Archive for Matt Albers

The Red Sox’s bullpen has been among the most confusing ones for fantasy owners to figure out all season. In Tuesday night’s game against the Indians, we had more twists and turns to follow, but ultimately, much of what happened may not have a lasting impact.

The first surprise was seeing Nathan Eovaldi enter the game with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning with a 6-5 lead and a runner on second base. Eovaldi was supposed to begin his return to the Red Sox’s rotation on Wednesday as the scheduled starter for the series finale. Alex Cora has not abandoned that plan, but he put Eovaldi on a slight detour on his path back to a starting role because of what he called “probably the biggest inning of what we were trying to accomplish.” Eovaldi validated Cora’s decision, as he kept the slim margin intact by retiring Roberto Pérez and Jason Kipnis.
Read the rest of this entry »

Just as fantasy owners were likely questioning whether Raisel Iglesias would get another save for the Reds, he came through with his first one in three weeks on Sunday. However, the way Iglesias’ performance unfolded raises more questions than it answers.

David Bell brought Iglesias in for a two-inning save after Amir Garrett walked Jason Heyward to lead off the eighth inning, with the Reds out in front of the Cubs, 4-3. Iglesias preserved the lead, and with the Reds scoring four times in the bottom of the inning, he came back out for the ninth. Though he yielded a single and a walk, Iglesias appeared to be headed for an uneventful save, as he had Heyward in an 0-2 count with two outs. That’s when the Cubs’ outfielder pulled an inside fastball into the right field seats to cut the lead to two runs. Iglesias did retire Javier Baez for the final out, but that one swing increased his ERA to 4.41.
Read the rest of this entry »

Six of Sunday’s 15 scheduled games were postponed, robbing us of a potential opportunity to see if Arodys Vizcaino could get on track for the Braves or whether Joakim Soria or Nate Jones gets the next save opportunity for the White Sox.

Despite the limited schedule, we got yet another chapter in the Brewers’ bullpen saga. Craig Counsell brought Matt Albers into a 2-2 tie with the Mets in the bottom of the ninth inning, and he got within one out of delivering his team into extra innings. Instead of prolonging the game, Albers allowed Wilmer Flores‘ walk-off solo homer. Despite having pitched only once over the previous four days, Jacob Barnes was nowhere to be found in the seventh and eighth innings, as Counsell chose to set Albers up with Jeremy Jeffress and Dan Jennings. Barnes has apparently pitched his way out of the Brewers’ closer mix.
Read the rest of this entry »

As we enter the weekend, the Milwaukee bullpen continues to be the most volatile situation to speculate for saves. The word from the Brewers today regarding Corey Knebel was unfortunately bad news. According to the Milwaukee manager, Craig Counsell, Knebel will miss “a minimum of six weeks” with his left hamstring strain. For those who missed the injury, it was a lot worse than it sounds. Knebel fell to the ground after delivering a pitch in the 9^th inning down 6 to 0 in Thursday night’s game against the Cubs.

Read the rest of this entry »

After a relatively calm first week for closers, the fantasy world got rocked on Thursday night. While the pitching the ninth inning of the Brewers’ series opener against the Cubs at Miller Park — a game that was firmly in the grasp of the visiting team — Corey Knebel hopped uncomfortably after making his second pitch to Tommy La Stella, then quickly fell to the mound. Knebel sustained an injury to his left hamstring, and according to multiple reports, he will undergo an MRI on Friday to determine the exact nature and severity of the issue.
Read the rest of this entry »

Things are tense in the Baltimore-Washington corridor these days.

The Nationals’ closer carousel keeps turning, as they placed Shawn Kelley on the 10-day disabled list Friday with a lower back strain. As it was, we hadn’t seen Kelley in a game since April 29 due to being sick, and just as he was healthy enough to return, he started feeling tightness in his back Friday afternoon.

Read the rest of this entry »

While most people were wrapping up their day on Tuesday, the Indians, Reds and Diamondbacks shook up the MLB world when they finalized a three-team deal with some major parts being passed around. In a nutshell, the deal looks like this:

• Cleveland Indians receive: RHP Trevor Bauer, RHP Matt Albers, and RHP Bryan Shaw from Arizona and OF Drew Stubbs from Cincinnati
• Cincinnati Reds receive: OF Shin-Soo Choo, INF Jason Donald, and cash ($3.5 mil to offset salaries) from Cleveland
• Arizona Diamondback receive: SS Didi Gregorius from Cincinnati and LHP Tony Sipp and 1B Lars Anderson from Cleveland Read the rest of this entry »