Archive for Closers

The Giants-Rockies game at Coors Field on Tuesday night had all of the ingredients for a slugfest. The game-time temperature was 93 degrees, which just added to the hitter-friendly conditions at Coors Field. Somehow, starters Peter Lambert and Drew Pomeranz combined to allow three runs over 11 innings. With Will Smith bringing a 2.11 ERA into the bottom of the ninth inning with a 4-1 lead, it looked as if this would wind up as a low-scoring affair.

Trevor Story turned the tide with a leadoff home run, and three batters later, Ian Desmond tied the game with a two-run drive into the center field stands. That resulted in Smith’s second blown save in 26 opportunities. Raimel Tapia singled on Smith’s next pitch, but he would get stranded on first base after the lefty struck out Ryan McMahon and Tony Wolters.
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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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Tuesday night’s games confirmed for us what we have learned all too well through the first two months of the season, at least as it concerns the closer situations for the Twins, Red Sox and Rays. Their managers are committed to not having a set closer, and on any given night, they can make an unexpected decision in the late innings.

The final two innings of the Twins’ 5-3 win over the Brewers started off normally enough. Blake Parker came in for the top of the eighth with the Twins up, 5-0, and while that’s not his normal type of spot, he had appeared only twice in the previous 11 games. In yielding Keston Hiura’s two-run homer, Parker created a save situation, and it was no surprise to see Taylor Rogers come in to try to finish it off in the ninth. He started off the frame by hanging a slider to Yasmani Grandal, which he drove into the second deck to cut the lead down to two. Rogers rebounded to strike out Mike Moustakas and Jesus Aguilar, and it looked as if he was about to walk away with his fifth save.
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Perplexing bullpen situations did not get less perplexing on Sunday.

After the Phillies’ 3-1, 14-inning win over the Marlins, I am leaving their portion of the closer grid untouched, but that hardly means that the saves picture is getting clearer. Brian Anderson‘s home run in the bottom of the sixth inning knotted the game up at 1-1, and it would stay that way for seven-and-a-half innings. Because the Phillies were the visiting team, it’s hard to read too much into Gabe Kapler’s choice to use Pat Neshek in the seventh, Adam Morgan and Hector Neris in the eighth and David Robertson in the ninth and 10th.
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Ken Giles‘ nearly perfect season finally hit a snag on Thursday night. Through his first six appearances, the Blue Jays’ closer had not allowed a run through 5.2 innings, and the only baserunners he put on were by way of two singles, a double and a walk. In appearance number seven, Giles started off the bottom of the ninth inning against the Red Sox by getting Andrew Benintendi to ground out, but that would be the last out he would get. After walking Mookie Betts and giving up a Mitch Moreland RBI double, the Blue Jays’ 6-5 lead had vanished.

Then Giles intentionally walked J.D. Martinez, but it backfired, as he loaded the bases with an unintentional walk to Xander Bogaerts and coughed up Rafael Devers‘ walk-off single. Devers’ chopper had an xBA of .100, but he wouldn’t have been in a position to win the game if Giles hadn’t issued three walks, two of which were unintentional. Walks have generally not been an issue for Giles the last couple of seasons, and he has been good at inducing out-of-zone chases throughout his career. Despite the poor results on Thursday night, there is no reason for Giles’ owners to panic.
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We went into Thursday’s skimpy slate of games with eight of the majors’ closer situations marked as committees in our grid, and we are now up to nine. A.J. Minter (shoulder) made his return from the IL on Thursday, and while he did not pitch in a save situation, he was called upon with one out in the ninth inning after Chad Sobotka let a 9-0 lead over the Cubs shrink to a 9-3 lead. Prior to Thursday night’s game, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Minter would share save opportunities with incumbent closer Arodys Vizcaino.
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The Yankees have seemingly endured a season’s worth of hardships in less than a week, but through their first four games, they didn’t have to worry about Aroldis Chapman. He tossed scoreless innings in each of his first two appearances, but in Tuesday night’s game against the Tigers, Chapman was at the center of the drama.

Not able to muster much offense against Jordan Zimmermann, Daniel Stumpf and Joe Jimenez, the Yankees found themselves knotted with the Tigers at 1-1 heading into the top of the ninth. Chapman entered the game and started off well enough, striking out John Hicks on three pitches. The tide turned quickly, though, as he walked Niko Goodrum and then allowed a first-pitch RBI double to Dustin Peterson. Chapman would give up two more singles in the inning, including a Jordy Mercer hit that brought in Peterson.
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The first weekend of the season is behind us, and incredibly, all of the bullpen situations in the majors are stable and calm.

April Fools!
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I came here to defend Greg Holland. But before I do, I want to talk a little about Mark Melancon.

The year was 2015. Melancon’s velocity was down, both on his four-seamer and cutter, through the first two months, but he started to overcome a rough start to the season (.292 Avg allowed through May 15) in the latter part of May. Then his velocity rebounded closer to his 2014 levels over the season’s final four months.
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Over the last several weeks, I have been writing about the closer picture for teams who are unlikely to contend, but are likely to deal an incumbent closer before the trade deadline. While this year’s Hot Stove season has generally moved slowly, there have been a number of moves and announcements involving relievers lately, so I’m taking the opportunity to update some of the situations I have written about recently. I am also tossing in a couple of closer conundrums from teams that I have yet to address this offseason (including one from a clear contender). Both situations are already starting to vex owners getting ready for drafts.
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