Archive for Bullpen Report

Thursday’s slate was short on games — just four of them — but it was not totally devoid of closer developments. Two of the contests went to extra innings, and in the case of the Braves-Diamondbacks game, closer failure played a role in the game going beyond regulation. The Braves rolled into the bottom of the ninth inning with a 6-4 lead, but Brian Snitker did not have A.J. Minter to close out the game, since he had thrown 36 pitches in Wednesday’s loss to the Red Sox. Instead, Snitker turned to Jesse Biddle, who entered with a streak of nine straight appearances without an earned run, covering 8.1 innings.
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Masked within encrypted updates,time’s running out on a return for Brandon Morrow. Pedro Strop’s filled in affably as the closer since July 19th converting 10 of the 12 save chances provided, including his outing on Wednesday night giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout for his 12th save of the season. As for Morrow, he would need to throw at least two bullpen sessions and a simulated game prior to returning before the playoffs, but still not progressing well during his rehab, as intimated here:

https://twitter.com/CarrieMuskat/status/1037473848873168896

With the high leverage bridge evolving the last three weeks, plan on Strop anchoring the bullpen the rest of the way. There’s a slight glimmer of hope Morrow could return, but this rhetoric about his progress has been proliferated for almost two months. Plan accordingly.

More concrete news regarding Kenley Jansen. He will not make the trip to Colorado for a big series with implications in the standings. However, staying healthy, as it should be, remains of the utmost importance regarding his heart issues. Jansen did get work in on Wednesday tossing a clean ninth inning with two strikeouts. He’s made four straight scoreless appearances with five strikeouts against three hits since his four game runs allowed stretch. While this proves encouraging, his doctor also recommended Jansen returns to using the prescribed medication which made him feel like a “zombie” during the runs streak, so stay tuned to how this could affect his future performance. As for this weekend, Los Angeles could deploy a committee of Ryan Madson, Kenta Maeda and a wild card in high leverage:

Given the downside risk of bringing Kenley Jansen to Denver, plus the addition of Ryan Madson and the expected activation of Ross Stripling, it is hard to imagine the Dodgers will bring Kenley Jansen to Denver.

— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) September 5, 2018

Unlike Maeda, Ross Stipling seemed excited for a chance to record a save if transitioned to the bullpen and makes for an intriguing arm this weekend in Coors for the Dodgers. Stay tuned. Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome to September as the marathon reaches its final stage. An encouraging outing by Kenley Jansen notching his first save since August seventh. Jansen needed to survive the heart of the Diamondbacks order and only yielded a double to Paul Goldschmidt of the four batters he faced including striking out the red hot David Peralta. As for Jansen, he’s stopped taking the medication which made him feel like he was “sleepwalking”, which may not be in the best interest of his health with a heart condition, but Jansen snapped a four outing streak of allowing a run in each with last night’s scoreless save. Jansen’s shown the ability to overcome a slow start in April to surge, so his owners will hope for a similar bounce back in September. Los Angeles did add veteran Ryan Madson in a waivers trade and plan on deploying him in high leverage to lead up to Jansen. Bullpen evolution never ceases.

A return to the ninth inning for veteran David Robertson who converted his fifth save of the season, and second in his last three outings. He’s made three consecutive scoreless appearances with seven strikeouts, two walks and one hit allowed in them. Robertson also finished August without ceding an earned run in 11.2 innings, but did give up three unearned in them. With Dellin Betances under the microscope after serving up back-to-back home runs in Thursday’s loss, the closer by committee to fill-in for Aroldis Chapman should continue. However, do note, Zach Britton’s last save was a week ago and he’s been working in a set-up role since. While the Yankees intimated a three-headed closer timeshare could ensue, it’s been Robertson and Betances in the ninth the last seven days. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s probably a stretch to say that Brad Boxberger is sharing the Diamondbacks’ closer duties, but for the second night in a row, he was not alone in a ninth-inning save situation. In Wednesday night’s series finale against the Giants, Andrew Chafin was brought out to begin the ninth inning against Brandon Crawford. Once Chafin got the strikeout, he gave way to Boxberger, who finished off the 3-1 win. Then on Thursday night, the Diamondbacks had another 3-1 lead to protect — this time, against the Dodgers. Once again, a lefty (Cody Bellinger) led off, and it was Chafin who was assigned to retire him. The déjà vu continued, as Chafin struck Bellinger out, and he was followed by Boxberger, who struck out Chris Taylor and Yasiel Puig.
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When the game reached the seventh inning and Kenley Jansen remained in the dugout, it became apparent the Dodgers were going to keep him out of a potential save situation in Texas. Jansen’s allowed runs in each of his four appearances since returning from the disabled list without a rehab outing resulting in seven earned runs, two losses and a blown save. Less than optimal in the midst of a pennant chase. Kenta Maeda recorded his first save of the year, and second in his career during the regular season, allowing a hit, an earned run and two walks with a strikeout. He’s made six appearances as a reliever this year with a 2.69 ERA, 10 strikeouts against two walks and a matching 1.42 WHIP and FIP. While it’s apparent Maeda will back up Jansen going forward, the team will use their veteran closer this weekend in the role in a key match-up versus Arizona:

Kenley Jansen will be ready to close tomorrow against Arizona, Dave Roberts said.

— Andy McCullough (@ByMcCullough) August 30, 2018

In other Dodgers news, the team placed a waiver claim on Ryan Madson in an attempt to bolster the bullpen before September. The teams have until Friday afternoon to consummate a deal. Stay tuned to world of evolving bullpens. Read the rest of this entry »

When the Nationals and Phillies got together for a Tuesday night game, you figured you were getting some bullpen drama. But for the Red Sox and Marlins? Who needs closers when you have the majors’ highest-scoring team facing off against the 29th-highest scoring team?

Well, it turns out, the Red Sox and Marlins do.
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With Kelvin Herrera having returned from the DL last Tuesday and Ryan Madson (back) and Sean Doolittle (toe) on the mend, it looked as if the injury-plagued Nationals bullpen was finally going to enjoy some stability. That just might not be in the cards, though, as Herrera injured his foot in the Nationals’ 15-0 win over Mets on Sunday. In just his second appearance since getting activated, Herrera hurt himself while fielding a Jose Bautista grounder, and he had to be carted off the field. X-rays taken after the game came back negative, but he is scheduled for more tests on Monday.
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Although nothing’s set in stone, the first Yankees save opportunity went to Zach Britton, in his former ballpark, and he converted it despite ceding a home run to Chris Davis. It’s Britton’s first save with New York and snaps a three game scoreless streak. However, Britton seems to be turning a corner with the Yankees not walking a batter his last five appearances and getting the ball down in the strike zone which yields success for the veteran closer. This will be important since Aroldis Chapman received a platelet-rich plasma injection and will miss the next two weeks as a result. The team hinted a triumvirate could be deployed in late innings so high leverage could evolve. Dellin Betances recorded his 32nd consecutive outing with at least a strikeout in the eighth inning. Over his last 33 games, Betances has a 0.56 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 32.1 innings. Chad Green garners the win in relief striking out two in the ninth and David Robertson pitched in the seventh, for the first time in a week, giving up a two-run home run to Jonathan Villar. Use last night as a template with Betances in the eighth and Britton in the ninth until further notice.

It seems like the Indians would prefer Cody Allen to succeed in the ninth, but he blew his fifth save of the season serving up back-to-back home runs to Ryan O’Hearn and Hunter Dozier in the ninth en route to his fifth loss of the year. Allen’s allowed runs in three straight outings working two innings with four earned runs, two walks and one strikeout in them. He whittled down his ERA to 3.98 on August 17th but it’s ebbed back to 4.50 as a result of the last three games. Brad Hand notched his ninth hold walking one in the eighth inning. Hand’s been scoreless his last seven outings with 10 strikeouts in 7.1 innings and scoreless in 12 of his 14 appearances with Cleveland. With five saves and six holds since joining the team, it’s likely Hand gets the next save chance. Especially with Andrew Miller starting to look like his old self registering his third straight scoreless outing last night with a strikeout. Read the rest of this entry »

Prior to Thursday’s game in Colorado, fantasy owners may have had few outward reasons to be concerned about Kirby Yates. Since becoming the Padres’ closer after the July 19 trade of Brad Hand to the Indians, he had not blown a save and tallied 20 strikeouts in 11.2 innings. Yates finally got that first blown save on Thursday, when he gave up Ian Desmond’s two-run walk-off homer. Given that it was at Coors Field, owners may be willing to forgive Yates.

While the 31-year-old is not among the most highly-owned closers, not many of his current owners are sitting him. Yates is 59 percent owned in CBS leagues but benched in 14 percent of leagues. On Fantrax, he has a 57 percent ownership rate but is being sat in only 8 percent of leagues.
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In what seems like the most volatile August in recent memory for closers, the attrition continues with Aroldis Chapman officially landing on the 10-day disabled list due to tendinitis in his knee. Luckily for the Yankees, their full stable of veteran pitchers stocked with closing experience along with the “Terminator” in the eighth, Dellin Betances should be able to survive Chapman’s absence and allow him to rest his knee, an injury which dates back to May. Due to the Yankees loss last night, there’s no clear blueprint to how Aaron Boone will handle high leverage going forward, but according to this tweet, plan on David Robertson (135 career saves) and Zach Britton (139 career saves) to be in the mix with Dellin Betances (32 career saves):

Boone said Yankees will “mix and match” with Britton, Robertson and Betances when it comes to closing games. With a deep and versatile pen, Boone feels Yanks are “equipped” to handle Chapman’s DL stint.

— JackCurryYES (@JackCurryYES) August 22, 2018

Recent usage suggests Boone may prefer to keep Betances in the eighth inning where he’s been a dominant force of late recording at least one strikeout in 31 straight games fueling his 0.58 ERA over his last 32 outings with 53 strikeouts. Robertson’s nursing a sore shoulder, which allowed Tommy Kahnle to record the save on Tuesday, but should be available going forward. Look for the Yankees to mix and match the ninth inning with the two veterans with “closing experience” while Chapman tries to get healthy.

It’s tough to pile on a struggling pitcher, especially one returning from an irregular heartbeat and the birth of his child, but Kenley Jansen suffered his second loss in the span of three days allowing three hits, two earned runs (on a home run by Paul DeJong) and struck out one during his appearance Wednesday night. Jansen’s given up home runs in back-to-back appearances twice this season after only doing so once his prior eight seasons. Also, Jansen’s served up nine home runs in 2018 in 56.1 innings which matches his total from the previous two in 137 innings. With the velocity and effectiveness of his cutter vacillating this season, Jansen’s struggles exposes the entire Dodgers bullpen. During the second half, Jansen’s saved five games with the two recent losses, produced a 4.50 ERA in nine games with a 5.96 FIP but 15 strikeouts against two walks with a 1.20 WHIP. His 33.3 home run per fly ball rate should stabilize but only if the 44 percent hard hit percentage subsides. It’s a tenuous time to own Jansen, in fantasy and real life.

Looking past the hot start of Seranthony Dominguez could be tough to do. However, his sluggish second half suggests fantasy owners may need to bench him if the home runs persist. Dominguez started his save chance looking strong recording outs against the first two hitters he faced. Then, Dominguez could not bury a slider enough to get Juan Soto to swing and miss resulting in a foul ball. Soto then hit the next pitch down the line for a double leading to Ryan Zimmerman’s walk-off two run home run. Dominguez battled control issues last in July but has not walked a batter in August instead, he’s served up three home runs leading to five earned runs allowed. Like Jansen, Dominguez has seen his home run per fly ball spike since the break to 27.3 percent, his hard hit rate to 37 percent while getting fewer swings and misses (11.7 swinging strike percentage). This equates to Dominguez 6.10 ERA, 6.74 FIP and 1.65 WHIP in the second half. If he can get the movement back on his slider, Dominguez could bounce back, but stashing Pat Neshek (three saves already this season) may be a good idea with the team needing to convert every win possible. Stay tuned.

Although A.J. Minter threw a positive side session on Wednesday, and being available on Wednesday night, manager Brian Snitker wanted to provide him with one more day of rest to get Minter’s back healthy. Jonny Venters notched his second save of the season, and first since May 28th with Tampa Bay, allowing a hit with a strikeout in Pittsburgh. Venters has been terrific since joining the Braves with 8.2 scoreless innings along with three holds and a save his last four appearances. Minter owners can breathe a sigh of relief knowing he will be back in the saddle as the closer going forward.

Owning Robert Gsellman for fantasy must be frustrating. On the one hand, he’s in the midst of a 10.2 inning scoreless streak spanning nine games and struck out two batters in a clean eighth inning last night. However, during this streak, Gsellman’s recorded only two saves with three holds. In the eighth inning, the Mets used Gsellman to work the highest leverage inning remaining facing Buster Posey, Brandon Belt and Evan Longoria. Then, Mickey Callaway cobbled together the ninth inning using Daniel Zamora to strikeout Brandon Crawford and Paul Sewald for the last two outs resulting in his first career save. The good news, Gsellman’s remains Callaway’s most trusted reliever, the bad news, he’s the primary closer but will face teams best hitters when necessary to preserve a win.

Perhaps a sneak preview of coming events for the Astros? Roberto Osuna notched his first save with Houston in a clean ninth inning striking out one in Seattle. One day after the team hinted Osuna’s the primary closer going forward. This marks his first save since May sixth and fantasy owners should act accordingly, but keep in mind A.J. Hinch will play match-ups as well, so as Al Melchior suggested yesterday, cutting Hector Rondon in all formats could be a mistake in leagues where every save matters. Rondon’s converted 14 of his last 17 save chances and could pitch the ninth as he did on Tuesday.

Quick Hits: It appears the Brewers have reverted back to their shared ninth inning duties when Corey Knebel landed on the disabled list with Jeremy Jeffress and Josh Hader sharing the work. Jeffress converted his fifth save striking out one in 1.1 innings on Wednesday.

As the White Sox bullpen turns landed on Juan Minaya pitching 1.2 scoreless innings giving up two hits and Hector Santiago in the ninth allowing a hit and a walk with two strikeouts. Still leaning Jace Fry here for the next save, but it’s a mystery.

Jose LeClerc continues to thrive as the closer in Texas. He notched his sixth save despite walking two hitters with two strikeouts. LeClerc’s reeled off 11 straight scoreless outings and owns a 0.79 ERA his last 23 games. Over his last nine games, LeClerc’s held hitters to two hits in 29 at-bats, walked three and struck out 17 converting all six saves and finishing each of the Rangers’ seven wins in this stretch.

Working in a non-save outing, Felipe Vazauez struck out one in a clean ninth. He’s saved 17 in a row and struck out 40 his last 25 innings with a 0.74 ERA his last 24.1 innings.

Sergio Romo saved his 18th game allowing two hits but no runs. Romo’s converted his last five saves and been scoreless his last six. Scouts continue to watch him and Romo could be a waiver deadline trade to a contender. If this happens, stash Jose Alvarado now where available. Alvarado retired the only hitter he faced via strikeout and has struck out seven of the last 12 he’s faced.

Since Bud Norris pitched the two previous games, Jordan Hicks recorded his fifth save striking out the side in Los Angeles. He’s back to striking out hitters with six his last two outings and Hicks along with Dakota Hudson continue to provide depth in the bullpen for the Cardinals.

One injury update. Brandon Morrow continues to target September for a return but reports suggest it’s realistic and optimistic? Morrow’s been on the disabled list since Juley 18th and will undergo further testing on Friday for a clearer picture on how to proceed with his rehab and perhaps a timetable will emerge then.