Luuuuuuuuuke Weaver, I believe you can get me through the niiiiiinth!
Long-time listeners of the Fantasy Baseball Today podcast will recall Adam Aizer's Gary Wright-inspired tagline for what at that point was an up-and-coming starting pitcher for the Cardinals. Well, Yankees manager Aaron Boone might as well have been singing it himself when he signaled for Luke Weaver, now a reliever, Friday at the Cubs. Boone's belief was rewarded with a save, the first of Weaver's career and the first for any Yankees reliever since Clay Holmes was removed from the closer role.
So that settled it, right? Weaver indeed got Boone through the ninth and would presumably have future opportunities to do so. But instead, Boone brought in Weaver to work the eighth inning with a three-run lead Monday, leaving someone else to work the ninth.
Who was that someone else, and what does it mean for Weaver? Let's take a look at the 10 bullpens most in flux.
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 |
We never found out who would have gotten the save chance Monday because the Yankees added three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, making the game a runaway. Ultimately, Ian Hamilton handled the ninth inning, but I feel comfortable saying he's not in the closer mix. Most likely, the save would have gone to Tommy Kahnle, who had been the eighth-inning guy even more consistently than Weaver leading up to Holmes' demotion and who had gotten the previous two days off.
Notably, Weaver was brought in to face three through five in the Royals' lineup, though only one of those hitters, Salvador Perez, was anyone to fear. Even so, I suspect Boone's level of trust is higher for Weaver than for Kahnle, which is why I give Weaver the edge here, but it's clear there will be some amount of mixing and matching. And it's still possible Boone eventually turns back to Holmes, who worked a perfect inning Sunday in his first appearance since his demotion.
| Pecking order |
What happened with the Yankees bullpen Monday is what's been happening with the Rays bullpen for the past three weeks, ever since Pete Fairbanks went on the IL with a strained lat. Their first save following that injury went to Edwin Uceta, and their most recent save also went to Uceta. But in between, right-hander Manuel Rodriguez and left-hander Garrett Cleavinger each recorded two saves. It's not just a matter of timing either. Uceta has more commonly worked the sixth inning than any other during Fairbanks' absence, and notably, his latest save Sunday was of the unconventional five-out variety.
With a 0.75 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, and 12.5 K/9, Uceta would seem like the preferred choice to close, but manager Kevin Cash apparently likes him in a more versatile role. It's why I give the slight edge here to Rodriguez, though I suspect the mixing and matching will continue.
| Pecking order |
Michael Kopech seemed like he had ascended to the top of the pecking order when he recorded consecutive saves for the Dodgers in mid-August, but only once since then have the Dodgers used the hard-throwing righty in a save situation. Apparently, manager Dave Roberts is of the same mind as Rays manager Kevin Cash in keeping his best reliever flexible. In fact, Kopech's past two appearances have come in the seventh and eighth innings, most recently to set up for -- wait for it -- Evan Phillips.
Yes, the Dodgers' closer at the start of the year may be the odds-on favorite for saves again. Three of his past four appearances have been to close out a game, including twice for a save and once with a four-run lead. It makes sense given that he has a 0.63 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, and 13.2 K/9 in 16 appearances since the start of August. True, Kopech has a 0.53 ERA, 0.52 WHIP, and 11.1 K/9 in 17 appearances since joining the Dodgers, but Roberts has more of a history with Phillips and would likely cede to him in the event of a tie. It doesn't mean Kopech is out of the running, but it does mean Phillips is now the preferred choice for Fantasy.
| Pecking order |
This one is pretty straightforward. With Jorge Lopez being lost to a groin strain, Porter Hodge is the last man standing for saves, and he's filling the role with aplomb. He's gotten only three saves since the Cubs gave Hector Neris the boot, but that's hardly his fault. Each of his past five appearances has been to close out a game, including twice for a save and twice with a four-run lead. Armed with a near-unhittable slider, his 1.70 ERA, 0.89 WHIP and 11.2 K/9 make him an ideal choice to close and the most desirable Fantasy option of all the relievers mentioned in this article.
| Pecking order |
We spent weeks imploring manager Derek Shelton to give David Bednar the heave-ho, but it turns out Aroldis Chapman is ... not much better. Yes, he's recorded three saves since Bednar's ouster 10 days ago, but he blew a save in particularly brutal fashion Saturday and nearly blew another in his very next appearance Monday. In all, he's allowed eight earned runs in his past six appearances, which is some Bednar-like behavior.
For what it's worth, Bednar himself has allowed just one earned run in three appearances since his removal, though issuing three walks in his most recent appearance Saturday probably didn't bring him any closer to regaining the closer role. The most reliable Pirates reliever lately has actually been right-hander Dennis Santana, who has allowed no runs on two hits in his past 15 1/3 innings and actually recorded a save Sept. 2, with Chapman setting up for him. It's unlikely he overtakes Chapman as the primary saves guy, but it's not altogether implausible.
| Pecking order |
Justin Martinez technically hasn't blown a save since moving into the closer role a little over a month ago, which seems to have bought him some leeway with manager Torey Lovullo, but I wouldn't say things are hunky-dory either. The hard-throwing sinkerballer isn't a consistent strike-thrower and can sometimes get BABIPed to death due to all the ground balls. The long and short of it is that he's allowed eight runs, six earned, in his past 10 appearances, often teetering on the edge of disaster.
The good news is that the man he replaced, Paul Sewald, doesn't appear any closer to regaining the role, having given up six earned runs in his past six appearances, but A.J. Puk, who has closing experience, is another story. The left-hander has clearly been the Diamondbacks' best reliever since coming over from the Marlins, putting together a 0.50 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, and 14.0 K/9 in 20 appearances. If I had to speculate on a possible replacement for Martinez, it would be him.
| Pecking order |
It's reasonable to worry about Chad Green's grip on the closer role with the right-hander having blown each of his past three save chances, allowing seven earned runs between them, but what this pecking order illustrates is that the Blue Jays don't have a viable alternative. Jordan Romano, who has been recovering from elbow surgery since late May, might have had the best shot of overtaking Green, long though it was, but the Blue Jays recently ruled him out for the season. As for their setup men, Genesis Cabrera has a 1.41 WHIP, and Erik Swanson a 5.97 ERA. All told, Green's 2.85 ERA and 0.97 WHIP still make him far and away the most appealing option even with his recent struggles.
| Pecking order |
Allow me to use this final Bullpen Report to declare once and for all that Seranthony Dominguez is indeed the Orioles closer. I've left open the possibility that Craig Kimbrel could regain the role, noting that it's in the Orioles' best interest to let him try given that his best is better than Dominguez's, but it just isn't happening. As recently as Monday, Kimbrel was still struggling to put hitters away, giving up two earned runs in his lone inning of work at the Red Sox, and over his past 10 appearances, after showing faint signs of coming around at one point, he's allowed a total of 10 earned runs. I have half a mind to move Yennier Cano ahead of him in the pecking order, frankly. Meanwhile, Dominguez has eight saves, a 2.76 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, and 11.6 K/9 in 17 appearances since joining the Orioles in late July and, meh, is good enough.
| Pecking order |
Victor Vodnik returned to the active roster Sunday, having missed a little over two weeks with biceps inflammation, but it was Tyler Kinley who handled ninth-inning duties that day, picking up his fifth consecutive save for the Rockies. I'm going to guess it was simply a matter of easing in Vodnik, though, particularly with him having thrown a minor-league inning just two days earlier. The Rockies were leading by three Sunday, so the stakes were low (not that they're ever particularly high for the Rockies).
Kinley has been on a nice run, putting together a 2.55 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 10.9 K/9 in his past 25 appearances, but he has a 5.98 ERA overall and has failed in his past opportunities to secure the closer role. At 24, Vodnik is more vital to the Rockies' future and really seemed to stabilize the role with nine saves between July and August. Of course, investing in any Rockies reliever is a desperation move -- low stakes and all -- but if you're asking me to choose, Vodnik is my pick.
| Pecking order |  |
Calvin Faucher's 1.40 WHIP made him a less-than-conventional choice to close following the departure of Tanner Scott at the trade deadline, and yet the Marlins stuck with him because ... well, who else did they have? Guess we have to stop and figure it out now that Faucher is out with a right shoulder impingement, not to return until the final week of the season, if at all. Anthony Bender has had a prominent place in the bullpen all season long, but there's a reason the Marlins have continued to pass him over for save chances (i.e., he's not that good). And besides, he just returned from his own shoulder impingement.
I'd prefer to speculate on Jesus Tinoco, who has put together a 1.47 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, and 11.8 K/9 in 15 appearances for the Marlins. Don't get too excited. He's a 29-year-old in his third big-league organization this year alone, so he's probably not some diamond in the rough. We might see manager Skip Schumaker go the mix-and-match route instead, and saves are scarce enough in Miami as it is.
