Archive for Nick Anderson

With a handful of closers unavailable to pitch, Thursday turned into Substitute Closer’s Day. The appearance by a fill-in that could signal the biggest fantasy impact was Derek Law’s foray into a save opportunity against the Dodgers. That’s because the Blue Jays’ placed Ken Giles on the paternity list prior to Thursday night’s game, and the incumbent closer could be miss the entire upcoming weekend series in Seattle. In other words, Law could have more save chances over the next three days.

Law had already filled in for Giles on a short-term basis earlier this month, when he was out with right elbow inflammation. Since returning on Aug. 13, Giles has made only three appearances, and only one of those outings was for a save opportunity. Because of Giles’ relative inactivity, we have kept Law in the grid as a co-closer, as it’s conceivable he could get saves if the Jays want to be careful with Giles’ workload.
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When the Braves acquired Shane Greene and Chris Martin ahead of Wednesday’s trade deadline, there didn’t seem to be much mystery as to how they would be used. Given Luke Jackson’s struggles in closing out games for the Braves and Greene’s success as the Tigers’ closer, it would have been an upset for the latter reliever to be used as anything but a closer. It also was a natural fit for Martin, who racked up 12 holds (and four saves) with the Rangers, to set Greene up. On Thursday, Brian Snitker confirmed that Greene will, in fact, be his closer, and Martin will be his primary setup reliever.

What was less clear was how Snitker might use Mark Melancon, who was just acquired from the Giants. While Melancon was typically the fifth option in a deep Giants bullpen, the Braves’ manager indicated that he could pitch the seventh inning in addition to other situations. This suggests that Jackson won’t see much action in hold situations, much less as a fill-in closer when Greene is unavailable. During his recent three-week slump, Jackson allowed nine runs on 11 hits (including three homers) and four walks over six innings. Still, there were some positives, such as a 15.0 percent SwStr% and a 60.0 percent ground ball rate, which were right in line with his season-to-date numbers. Despite these impressive skill indicators, there is not much point in rostering Jackson, even in holds leagues.
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In what feels like the calm before the storm one day prior to the trade deadline, not one of the seven games on Monday night ended with a save. However, with so many teams searching for bullpen help this article will focus on some of the key points leading up to the deadline. Starting in Washington, the Nationals relief corps yielded a run for the eighth time over the last 11 games and it was the closer who served it up. Read the rest of this entry »

The anticipation is over. Greg Holland is out as the Diamondbacks’ closer.

Torey Lovullo told reporters on Sunday morning that he was making a change, though he did not rule out reinstalling Holland back in the role in the future. In the meantime, Lovullo will employ a closer committee consisting of Yoan Lopez, Yoshihisa Hirano, Archie Bradley and Andrew Chafin. Given the potentially temporary nature of this arrangement and the lack of a clear primary option, this situation can be avoided by owners in most fantasy formats.
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Roughly 24 hours ago, we may have wondered how soon the Cubs would use Craig Kimbrel as their closer once he was called up. That question was answered quickly and definitively on Thursday night. Mere hours after getting promoted from Triple-A Iowa, Joe Maddon called on Kimbrel to protect a 9-7 lead against the Braves in the top of the ninth inning. He got off to an auspicious start to his tenure with his new team, throwing strikes on each of his first six pitches and retiring former battery mate Brian McCann and Johan Camargo. Kimbrel struck out McCann on three pitches, though the called third strike did appear to be just outside the strike zone.

After getting Ronald Acuna into a 1-2 count, Kimbrel’s night took a slight turn for the worse. Acuna worked his way into a seven-pitch at-bat, ultimately blemishing Kimbrel’s debut with a ground rule double. Then his control briefly abandoned him in a four-pitch walk to Dansby Swanson. It only took one pitch for Kimbrel to end the threat, as Anthony Rizzo snagged a Freddie Freeman grounder hit down the first base line and got to the base just in time to get the final out.
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It would not be a Saturday edition of the Bullpen Report without a litany of questions which pervade the saves landscape. Starting in Chicago, the Cubs failed to convert a save chance leading to a loss. Steve Cishek entered this outing riding a 13.1 inning scoreless streak and failed to record an out. He walked Joey Votto prior to serving up the go ahead two run home run to Eugenio Suarez. Cishek then hit Jesse Winker with a pitch before being replaced by James Norwood. This marks Cishek’s second loss and second blown save of the season. During his scoreless streak, Cishek limited hitters to a .133 batting average against (six-for-45) but did not fare well on Friday, which coincides with the possible return of Pedro Strop on Sunday. Brad Brach also incurred his second blown save giving up four hits, an earned runand a walk with three strikeouts in 1.2 innings. Read the rest of this entry »

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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