Archive for Closers

Felipe Vazquez just hasn’t been himself lately, and now we may have an explanation. The Pirates’ closer blew his third consecutive save on Sunday, and the news got even worse, as he had to leave the game with left forearm discomfort. He was examined after Sunday’s game, and as of Monday morning, Vazquez said that he felt well enough that he expects to available on Tuesday against the Cubs.

Nonetheless, the waiver wire frenzy over a potential new Pirates closer has begun. In Yahoo and Fantrax leagues, Edgar Santana is already near the top of the most-added list for relief-eligible pitchers. It’s actually been Michael Feliz who has entered in the eighth inning to set up for Vazquez in each of his last five save chances, including Sunday’s. Just as Vazquez has struggled lately, so has Feliz, and Sunday’s difficulties made it necessary for Clint Hurdle to call on Vazquez to try to get the final five outs. Over his last three appearances, Feliz has allowed seven runs in two innings of work.
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On a day that featured only eight games on the schedule, the only real closer intrigue took place in Cincinnati. In the first Reds game that provided a save opportunity since Raisel Iglesias (biceps) went on the 10-day disabled list on Wednesday, it looked as if Amir Garrett was primed to record his first career save. The lefty relieved David Hernandez with two outs in the top of the seventh inning and a 5-2 lead against the Pirates. He proceeded to get the next four outs, three of which came by way of strikeout.

Having used only 16 pitches to get those outs, Jim Riggleman brought Garrett out for the ninth inning to finish the game. Corey Dickerson put the first blemish on Garrett’s afternoon, singling on an 0-2 pitch, but then he appeared to get back on track, striking Jose Osuna out on three pitches. Then, with one swing, Garrett’s campaign to get the save took a blow when Austin Meadows turned on a 95 mph fastball that caught the inside of the plate and pulled it for a two-run homer. With the Reds’ lead carved down to one run, Jared Hughes took over and got the final two outs, as well as the save.
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Raisel Iglesias has been steady as the Reds’ closer, so speculating on his potential replacement has seemed like a largely intellectual exercise. Now that speculation could have some consequences for fantasy owners, as the Reds placed their closer on the 10-day disabled list with a strained left biceps.

Jim Riggleman has taken some of the guesswork away from us, as he has already cited Jared Hughes, Amir Garrett, Wandy Peralta and the just-activated Michael Lorenzen as possible replacement options. His lack of commitment to a single replacement makes it less attractive to speculate on any one reliever as a future source of saves. Riggleman’s comments about the nature and severity of Iglesias’ injury also suggest that he may not be out long, making it even less urgent to try to add one of the foursome. The interim manager told reporters that “Iglesias’ left biceps has been bothering him for some days. It’s just tender…Rather than continue to deal with it, we’re just going to DL him…”
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When the White Sox faced the Rangers this past weekend, they found themselves in late-inning situations with a slim lead and a cluster of lefties due up. That situation availed itself on both Saturday and Sunday, and both times, Rick Renteria turned to Jace Fry. After an eighth-inning rally against the Orioles on Tuesday night, it was déjà vu all over again for Renteria, but this time, it was Nate Jones who got the call.

Jones started off the ninth inning by walking Chris Davis, but then he struck out Pedro Alvarez, giving himself some breathing room before facing right-handed Mark Trumbo. On the first pitch from Jones, Trumbo singled into center field, but even with lefties Jace Peterson and Chance Sisco due up, Jones stayed in the game. Fortunately for Jones, he retired them both for his fourth save. Unfortunately for Fry’s fantasy owners, the young lefty was robbed of a chance for his second save in three days. And we all lost, because we were deprived of the chance to see a Jace-Off between Fry and Peterson.
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In the span of two days, Jace Fry has gone from being an emerging lefty getting his first taste of some setup work to being firmly in the saves mix for the White Sox. On Saturday, Fry was used in the eighth inning with a two-run lead against the Rangers. Brought in to face Nomar Mazara, Jurickson Profar and Joey Gallo — a pair of lefties sandwiching a switch-hitter — and he came back for the ninth inning to handle left-handed Rougned Odor. Rick Renteria did not opt to give Fry a two-inning save, as he let Nate Jones handle right-handed Robinson Chirinos, even with lefty Ronald Guzman on deck.

On Sunday, the trio of Profar, Mazara and Gallo were due up in the ninth inning, and Renteria let Fry have an encore performance — this time with a 3-0 lead and a save at stake. Fry set the trio down in order, retiring the latter two with strikeouts. Through the first seven performances of his major league career, Fry has yet to allow a hit or a run, and over 8.1 innings, he has 12 strikeouts and two walks. While he has been highly adept at inducing whiffs, posting a 15.9 percent swinging strike rate, he has been even more impressive in his ability to freeze batters, inducing called strikes at a 24.3 percent rate.
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After seeking a second opinion on a course of action for his damaged UCL, Keynan Middleton has opted to undergo Tommy John surgery.  He came off the 10-day disabled list on May 10 after a minimum stay for right elbow inflammation, and he made just three appearances before exiting early in his most recent appearance on Sunday.

As has been the case for much of this season, the Angels’ closer situation is murky at best. Jim Johnson appeared to be emerging as the closer during Middleton’s initial absence, but he no longer looks like a candidate. His two most recent appearances have come with the Angels in a deficit, including Thursday’s seventh-inning outing against the Rays. Johnson entered with the Angels down only by a run, but he coughed up four runs (three earned) in just one-third of an inning.
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Tuesday night was not Arodys Vizcaino’s night. Brian Snitker charged him with the task of protecting a one-run lead against the Cubs, but after retiring Kyle Schwarber on a routine fly ball, he gave up back-to-back doubles to Albert Almora Jr. and Addison Russell that were smoked, respectively, with exit velocities of 100.4 and 105.2 mph. Two batters later, Ben Zobrist put the Cubs ahead on a single into shallow center field. That ultimately gave Vizcaino his second loss to go along with his second blown save.

Though Vizcaino has nominally been in a co-closer situation with A.J. Minter, he has received the bulk of the Braves’ save chances, and he hasn’t been bad. Tuesday’s loss was the first time all season that Vizcaino had allowed more than one run in an appearance, and entering the game, he had a 1.93 ERA, a .167 Avg allowed and 19 strikeouts in 18.2 innings.
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On Friday night, Gabe Kapler told reporters he would continue to use Hector Neris as the Phillies’ closer if he presented them with “the best option.” The next day, Kapler clarified what that meant in a discussion with the righty, who has amassed 34 saves going back to last season. The Phillies’ manager told Neris he was no longer going to have a designated closer. Instead, he would employ Tommy Hunter, Luis Garcia, Seranthony Dominguez and Edubray Ramos, along with Neris, in a variety of roles, with each getting chances at saves based on matchups.

On Sunday, the Phillies took a 3-1 lead against the Mets in the bottom of the sixth inning, and then Kapler went to work, sequencing his relievers in preparation for a ninth-inning save. He brought in Tommy Hunter to face pinch-hitter Dominic Smith and Amed Rosario to start off the seventh inning, and he retired them via strikeout and ground out, respectively. However, Hunter failed to get left-handed Brandon Nimmo to make the final out, as he singled, and Kapler kept him in for switch-hitting Asdrubal Cabrera. The Phillies do not currently have a lefty in their bullpen, though Hunter (.264 wOBA allowed), Garcia (.196 wOBA allowed) and Dominguez (no hits allowed in five plate appearances) have all had success against them this year. Upon Cabrera driving in Nimmo with a double, Kapler turned to Garcia to retire Yoenis Cespedes for the third out.
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For the second night in a row, Raisel Iglesias nailed down a save for the Reds. In getting the final two outs of his club’s 6-2 win over the Dodgers, he extended his string of scoreless appearances to seven. During that stretch, Iglesias has three saves and win. To be sure, he’s been missing a lot of bats, but when Iglesias has allowed contact, it’s been of the airborne variety. Of the 15 batted balls he has permitted, only four were grounders.

For the second time in three nights, Tyler Clippard was used as a closer would be. After securing a save against the Mariners on Wednesday, Clippard tossed a perfect top of the ninth inning on Friday, keeping the Blue Jays tied with the visiting Red Sox. Like Iglesias, Clippard has had past and current success as a closer despite some strong flyball tendencies. Calling Clippard’s flyball tendencies “strong” is actually a gross understatement. His career ground ball rate is 28.4 percent and so far this year, it’s a microscopic 18.2 percent.
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With Keynan Middleton and Corey Knebel being activated within the last two days, we fantasy owners needed some clarity as to whether they would be eased back into closing or be given save opportunities right away. Fortunately, both the Angels and Brewers obliged by getting themselves into save situations on Thursday night.

Things started to get real for the Angels when they jumped ahead of the Twins, 6-4, in the bottom of the sixth inning. After Jose Alvarez struck out Logan Morrison to start off the seventh inning, Mike Scioscia played the matchups, bringing in Cam Bedrosian to face Mitch Garver, and then kept him in for switch-hitter Ehire Adrianza. Shohei Ohtani homered in the bottom of the inning, but with the lead at three runs, Scioscia had to plan for a potential save in the ninth inning. He opted to bring Middleton in for the eighth inning, and he worked around two walks and a double to keep the lead at 7-4. Jim Johnson pitched a scoreless ninth inning for his first save of the season.
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