cubs signed Craig Kimbrel to a three-year $43M deal and as soon as he’s ready, he will be the Cubs closer moving forward. Since Kimbrel obviously missed out on Spring Training and the start of the season he will take some time to build up his arm strength and get into seasonal shape. The guess is a few weeks but whether that is two or four, I can’t say, but as soon as he’s ready he’s locked into the 9th. Kimbrel isn’t particularly fond of the committee either, so I imagine his role will strictly be the closer, and not necessarily entering in a high leverage spot in the 7th. For that, the Cubs will continue to turn to Pedro Strop, Steve Cishek, and co. Pedro Strop is back off the IL and picked up a save immediately upon return but last night the save chance went to Cishek. Strop isn’t going to be overused right off of the IL but he should be considered the main source of saves before Kimbrel arrives.

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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.
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Due to a four game slate, the normally voluminous Bullpen Report will seem paltry. But, there’s still some situations to monitor along with performances of note. It seems like Kenley Jansen turned a corner last month and carried it over to last night. Jansen locked down his 18th save allowing a ground rule double to Eduardo Escobar with two outs then inducing David Peralta to pop out to third baseman Justin Turner ending the game. Through 25.2 innings, Jansen owns a 3.16 ERA, 3.43 xFIP and 0.90 WHIP. More impressive, his improved results over the last 30 days during which Jansen’s recorded a 19.6 swinging strike percentage while reducing contact to 66.3 percent and 12 strikeouts against one walk. Read the rest of this entry »