Archive for saves

Largely by default, Koda Glover was thrust into the Nationals’ closer role when the team put Ryan Madson (back) on the 10-day disabled list this past Tuesday. It has not gone swimmingly. Just before Madson was placed on the DL. Glover took a loss against the Cardinals on Monday, giving up a walk-off home run to Paul DeJong, and while he got the save in Thursday’s series finale, he allowed the tying run to get into scoring position.

On Saturday night, Glover was called on to keep the Nationals in a tie with the Marlins in the top of the 10th inning, but after getting into trouble again, there was no escape this time. Back-to-back one-out singles put the go-ahead run in scoring position, and after a force out and an intentional walk, Isaac Galloway brought home two runs on a bloop single into center field. Since the Nationals failed to rally in the bottom of the inning, Glover was left with his second loss in six days.
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A few closers took steps toward making fantasy owners more comfortable on Thursday night, but some of the bigger bullpen developments took place before the ninth inning. Still, saves are what we care the most about in fantasy, so let’s start there. Wade Davis had his third consecutive scoreless outing, and in allowing nothing more than a Freddie Freeman single, he preserved the Rockies’ 5-3 lead against the Braves. This was his first save since giving up a pair of homers and taking a loss against the Dodgers exactly one week earlier. Like Davis, Jose Leclerc worked around a leadoff hit to notch a save, as he closed out the Rangers’ 8-6 win over the Angels.

The most notable save, though, was Koda Glover’s against the Cardinals, as it was his first save opportunity since being named as the Nationals’ closer in the wake of Ryan Madson (back) going on the DL. Glover raised the degree of difficulty on his inning by allowing a two-out Jose Martinez single and then walking Matt Carpenter, which put the tying run in scoring position. The drama was short-lived, as Yadier Molina flied out on the first pitch he saw from Glover.
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Remember when Sean Doolittle was diagnosed with a strained toe and Davey Martinez said he just needed a day off?

That was 38 days and three closers ago. Doolittle’s injury — a stress reaction in his left foot — turned out to be far more serious, and while he is back to throwing off a mound as of Tuesday, the Nationals’ bullpen has been riddled with injuries and instability. They placed Ryan Madson on the 10-day disabled list on Tuesday, as he continued to experience back soreness even after getting treatment. So with Doolittle, Madson and Kelvin Herrera all on the DL, Martinez will now turn to Koda Glover, who is just a few weeks removed from his own recovery from a shoulder injury.
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The past week saw several closing situations change hands. Are we on the verge of seeing another one flip?

Some fantasy owners have been anticipating a change of closer with the Astros, but only because they traded for Roberto Osuna. Hector Rondon has held off Osuna so far, and even after allowing Ryon Healy’s game-tying homer on Sunday, he hasn’t done anything that would seem to merit a demotion to a setup role. He did give up four runs to the Rangers in a non-save situation just over two weeks ago, but until Sunday that had been the only real blemish on Rondon’s stat line over the past month. In his eight other appearances, he had shut out the opposition over 8.1 innings on just two hits and two walks.
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Several closer situations have flipped in recent days, and on Saturday, we got an early look at how four of them could play out in the coming weeks. The Twins’ trade of Fernando Rodney created a void, as well as one of the harder ninth-inning situations to read. Despite his recent difficulties in the setup role, Trevor Hildenberger got the first crack at a save in the post-Rodney era. Unfortunately, he stayed true to recent form, allowing multiple runs for the fourth straight appearance. Fortunately, the two-run homer he allowed to Niko Goodrum was not enough to wipe out a three-run lead against the Tigers. Hildenberger did not allow any further damage, so he was credited with his first save of the season.
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With managers relying more on relievers and less on starters last season, and with the emergence of fantasy-relevant non-closers like Chris Devenski, Chad Green and Archie Bradley, fantasy owners have been taking more interest in relievers who aren’t in line to get steady saves. Andrew Miller has long been on the fantasy radar, and he is currently owned in more than 60 percent of ESPN and CBS leagues. However, Bradley and Adam Ottavino are about as popular as some lower-end closers, as both are owned in more than one-third of the leagues on ESPN and CBS. Devenski, Green and Dellin Betances aren’t far behind in popularity.

On Thursday, the season reached its three-week mark, so we are not quite one-eighth through the schedule. In 2017, only five relievers exceeded 80 innings, but so far this season, there are already 43 relievers who have pitched at least 10 innings. Not everyone in this group will keep up this pace, and it’s not hard to imagine that some who stay on this pace will wear down and may even need some DL time.
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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.
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We are not quite a week into the 2018 season, but as far as surprising stories go, Kenley Jansen being one of the shakiest closers has to be at the top of the list. On Tuesday night, the Dodgers dropped to 2-4, as Zack Godley outdueled Clayton Kershaw, and Jansen got the night off. The Diamondbacks opened up their lead in the seventh inning against Scott Alexander, and with the Dodgers failing to rally, there was no need for Dave Roberts to call on his closer. We will have to wait at least another day for Jansen to reassure his fantasy owners.
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The first day of the 2018 season did not lack for closer drama, and the bumpy ride for some fantasy owners began even before the first pitch. After weeks of speculation over how Cardinals manager Mike Matheny would split up save chances among Dominic Leone, Tyler Lyons and Luke Gregerson (hamstring), once he returns from the 10-day disabled list, Greg Holland stepped into the picture and shredded all of those narratives. The Cardinals signed Holland to a one-year, $14 million deal, and he instantly became the uncontested closer in St. Louis.

A cursory glance at Holland’s 2017 stat line with Colorado — particularly his 3.61 ERA — might give the impression that he had a, you know, rocky first season back from Tommy John surgery, but bulk of his difficulties came during a three-week period in August. During that slump, Holland coughed up 14 runs in 6.1 innings. He had a sub-2.00 ERA prior to that stretch, and went back to a sub-2.00 ERA for the period following the downturn. Even Holland’s 29.8 percent strikeout rate from last season, which was well below his marks from his peak years of 2013 and 2014, could have been an illusion. His 15.2 percent swinging strike rate and 44.3 percent swing rate look right in place with his rates from his best seasons.
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Here’s everything you need to know about an unusually quiet weekend of bullpen activity around the major leagues:

Jeurys Familia has been moved back to the closer position on the grid for the Mets. A.J. Ramos has struggled as of late, and it was always assumed that Familia would at some point find his way back to the ninth inning for New York. Familia picked up his first save since May 5 on Friday (pitching 1/3 of an inning), then the following day he pitched a scoreless ninth in a tie game at home, as closers often do. Familia’s track record and projections indicate that he should have no problem being a very good closer again. He induces a ton of ground balls and limits the home run ball very well. Meanwhile, Ramos’s days as a must-own fantasy asset may be over if Familia has indeed regained the role of closer. Ramos could still have some value in holds leagues, but there are better options out there. Read the rest of this entry »