• As Paul mentioned last night, there might be a shakeup in Houston but Hinch won’t name a closer besides saying Gregerson will be getting a break. Will Harris received the save last night with Ken Giles having a day off. Whether or not Giles would have received the call, we don’t know. Michael Feliz might also be considered but he threw in the sixth and seventh innings tonight, losing the lead in the seventh after a couple of base hits and a sacrifice fly. Although Feliz might be pitching the best of anyone in Houston, he’s been mostly used as a multiple inning reliever. Luke Gregerson entered the game in a 5-5 game in the eighth inning, suggesting he’s not necessarily the closer but still hasn’t vanished from high leverage innings. Striking out two batters in perfect inning with only eight pitches will help regain the closer chair as well. Ken Giles was called on for the ninth in a tie game and I’ve put him ahead of Harris on the grid below.

Update: I was a little quick to the draw as Giles blew the lead in Houston after publishing. I think the Astros could be somewhat inclined to give Giles a chance at the ninth but failing tonight certainly puts Harris ahead of him. I wouldn’t drop Gregerson but Harris should get the next opportunity.

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A few quick notes from Memorial Day:

• It wouldn’t be an authentic Bullpen Report without bad news out of Cincinnati’s bullpen as Tony Cingrani blew his fourth save last night. Cingrani entered the ninth like a regular old closer but was unable to finish the inning after allowing four baseruners and three earned runs. Ross Ohlendorf threw a perfect eighth and JC Ramirez was able to get the final out for his first big league save. As usual this situation is ridiculously fluid with Ohlendorf and Cingrani likely still in some sort of job-share for the moment.

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Sorry I missed you all for most of this weekend, so I’ll make sure to catch you up on the long weekend. There were some mighty stumbles this weekend, but none that should rock the closer grid. Per usual, there were the fair share of saves and only one that so far has made movement in the grid since you last saw it. Let’s talk about the falls first.
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• Trevor May was called on to finish out the third inning last night and although May recorded the final out his troubles continued as he allowed two hits and an earned run in the fourth. May still recorded two strikeouts and has a decent 3.51 xFIP with a fantastic strikeout rate (30%) but his recent outings have been downright terrible. Over his last five appearances spanning 3.1 innings pitched, May has allowed 15 baserunners and 10 earned runs. When you combine that performance along with entering the game in the third inning, it’s safe to say you have lost your role. I’ve moved Fernando Abad as the next-in-line and put Michael Tonkin on the grid with May exiting. Kevin Jepsen threw in a non-save situation last night allowing two earned and now supports a 5.89/5.30/4.86 ERA/FIP/xFIP pitching line. Gross. If May was cruising he’d be getting save opportunities by now as the back end of the Twins bullpen has collapsed. Jepsen is on red alert and I would snag Abad and Tonkin in that order for speculative saves. To add more to the confusion Tonkin pitched in the fourth and fifth inning tonight with Abad getting the last two outs in the ninth down three runs. Who really knows what’s going on in Minnesota.

For now Jepsen remains the closer and we’ll hopefully be able to glean more information on the Twins order of operations the next time they have a lead.

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• Injury update for the Angels as Huston Street is heading to Arizona Friday for extended Spring Training. He also threw 20 pitches today and “could be back before the end of May.” All promising signs for Street as he comes back from a strained oblique and provided there aren’t any setbacks he should be replacing Joe Smith and return to his familiar role in the ninth very soon. Until then, Smith will close as he did tonight getting his sixth save.

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A few belated bullpen notes from last night:

• Joe Smith is 4/5 on saves in place of Huston Street but is also supporting a mediocre 3.60/4.45/4.56 ERA/FIP/xFIP pitching line. Never known as a strikeout artist, Smith was usually around league average but has seen his strikeout rate dip to 15.5% this year. His job isn’t in danger but it’s worth noting that Fernando Salas saved his second game of the year last night, throwing a perfect ninth lowering his ERA to 2.29. That ERA will creep up as he likely won’t keep a .229 BABIP all year but if Smith falters, Salas could start seeing more ninths. Huston Street remains on the DL with an oblique injury and although he played catch last week, he’s still a few weeks away from a return but will regain the ninth once he comes back.

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Tony Cingrani recorded his third save today coming into the game with the bases loaded and one out and a five run cushion. He retired the next two batters to lock down the save after blowing one on Wednesday. No official announcement has been made regarding his status as closer, but for now if you really need a closer, you can roll with Cingrani. How long he holds the role is another story as he has struck out 15 over 17 innings, but has also walked 10. His HR/FB rate is also way below his average, so if that normalizes, that can be a recipe for disaster accompanied with those walks. Personally, I’m staying away from this situation despite Cingrani seemingly having the 9th inning job because I am not sure how many save opportunities the Reds are going to have to make it worth risking my ERA and WHIP. Go after him at your own risk.
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So the Phillies bullpen is becoming a strength after a rough start, as Hector Neris and Jeanmar Gomez were perfect in the 8th and 9th, each striking out one. Neris continues to impress by not allowing a run in 17 of his 20 appearances, posting a 1.64 ERA (3.32 FIP). The FIP is high probably because of the 3 home runs he has given up, but outside of that he has looked very strong and also earned his ninth hold of the year for those of you counting. Gomez has also been such a pleasant surprise, despite really only a slight uptick in both his K/9 and K%. The ERA is down from last year (3.01 to 2.61), but the FIP has gone up (3.25 to 3.63). Still has been an excellent closer so far, but the question is how long will this last?
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A few notes from Monday:

• Aroldis Chapman is back playing for New York. There was no save opportunity but Chapman came in the game throwing is normal ~100 mph heat. Chapman allowed a run to score but he didn’t issue a walk and struck out two batters throwing his regular velocity. Whether or not he stays in the Bronx all season long, Chapman must be considered a top-five closing option in fantasy moving forward.

• Bryan Price has yet to name a closer but after his save last night, Cingrani has now recorded the last two saves for the Reds. Two successful saves is about as good as anyone has done on the Reds so I would expect Cingrani to continue to be the ninth inning guy.

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We don’t always post Bullpen Reports on a Sunday but when we do, we talk about the Reds.

• Tony Cingrani threw 1.2 innings for the save on Friday, his first of the season. However, Bryan Price hasn’t suggested that it means Cingrani will now be the closer. In today’s game – Blake Wood blew a 4-3 lead in the seventh inning so I wouldn’t count on future saves from him in the near future. Ross Ohlendorf was called on in the eighth, and he gave up the go ahead run on a Jonathan Lucroy homer. Ohlendor stayed in to throw a scoreless ninth and finished the day with two innings, four strikeouts, three baserunners and the loss.  Although Price hasn’t named Cingrani (or anyone for that matter) the closer, I’m going to move him to the top spot for now, with knowledge that this situation remains hilariously fluid. After throwing two innings today it’s likely that Ohelndorf will get Monday’s game off as well, so expect Cingrani to see the opportunity if one arises.

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