It's hard to say which bullpen scenario is messier right now, the Diamondbacks or the Dodgers.
Both have a surplus of viable closer choices. Both find themselves in the mess they're in because their No. 1 choice faltered.
But while one team has lurched from one closer candidate to the next, seemingly absent any rationale, the other has at least tried to establish new roles. We'll begin here with that second, more orderly team.
Note: "Pecking order" refers to rosterability in Fantasy and not necessarily who's first in line for saves (though it's usually one and the same).
| Pecking order |
Manager Torey Lovullo removed Paul Sewald from the closer role at the start of the weekend and has given side-armer Ryan Thompson the first crack at every save opportunity since. It was the logical choice given that Thompson had already succeeded as the eighth-inning guy, but unfortunately, he only completed the first of those three save chances. Left-hander A.J. Puk bailed him out in the second, sparing him a blown save, but Thompson actually did blow the save in his third chance, allowing Justin Martinez to secure one in extra innings.
Even in the one converted save, Thompson allowed an earned run, so I get the feeling he's already worn out his welcome as the closer. The problem is that there's no obvious next-in-line. Puk has some closing experience, as does trade deadline acquisition Dylan Floro. My choice, though, would be Martinez, a 23-year-old whose heavy, 100-mph sinker could make him something like a poor man's Emmanuel Clase.
Of course, the most likely choice of all is Sewald himself. Lovullo didn't rule out him returning to the role after the necessary adjustments, citing "something that's going on with his delivery." Sewald's velocity has been down about 1 mph all year, but notably, it was up in each of his two appearances out of the closer role, both scoreless.
| Pecking order |
As of the last Bullpen Report, Daniel Hudson seemed like the obvious choice to take over for a struggling Evan Phillips. He had closer-caliber numbers across the board, closing experience from his time with the Nationals and, most notably, each of the Dodgers' past four saves at that time. But in the two weeks since then, his usage has been all over the place, with appearances coming in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings. Right-hander Brent Honeywell and left-hander Anthony Banda each recorded a save during that time. Only in the Dodgers' latest game Monday did they go back to Hudson in the ninth.
This closer scenario has the look of a full-blown committee, with Hudson perhaps having a slight leg up, but only slight. Don't be surprised if Michael Kopech and Alex Vesia get in on the mix, given that they're already working in high-leverage spots.
| Pecking order |
When the Royals acquired Hunter Harvey a few weeks before the trade deadline, GM J.J. Picollo hinted that the right-hander could assume the closer role at some point. That point appears to be now, precipitated by James McArthur's inevitable demise. It looked like Harvey had squandered his chance right away, blowing a save on a two-run homer to Bligh Madris Saturday, but then the Royals went right back to him the next day, this time for a conversion.
Harvey has closer stuff and spent some time in the role with the Nationals last year. Still, he hasn't been lights-out with the Royals, which means they could be motivated to try out someone else at some point. Lucas Erceg, another hard-thrower acquired at the deadline, has gotten some closer buzz in the past Converted starter Kris Bubic has looked good but may be lower in the pecking order since he throws left-handed. McArthur could potentially get another look in the role as well, but he's really not enough of a bat-misser for it and has genuinely gotten throttled recently.
| Pecking order |
Long billed as the Angels' closer-in-waiting thanks to his 104-mph fastball, Ben Joyce seemed like the obvious choice to take over after Carlos Estevez was traded, but manager Ron Washington turned to veteran Hunter Strickland for the team's first save chance after the trade. It did not go well. Washington then turned to Joyce for the team's second save chance sans Estevez, and well, he converted, even recording a fourth out to do so. The problem is that Washington then turned to right-hander Roansy Contreras for a save the very next day. Maybe he just didn't want to use Joyce for a third time in four days, but clearly, this situation still needs some sorting out. For as hard as Joyce throws, he has only 7.7 K/9 this year, so he may well prove not to be ready for the role yet. Still, he's the one you want in Fantasy.
| Pecking order |
Skip Schumaker has been one of the most reliable managers for bullpen usage since taking over in Miami last year, which is why I already feel pretty strongly that Calvin Faucher is the choice to step in for the departed Tanner Scott. He had emerged as the eighth-inning guy prior to Scott being traded and then handled the ninth with a four-run lead -- a spot normally reserved for a closer -- on the day Scott was traded. Most conclusively, the Marlins' first save chance sans Scott went to Faucher on Saturday, and he converted it with ease. Of course, just because he's Schumaker's first choice doesn't mean he'll hold onto the role. He struggles with walks, which has led to an unsightly 1.49 WHIP on the year. No alternative is promising enough, though, for you to roster anyone but Faucher right now.
| Pecking order |
Craig Kimbrel blew consecutive save chances for the Orioles in July and allowed nine runs over the span of five appearances. He hasn't worked the ninth inning since, with his last two appearances both coming in the eighth. Meanwhile, the Orioles' most recent save chance went to Yennier Cano on Saturday, which may lead you to wonder if Kimbrel is out of a job. But we've seen this movie enough times to know how it ends, haven't we?
Craig Kimbrel pitches a scoreless 8th. Mike Elias said today he will be the Orioles closer, believes he will go on a stretch like we saw for May and June going forward.
— Pete Gilbert (@WBALPete) July 31, 2024
Dating back to his years with the Red Sox, Kimbrel goes through stretches where he loses all command and has to retreat to a lower-leverage role to right himself again. But then he comes back and is unhittable for the next couple months. Shoot, he went through it in May of just this year. Both of his eighth-inning appearances last week were scoreless, so I suspect he's already close to reclaiming the role. Be careful not to sell him short.
| Pecking order |
The Carlos Estevez trade couldn't have come at a worse time for Jeff Hoffman. Arguably the most dominant reliever in baseball to that point, he seemed to be on the verge of claiming the closer role all for himself. Would the Estevez acquisition upend that possibility? "It wouldn't surprise me if he gets a lot of ninth innings," Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski said at the time.
Sure enough, Estevez has only worked the ninth inning since coming over to the Phillies (OK, so he continued into the 10th one time) while Jeff Hoffman's latest outing (an ugly one at that) came in the sixth. The Phillies haven't actually registered a save during that time, but manager Rob Thomson has gone on record to say that he'd only consider using Estevez in the eighth if there were a bunch of lefties due up in the ninth. That's a tacit admission that he's the closer, one would think.
| Pecking order |
Jhoan Duran hasn't exactly been lights-out this year, his velocity lagging by more than 1 mph across the board, so him working the eighth inning rather than the ninth Monday is sure to raise some alarm, particularly since Griffin Jax handled the ninth for the save. But this isn't the first time we've seen manager Rocco Baldelli handle the two relievers this way. Duran also set up for Jax on May 10 and was used in the eighth inning as recently as June 26. In fact, he's worked the eighth rather than the ninth in nine of his 39 appearances this season.
As for Baldelli, last year was the only time he strictly adhered to bullpen roles, presumably because Duran was just so dominant. The truth is that Jax has been the better reliever this year -- putting together a 2.01 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 11.9 K/9 -- so maybe he'll continue to steal saves every now and again. As of now, though, there's no reason to believe it'll be any more often than that.
