Jordan Romano landed on the IL this past week due to elbow inflammation, but it does sound like it is relatively minor and he could begin throwing again as soon as this weekend. In his absence, Yimi García expects to see the majority of the save chances, and rightfully so as he holds a 1.57 ERA (2.58 SIERA), 0.74 WHIP, and 33.7% strikeout rate over 23 innings this season. The question now becomes, can García keep the role if he continues to perform well while Romano is out and the answer to that should be yes. How the Blue Jays feel about that remains to be seen, but this team is in turmoil right now and can’t afford to keep rolling out Romano at less than 100% in the closer role if they are still trying to contend this season.
However, if they do wave the white flag, they are in last place in the division after all, and end up as sellers at the deadline, García will likely be their biggest trade chip (assuming they don’t move Bichette and Vlad Jr.) and we probably will see Romano closing out games (if healthy) for the last two months of the season. The situation should become more clear in a month or so, but for now, I’d be rostering García wherever I can given that he has been this team’s best reliever all year (by a wide margin) and does have the upside and closer experience to stick in this role.
Notes
- There are few actual changes this week to the list, but let’s talk about Tier 3 here, because this is the tier that is full of allegedly “safe” closers, but every one of them scares me a little and I would totally understand preferring a Tier 4 option (especially Alvarado or Megill) over one of them.
- Craig Kimbrel has certainly righted the ship since tentatively losing his closer role, as he now has gone 7.2 innings without allowing a baserunner, also striking out 10 and converting five saves. It’s a small sample size and I’d be surprised if we don’t see another rough stretch from him at some point this season. For now though, you’re glad to roster him.
- Paul Sewald has been excellent since returning from the IL, allowing a home run in his first game back but zero runs since. Sewald’s never going to be a big swing-and-miss reliever, but he does have 8 strikeouts over 8.1 innings and there really isn’t much to complain about with Sewald at the moment.
- Camilo Doval has been another closer that just hasn’t lived up to expectations, as he has a 17.6% walk rate over his past 17.1 IP, and that only comes with a 22.4% strikeout rate making his 4.7% strikeout-minus-walk rate the second lowest amongst closers over that span ahead of only Alexis Díaz. Over that span, Doval has a 4.67 SIERA and 1.85 WHIP (highest WHIP amongst closers).
- David Bednar only allowed three earned runs and had a 1.05 WHIP in May after a tumultuous April, but what do the underlying metrics suggest about Bednar’s May? Well, he was still struggling to miss bats with just 18.4% strikeout, 9.2% swinging-strike, and 23.8% CSW rates, with the swinging-strike rate being the second lowest amongst all active closers. He also held a 4.62 xFIP for the month, fifth worst amongst closers. The stuff still is there for Bednar to turn things around, but it’s been a concerning start to the season to say the least.
And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series
Watch List
| Rank | Pitcher | Team | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Jeff Hoffman | PHI | likely 2nd in line for saves in committee |
| 2. | Hunter Harvey | WAS | Way better than Finnegan skills wise |
| 3. | Griffin Jax | MIN | Apparently Duran won’t see every save |
| 4. | Fernando Cruz | CIN | shaky lately, but best RP in that bullpen |
| 5. | Mark Leiter Jr. | CHC | Better than Neris, but less experience |
| 6. | Chad Green | TOR | secondary option with Romano out |
| 7. | Jeremiah Estrada | SD | could see saves if Suarez is HLR guy |
| 8. | Adam Ottavino | NYM | Who knows who gets next save chance |
| 9. | Alex Faedo | DET | has been steady in the back end… |
| 10. | A.J. Puk | MIA | back in the pen where he excels |
| Rank | Pitcher | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emmanuel ClaseT1 | - |
| 2 | Josh Hader | - |
| 3 | Andrés Muñoz | +1 |
| 4 | Mason MillerT2 | -1 |
| 5 | Ryan Helsley | - |
| 6 | Evan Phillips | - |
| 7 | Pete Fairbanks | - |
| 8 | Jhoan Duran | - |
| 9 | Clay Holmes | - |
| 10 | Craig KimbrelT3 | +5 |
| 11 | Paul Sewald | +2 |
| 12 | Robert Suarez | - |
| 13 | Camilo Doval | -3 |
| 14 | David Bednar | -3 |
| 15 | Raisel Iglesias | -1 |
| 16 | James McArthur | - |
| 17 | Kirby Yates | - |
| 18 | José AlvaradoT4 | +1 |
| 19 | Trevor Megill | +1 |
| 20 | Tanner Scott | +1 |
| 21 | Yimi García | +UR |
| 22 | Kyle FinneganT5 | +2 |
| 23 | Kenley Jansen | - |
| 24 | Michael Kopech | -2 |
| 25 | Alexis Díaz | - |
| 26 | Carlos Estévez | - |
| 27 | Jason Foley | - |
| 28 | Reed Garrett | - |
| 29 | Héctor Neris | - |
| 30 | Jalen Beeks | - |