Welcome back to the week 10 edition of Bullpen Briefing. I’ll pick up this week’s edition in Pittsburgh where I left off last week, then move on to the Texas Rangers who could very well see a closer change coming soon. I’ll also discuss Washington and Philadelphia, two of the more fluid bullpens in the league, as well as a couple of updates to Atlanta, Oakland, and the Los Angeles Angels. Here we go.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Tony Watson blew his fourth and fifth saves of the season in back to back appearances on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both blown saves included two run home runs, and both ended in Pirates losses. The home runs marked Watson’s 5th and 6th home runs allowed on the season. The long ball continues to plague him. Pirates manager Clint Hurdle admitted over the weekend to internal conversations regarding Felipe Rivero’s future as the team’s closer, then said Wednesday night that Juan Nicasio is also being considered to close games. It seems the Pirates are focused on trying to get some value out of their relief pitchers at the trade deadline. Nicasio is 30 years old and will be a free agent at season’s end, as will Watson. The attempt to boost Watson’s trade value has failed, so Nicasio could be next up. He’s yet to allow a home run this season, strikes out just under one batter per inning, and should make a fine closer. If Rivero and Nicasio are both available on your waiver wire, Nicasio is the short term saves play. I added Rivero myself last week and am confident Rivero will be closing by season’s end. It may take a couple of months, but in a head to head league, I am more than happy to live with his 0.58 ERA and 0.74 WHIP until then.

Texas Rangers

It seems like ages since we last discussed the Rangers bullpen, back when Matt Bush took the reigns as closer and held on tight. His reigns appear to be loosening though; he allowed three home runs in his last three appearances, one of which was a blown save and another a blown tie. Bush hasn’t lost the closing gig yet, but don’t be surprised if Keone Kela gets the next save opportunity. Kela leads the Rangers bullpen with 27 strikeouts and has done so in 21.1 innings. If Bush has another bad outing this weekend, a more permanent chance could be made. Save speculators that missed out on the opportunity in Pittsburgh should think about adding Kela now. Bullpen changes have a way of materializing very quickly.

For those of you in holds leagues, consider adding Rangers’ reliever Jose Leclerc. He returned from the disabled list this week and has 19 strikeouts, a 2.13 ERA, and a 0.95 WHIP through 12.2 innings this year. He will rise quickly in the Rangers pen regardless of their closer situation.

Washington Nationals

Just when things were starting to settle down in Washington, Koda Glover and Shawn Kelley combined for 6 earned runs in Sunday afternoon against Oakland, though they managed a hold and a save a piece. Here’s how it went down:

Glover relieved Tanner Roark with a runner on second and two outs in the 8 th inning in a 6-4 ballgame, presumably in for the 4-out save.

inning in a 6-4 ballgame, presumably in for the 4-out save. Glover gets Jed Lowrie to ground out, ending the inning.

Washington puts up 5 runs in the top of the 9 th inning off Frankie Montas to take a 11-4 lead.

inning off Frankie Montas to take a 11-4 lead. Glover gives up one run on four straight singles and a walk before being removed with the bases loaded. Washington’s lead is now 11-5.

Shawn Kelley replaces Koda Glover. He gets Rajai Davis to fly out, then gives up a grand slam to Matt Joyce. Score is now 11-10.

Kelley gets the next two batters out to earn the save.

Glover got himself into a lot of trouble, but Shawn Kelley eventually gave up the grand salami, with 3 of the 4 runs being credited to Glover. Both guys took their lumps in this one and did not pitch the following day. Instead, Dusty Baker opted for a combination of Matt Albers and Oliver Perez to close out the ninth. Glover got the save chance Tuesday night and nailed it down with Oliver Perez recording the hold.

Matt Albers might be the most trustworthy arm in the National’s pen right now with a 1.25 ERA on the season. Don’t look for him to get save opportunities, but since Shawn Kelley has taken a step backwards this year, Albers should be moving into the setup role in the near future.

Philadelphia Phillies

Hector Neris has been removed from the closer role in Philadelphia to be replaced by veteran Pat Neshek. The announcement comes after Neris was removed from a save opportunity Tuesday night after recording one out and allowing two consecutive singles. This was the second time in four days that Neris was removed from a save situation, the first coming last Saturday when Neris got the hook in favor of Jeanmar Gomez. Neris is having issues with his slider and will have time to work on fixing it in non-save situations. The Phillies will look to get some use out of the 36-year-old Neshek, then look to trade him toward the deadline. This means that Neris could return to closing should he figure things out, but likely isn’t worth holding onto unless you play in a holds league. Neshek is worth an add for saves. He strikes out just under a batter per inning and his ERA currently sits at 0.82, though his ERA was 3.06 and 3.62 in 2016 and 2015, respectively. No matter who is closing in Philly, there haven’t been a ton of save chances this year. You won’t be missing out by avoiding this bullpen altogether.

Los Angeles Angels

Cam Bedrosian was slated to return to the club on Tuesday, but was pushed back so he could make one more minor league appearance. Bedrosian made that appearance and was pulled with discomfort in his injured groin. The setback appears to be short term, but often times a 1 week setback turns into 1 month. The longer Bedrosian is out, the better odds Bud Norris keeps the closing job upon Bedrosian’s return.

Oakland Athletics

Sean Doolittle is set to return from the Disabled List today after missing just over a month with shoulder inflammation. Doolittle was part of Oakland’s closer-by-committee prior to his injury, then Santiago Casilla took full ownership of the role. Casilla has been adequate holding down the closer role for Oakland, although I expect the A’s to return to the committee-style closer once Doolittle gets a couple of clean appearances under his belt.

Atlanta Braves

After blowing a save last Friday, Jim Johnson bounced back the following day with two scoreless innings and the win in an extra inning affair against the Reds. Johnson has had some rough patches in prior years, but he’s been more than adequate in 2017, along with Braves middle relievers Arodys Vizcaino and Jose Ramirez. Their season stats are in the table below.

Player IP K BB HR ERA WHIP Saves Holds Blown Saves Jim Johnson 24.2 27 5 1 3.65 1.01 11 0 4 Arodys Vizcaino 24.1 29 4 4 2.22 0.95 0 12 1 Jose Ramirez 24.2 21 7 2 2.19 0.85 0 9 3

Three Stars of the Week

Raisel Iglesias, Cin – Iglesias pitched five innings, recording three saves, one win, and eight strikeouts. He allowed just one hit and one walk over this stretch.

Chris Devenski, Hou – Five innings, six strikeouts, two holds and a win. Devenski continues his middle relief dominance in 2017.

Pedro Strop, ChC – In four innings, Strop recorded two wins and one hold. He struck out three and allowed one hit.

That’s all for this week. Enjoy the weekend and see you all next Friday.

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(Click the RED link below to listen)

Major League Fantasy Baseball Radio Show: Join Corey D Roberts, and Kyle Amore live on Sunday June 4th, 2017 from 7-9pm EST for episode #89 of Major League Fantasy Baseball Radio. We are a live broadcast that will take callers at 323-870-4395. Press 1 to speak with the host. We will the latest information in the world of fantasy baseball.

Our guests this week are Craig Mish, Craig Mish is the host of a fantasy baseball show on Sirius Satelitte Radio along with Jim Bowden from 9-11am EST Monday through Friday. Craig is also the host for a show on Sirius every Sunday morning with FSWA Hall of Famer Lenny Melnick from 7-10am EST.

You can find our shows on I-Tunes. Just search for Major League Fantasy Sports in the podcasts section. For Android users go to “Podcast Republic,” then download that app, and search for “Major League Fantasy Sports Show”

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

(Click the RED link below to listen)

Major League Fantasy Baseball Radio Show: Join Corey D Roberts, and Kyle Amore live on Sunday June 11th, 2017 from 7-9pm EST for episode #90 of Major League Fantasy Baseball Radio. We are a live broadcast that will take callers at 323-870-4395. Press 1 to speak with the host. We will the latest information in the world of fantasy baseball.

Our guest this week is Mark Bloom better known in the industry as Dr Roto of scoutfantasy.com. He also hosts a show every morning Monday through Friday on Sirius from 7-9am EST on the Fantasy Sports Radio Station XM 89/Sirius 210.

You can find our shows on I-Tunes. Just search for Major League Fantasy Sports in the podcasts section. For Android users go to “Podcast Republic,” then download that app, and search for “Major League Fantasy Sports Show”

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