Archive for Rays

The Rays agreed to trade Tommy Pham, along with two-way prospect Jake Cronenworth, to the Padres for Hunter Renfroe and middle infield prospect Xavier Edwards on Thursday night, but this isn’t exactly a trade impact piece. I don’t see the deal having much of an impact on the fantasy value of any of the players involved, or at least not enough of an impact that the changes of scenery are likely to affect my 2020 rankings.

In sizing up how the trade might affect Pham’s fantasy value, I noticed something odd in his month-by-month trends from 2019. He had never recorded a BABIP below .333 in any of his four previous seasons, and through the end of May, Pham had a .346 BABIP that looked quite normal for him. Then, all of a sudden, he stopped BABIPing. Pham’s rates for the next three months were .288. ,265 and .303, though he did rebound for a .338 BABIP in September. His .299 BABIP over those four months combined is normal for most hitters but unusually low for him.
Read the rest of this entry »

With a playoff spot on the line, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash did not hesitate lifting Emilio Pagan from a save situation after giving up consecutive singles to Mookie Betts and Rafael Devers before striking out J.D. Martinez. Colin Poche entered with Mitch Moreland and Jackie Bradley Jr. due to hit. However, Boston countered with Christian Vazquez pinch hitting for Moreland and striking out. Then Xander Bogaerts entered the fray for Bradley Jr., also striking out ending the game. Poche notched his second save stranding both inherited runners. Pagan gets credit for his eighth hold and remains the top closing option for the Rays going forward but he’s struggled at times versus the Red Sox and with every game carrying extra meaning, Cash will do whatever it takes to ensure a victory. Read the rest of this entry »

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.
Read the rest of this entry »

As the Wild Card standings and divisional races take shape, it’s obvious bullpens will play a part in the final outcomes. A wild night in the National League East featured one save conversion, an implosion in New York and a change in who closes in Atlanta. It’s been a rough transition for Shane Greene and Chris Martin since arriving with their new team. Martin allowed two hits, three earned runs and a walk with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning in Miami. Shane Greene did record his first hold with the Braves but let an inherited runner from Martin score on a single by Starlin Castro in the bottom of the eighth inning. Bouncing back to strikeout Lewis Brinson, Greene left with his team still ahead by four runs. Mark Melancon pitched the ninth giving up a lead-off single to Jorge Alfaro then striking out two before inducing a game ending ground out to shortstop. However, it’s the post-game quotes by manager Brian Snitker which grabs the attention of those still chasing saves: Read the rest of this entry »

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.
Read the rest of this entry »

Excitement from signing Craig Kimbrel could be shifting to concern for Cubs fans. Kimbrel suffered his second blown save allowing two home runs resulting in three earned runs without recording an out in Milwaukee. Christian Yelich hit a solo shot leading off the inning, then a walk to Tyler Saladino preceded a two-run walk-off home run by Keston Hiura in the bottom of the 10th inning. This outing snapped Kimbrel’s consecutive save streak at six, but concern lies within four home runs yielded in 10.2 innings this season along with eight walks resulting in a 6.75 ERA and 1.69 WHIP. There’s time for Kimbrel to round into form, but with three teams within one game in the division, it’s a fine line to walk, no pun intended.

Freddy Peralta coughed up a solo home run to Albert Almora in the top of the 10th giving the Cubs a one run lead. But, he garners the win as a result of the rally in the bottom of the inning. Peralta seems to be cementing his role as second in line for high leverage with Milwaukee. He’s recorded two wins and a save in his last three appearances giving up the one earned run over four innings with six strikeouts versus one walk. Limiting free passes will ultimately determine Peralta’s success as a reliever over the last two months.

Ceding a four run lead in the ninth inning, Tampa Bay’s relievers once again struggled. Oliver Drake did not register an out giving up a double to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. then walked Eric Sogard leading to a three-run home run by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Adam Kolarek replaced Drake retiring Cavan Biggio then the Rays replaced him with Colin Poche for the save chance. Poche struck out Danny Jansen before serving up a home run to Brandon Drury tying the game. Of interest, passing over Emilio Pagan with two right-handed batters due up for Poche. Pagan took over in the bottom of the 11th inning walking two but escaping the inning unscored upon. However, in the 12th, he yielded the walk-off winning home run to Teoscar Hernandez leading off the inning.

Daniel Hudson nets his sixth win as a result working a clean top of the 12th striking out one. Ken Giles tossed a clean 10th inning after David Phelps logged a clean ninth with a strikeout. Tim Mayza filled in the gap working a scoreless 11th inning striking out two. For this game, the Blue Jays bullpen not only outlasted the Rays, it outperformed them.

After a five day respite, Raisel Iglesias fired a clean ninth with two strikeouts en route to his 18th save. This outing snapped a three game streak allowing at least a run by Iglesias. He’s been in trade rumors and could thrive with a change in scenery. So far in July, Iglesias owns an enticing 12:2 K:BB rate with a 0.96 WHIP and 4.83 ERA. Hope lies within his 3.09 xFIP this month. Michael Lorenzen recorded his ninth hold working 1.2 scoreless innings giving up a hit and a walk with a strikeout. Wandy Peralta gets his second hold with 1.1 clean innings.

A bumpy ride, but Mychal Givens held on for his ninth save yielding a run over 1.1 innings allowing a hit and two walks with two strikeouts. He’s given up runs in consecutive outings but notched a save in three of his last five appearances. Richard Bleier garnered his second win with a clean inning striking out one. Ty Buttrey suffered his fifth loss allowing two hits and two earned runs in one-third of an inning.

Some trade news with Jake Diekman heading to the A’s bullpen. He may not report until Tuesday but will bolster its depth giving them another left-handed reliever for high leverage. Miami dealt Sergio Romo to the Twins. Romo could serve the role vacated by Blake Parker as the right handed complement to Taylor Rogers. This shifts Nick Anderson atop the Marlins hierarchy, however, his time there could be fleeting:

The assumption is Nick Anderson will close, but there is a chance Anderson may be dealt by the #TradeDeadline #Marlins

— Joe Frisaro (@JoeFrisaro) July 28, 2019

Owners looking for the next save for Miami will add Anderson if he’s available and hope he does not get moved. Stay tuned.

Quick Hits: Matt Barnes notched his 18th hold striking out four in 1.1 innings giving up a hit. Nathan Eovaldi struggled again allowing three hits and two earned runs with two strikeouts in an inning. Brandon Workman pitched a clean ninth with a four run lead striking out two…Chad Green yielded five hits leading to four earned runs in 2.1 innings with two strikeouts…A non-save outing for Alex Colome resulted in a clean ninth with a strikeout. Aaron Bummer pitched two-thirds of an inning walking one. Evan Marshall logged 1.1 scoreless innings allowing a hit with two strikeouts…Save number nine for Liam Hendriks striking out two and giving up a hit. In July, Hendriks has pitched 10.2 innings with a robust 16:1 K:BB and 1.69 ERA…Jose LeClerc retired the only hitter he faced via strikeout. He’s fired 5.2 clean innings over his last seven appearances with nine strikeouts.

**Post-publish update: Seattle made the following roster move which will be updated on Monday in our closer hierarchy:

The #Mariners have announced the following roster moves: Reinstate RHP Hunter Strickland from 60-day IL; Option RHP Matt Carasiti to AAA Tacoma (postgame 7/27); Transfer RHP Félix Hernández from 10-day IL to 60-day IL.

— Mariners PR (@MarinersPR) July 28, 2019

Perhaps Al Melchior moonlights reading tarot cards, or he just proved to be prescient highlighting Oliver Drake in yesterday’s Bullpen Report. In a pivotal game for the Rays, they used Diego Castillo to preserve a one run lead starting the sixth inning. Castillo recorded 1.2 scoreless innings giving up a walk and striking out two. Then, Emilio Pagan entered with two outs in the seventh. Pagan coughed up a home run to Giovanny Urshela leading to his fifth blown save. Over his last 15.2 innings, Pagan owns a 3.44 ERA but he’s yielded five home runs within them. He’s been a stabilizing force in the bullpen all season however, the trend of home runs should be taken into account when adding him for saves. Andrew Kittredge took over for Pagan in the eighth allowing a two out single to Aaron Hicks then a two run home run to Edwin Encarnacion giving up the lead. Read the rest of this entry »

Emilio Pagan woke up on Monday morning to find himself near the top of the most-added lists for relievers on ESPN, CBS and Yahoo. (I’m actually guessing he probably didn’t check.) Owners were certainly responding to Pagan’s one-out save against the Orioles on Sunday, as well as his growing prominence in high-leverage ninth-inning situations for the Rays.

If there is a reliever in the Rays’ bullpen to own right now, it’s clearly Pagan, who has two saves in the team’s last five games. However, it is premature to assume that Kevin Cash is going to rely solely on him for saves. Diego Castillo is still only four days removed from being activated, and it is not yet clear what his post-IL usage patterns will look like. Especially with Jose Alvarado (oblique) on the IL, it would hardly be surprising to see Cash turn to Colin Poche for save situations that involve left-handed hitters.
Read the rest of this entry »

Thursday night’s schedule wasn’t so much of a slate as a pebble. The Rangers’ 5-0 win over the Astros was the only game on the first night of the second half, and it was a closer-free affair featuring five low-leverage relief appearances.

The only reliever worthy of mention was the Astros’ Cy Sneed, who did the bulk of the mopping up after Framber Valdez, who retired only two of the nine batters he faced. Sneed gave up just one run in five innings while striking out seven batters.
Read the rest of this entry »

After a couple of days off, the Bullpen Report returns with a host of issues to address. First, Oakland removed the mystery of who will close despite the return of Blake Treinen from the injured list:

Liam Hendriks is now in essence the A’s closer. Team plans to ride his performance as long as possible, with Treinen available if needed at some point when he gets on track. But it’s Hendriks’ job now.

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) July 6, 2019

Liam Hendriks notched his fourth save since Treinen landed on the injured list on June 21st with a clean ninth striking out two last night. This extends Hendriks’ scoreless streak to 15.2 innings and he’s not given up a run in 27 of his last 29 outings spanning 34.2 innings (0.78 ERA). Dating back to last September, Hendriks last 53 appearances yields a 1.29 ERA. He will get an extended view as the team’s closer going forward, plan accordingly.

On the other side of the spectrum, Edwin Diaz suffered his sixth loss giving up three hits, four earned runs and a walk in one-third of an inning recording his only out via a strikeout of Maikel Franco. However, Diaz allowed a lead-off double to J.T. Realmuto then a single by Jay Bruce snapping a tied game without recording an out. On April 29th, Diaz owned a 0.84 ERA converting all eight save chances. Since then, he’s worked 22.2 innings with a 7.89 ERA, 1.80 WHIP with 10 saves in 14 opportunities losing six decisions. Within this stretch, Diaz has allowed hitters a .330/.392/.560 slash line and a 47.4 hard hit rate against. But, he’s not alone in struggling in the Mets bullpen:

Of course, it's not just Diaz. Since May 27, the Mets' bullpen has produced an 8.06 ERA.

Let me repeat that: over a span of more than 100 innings, the Mets' bullpen has produced an 8.06 ERA.

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 6, 2019

Quotes from the team and Diaz do not provide a warm fuzzy going forward. Diaz has bounced back from struggles due to performance or his mechanics being out of whack during his tenure in Seattle before, can he do it again? Time will tell.

Edwin Diaz on potentially moving into lower-leverage spots:

"I want to be the closer of this team. But if Mickey thinks that that's the way that I can find my confidence, or just feel more comfortable trying to get right, I'll pitch in whatever role that he wants me to."

— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) July 6, 2019

For now, it’s been a rough 2019 for the consensus top two closers taken in drafts this preseason.

Just when it seemed safe to trust Ian Kennedy, he struggled during a blown save in Washington. Kennedy allowed three hits leading to two earned runs and a walk with a strikeout on Friday. He notched nine straight saves prior to this meltdown and entered riding a six game scoreless streak. Kennedy should bounce back and remains safe in the closer role with Kansas City. Brian Flynn gets his second win navigating around a hit and two walks for a scoreless 10th inning and Wily Peralta closed out his second save giving up a hit in a scoreless 11th inning. It’s Peralta’s first save since April 13th this year. Jonny Venters absorbs the loss for the Nationals ceding three hits and three runs (one earned) with a walk while striking out one. Fernando Rodney worked for the third straight game giving up a hit with two strikeouts.

A frustrating night for fantasy owners of Brewers and Pirates closers. Josh Hader gets his fourth hold working 1.1 scoreless innings walking one and striking out one. Hader did not return for the ninth inning with Milwaukee ahead by five runs despite only throwing 23 pitches. Instead, the Brewers turned to Deolis Guerra who only recorded two outs while coughing up four hits leading to four earned runs including a three-run home run by Josh Bell. Junior Guerra replaced him but allowed the game tying home run to Jung-Ho Kang. This Guerra received his third win despite his fifth blown save when the Brewers rallied in the top of the 10th against Pirates closer, Felipe Vazquez. After retiring Tyler Saladino, Vazquez served up three straight singles to Orlando Arcia, Manny Pina and Lorenzo Cain resulting in the eventual winning run. It’s the first loss of the season for Vazquez.

Two days removed from a diving tag play to get Kevin Kiermaier out, Mychal Givens did not receive the save chance last night in Toronto. Instead, Paul Fry locked down his second save with a clean ninth striking out one. It’s Fry’s first save since March 31st against the Yankees on the road. There’s no word about an injury to Givens so he should get the next chance if one presents itself, but with him representing one of the Orioles few trade chips, he will be handled with care.

With Diego Castillo not slated to return until after the All-Star break, and Jose Alvarado struggling since his return from the restricted list, it’s fallen upon Emilio Pagan to anchor the bullpen. However, he served up the tying run on a home run by Aaron Hicks last night leading to an eventual loss in extra innings. It’s Pagan’s fourth blown save this year. He did work two innings giving up two hits, one earned run and struck out two. Colin Poche, an arm of intrigue going forward, fired a scoreless 10th inning allowing a hit with a strikeout. Ryne Stanek gets collared with his second loss yielding to home runs, four hits and four earned runs in the top of the 11th. This benefited David Hale, who gets his second win working 2.1 scoreless innings scattering three hits and a walk with two strikeouts. Aroldis Chapman notched his 24th save walking one and striking out one in two-thirds of an inning.

Quick Hits: Boston welcomed back Heath Hembree to the bullpen. He served up a home run to John Hicks but finished the ninth with two strikeouts. Hembree entered this appearance only giving up one earned run in his previous 17.1 innings. Matt Barnes fired a clean eighth with two strikeouts and Ryan Brasier gets his seventh hold working 1.2 innings allowing two hits and striking out one…Adam Morgan gets his third win retiring the only two batters he faced prior to the Phillies rally versus Diaz highlighted above. Hector Neris walked one in a scoreless ninth in a non-save outing…Luke Jackson nets his fourth win giving up a hit with two strikeouts in a scoreless top of the ninth preceding a Braves rally….Save number 12 for Hansel Robles. He fired a clean ninth with a strikeout. It’s his first save since June 18th and his sixth in a row…Kirby Yates keeps adding to his breakout season. He recorded his first five out save retiring all five Dodgers he faced, two via strikeout. Yates has converted 28 of 29 save chances in the first half, snapped a three game losing streak for the Padres and ended the Dodgers streak of five straight come from behind wins at home.