Archive for Bullpen Report

Something seemed off kilter with Kelvin Herrera once he arrived in Washington. Following a strong start to his season as a Royal, Herrera’s performance with the Nationals did not come close to matching. Speculation of an injury surfaced when Herrera left the mound on Tuesday and underwent an MRI on Wednesday morning. Although his MRI did not reveal any structural damage, Herrera was placed on the 10-day disabled list with a shoulder impingement. He will not throw for a few days then resume a regimen to get back on the field and, hopefully more productive for the stretch run. In 19 games with the Nationals, Herrera’s recorded a 4.76 ERA, 6.03 FIP and 1.82 WHIP in 19 games (17 innings) striking out 15 against eight walks.

Owners chasing saves have already added Ryan Madson, but if he sits on the wire and the need for saves exists, he will take over as the closer while both Herrera and Sean Doolittle work towards a return. Madson’s pitched well of late yielding only one earned runs his last 11 outings with a save, four holds and a tidy 9:2 K:BB in them. However, the bridge getting to Madson could be slippery. Newly acquired Greg Holland could be asked to pitch in high leverage after being released by the Cardinals. Plus, Washington shipped out Brandon Kintzler to the Cubs, so Sammy Solis and others will need to step up to secure leads going forward. Trusting Madson’s past track record as a closer and his recent performances seems easy, getting him to the ninth with a lead could be precarious. Read the rest of this entry »

When Kyle Barraclough had to get bailed out to prevent him from blowing his fourth straight save on Monday, that was the last straw for Don Mattingly. On Tuesday, the Marlins’ manager announced he was removing Barraclough from the closer’s role, though his replacement “was not going to be one guy.” Drew Steckenrider, who has been used consistently as the eighth-inning setup reliever, would be a strong candidate to get the Marlins’ next save chance, though a report from MLB.com beat writer Joe Frisaro cited Adam Conley and Tayron Guerrero as candidates to close as well.
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Just one day being used in a low-leverage situation, Corey Knebel was thrust into the 10th inning of a tie game with the Rockies. To his credit, Knebel breezed through the inning, allowing only a two-out walk to David Dahl. Three of the four batters he faced were left-handed, and Knebel’s recent struggles have occurred disproportionately against right-handed batters. Craig Counsell left Knebel in for the 11th inning, and after retiring leadoff hitter Charlie Blackmon, he was set to face two tough righties, DJ LeMahieu and Nolan Arenado. The latter put the Rockies ahead with a solo home run.
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There’s a fine line between stubborn and obstinate, and Bud Black seemingly walks it each year with struggling closers. It’s encouraging to see he trusts his ninth inning arm, but in the midst of a playoff chase, can he afford to keep providing save chances to Wade Davis? Davis blew his second straight save on Friday night in Milwaukee culminating on a three-run walk-off home run by Eric Thames. With the knowledge Davis converted 11 straight saves prior to these implosions, one can make the case for Black to stand by his man. However, Davis has blown six saves this year and giving up wins in the spotlight applies more pressure to his now tenuous hold on the closer role. Especially with Adam Ottavino thriving in the eighth inning.

Colorado could give Davis a couple of mental days off or let him work in lower leverage for an outing or two to get him back on track without removing him from his present role. On the surface, he’s giving up eight percent more contact, to be expected with half of his games in Coors, and generating fewer swinging strikes (down five percent compared to last year). During the last 30 days, Davis has pitched in 12 games (11.1 innings) with a 12:5 K:BB, 7.94 ERA, 4.67 FIP and 1.24 WHIP. Hardly inspiring. Ottavino’s not allowed an earned run over his last 14 outings (15 innings) and secured his last three saves along with eight straight holds since June 28th. Suggesting a change from the outside looking in can be easy, seeing how the Rockies respond to Davis’ recent struggles remains to be seen. Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday’s slate of games did not feature that much closer intrigue, as five of the 12 games were decided by at least six runs. Three of the blowouts were won by teams scoring 15 or more runs.

Yet for fantasy owners counting on Kyle Barraclough or Wade Davis, there was more than enough drama. Barraclough may have blown a save against the Phillies, but the Marlins’ closer had another nemesis to battle: his own control. He threw only six of his 24 pitches in the strike zone and did not issue a first-pitch strike to any of the six batters he faced. His one-out walk to Asdrubal Cabrera loaded the bases, and then Nick Williams‘ groundout brought in Scott Kingery for the tying run. Three pitches later, Maikel Franco finished off Barraclough and the Marlins with a walk-off home run.
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In the midst of his walk year to free agency, it’s been anything but easy for Kelvin Herrera. He’s been traded from the organization he grew up in, lost his closer role upon arrival in Washington and has struggled since moving to the National League. Herrera did record his second save for the Nationals on Wednesday afternoon, but it did not come easy. After getting the first out, he then allowed a home run, off the glove of Juan Soto, to Wilmer Flores, a double to Michael Conforto and a walk to Jose Bautista. Herrera did induce a game ending double play but he’s allowed runs in back-to-back games and in five of his last 10.

Of more concern, in 16 games in Washington, Herrera’s 4.30 ERA, 6.59 FIP and 1.77 WHIP do not provide confidence going forward. He’s walked seven in only 14.2 innings as a National after issuing two walks in 25.2 innings for the Royals. Over the last month, Herrera’s use of his change has increased along with throwing fewer sliders and fastballs. Not sure if this plan comes from the coaching staff or a lack of trust in a pitch, but Herrera’s yielded a .318 batting average against this year with the change compared to .200 against with the slider. With Sean Doolittle still sidelined with his foot injury and Brandon Kintzler traded, Ryan Madson lies in the wings if needed for saves. Madson had been scoreless in his previous seven outings until giving up a run as well on Wednesday. There’s no immediate threat to Herrera’s role, but it’s tenuous at best right now for him to remain in the ninth until Doolittle returns. Read the rest of this entry »

As the trade deadline approached, it seemed as if about half of the relievers on non-contending teams were rumored to get traded. There was just not enough demand to meet the supply, so many of those relievers are staying put for the time being. Just among current closers, here’s who did not get moved: Shane Greene, Raisel Iglesias, Kyle Barraclough, Fernando Rodney, Sergio Romo, Kirby Yates, Mychal Givens and Blake Parker. Some of these relievers could still get dealt if they can pass through waivers, so if you’ve been stashing the likes of Joe Jimenez, Jared Hughes or Drew Steckenrider, don’t drop them just yet.
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Brad Brach’s most recent reign as the Orioles’ closer came to an end after just five days, as they traded him on Sunday to the Braves for $250,000 in international slot money. It is not yet clear what role Brach will fill with the Braves, though given how well A.J. Minter has settled into the closer’s role, he appears to be destined for work in the seventh and/or eighth innings.

With Brach and Zach Britton both gone, Mychal Givens would be the obvious heir apparent to the closer’s role in Baltimore, though his tenure could be shorter than Brach’s. Givens, too, has been the subject of trade rumors. Earlier in the month, he had been tied to the Indians, and more recently, he has been floated as a possibility for the Pirates.
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Defending World Champions, Houston, entered the relief pitching market adding Ryan Pressly to their bullpen in an effort to rebuild the struggling bridge to current closer, Hector Rondon. It’s evident they need add arms to their bullpen, especially with the recent struggles of Chris Devenski. For the second straight outing, Devenski did not record an out while giving up multiple earned runs in an appearance. Over his last four games, Devenski’s yielded 11 earned runs in 2.1 innings pushing his ERA to 4.19 on the season. On the other hand, Pressly’s surging in July riding a seven game scoreless streak with a 0.90 ERA in July and 14 strikeouts against three walks in 10 innings. Plus, Pressly’s under team control via arbitration through the 2019 season.

His former team, Minnesota could see more upheaval in the bullpen in the days ahead. Fernando Rodney did blow his sixth save on Friday night allowing a home run to Rafael Devers while pitching in his third consecutive game, and fourth in five days. He’s been in trade rumors as a potential setup pitcher on a contending team due to his experience and 2.90 ERA over 32 games since May first converting 19 of 22 save chances. Many believed Pressly or Trevor Hildenberger would replace Rodney in the event of a trade, however Pressly will not be a factor. If Rodney does get moved, the Twins could use Addison Reed as the closer keeping Hildenberger in the eighth inning role. Reed’s had a tough transition to the team, but could return soon after receiving a cortisone shot in his elbow and a clean image on his MRI. Reed’s been a very effective reliever and being paid as the backup to Rodney, so overlooking him going forward could be a mistake. Read the rest of this entry »

Joakim Soria brought some stability to the White Sox’s closer situation over the last couple of months, but now he is leaving a gaping void in the bullpen, having been traded to the Brewers on Thursday. If we were to speculate on Soria’s replacement based on usage patterns, we would need to run out and pick up Jeanmar Gomez, who has received the bulk of the recent eighth-inning setup work, particularly against right-handed batters. However, Rick Renteria suggested he will go with a committee, though he did single out a reliever who could get a chance to win the job outright — and it wasn’t Gomez.
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