Welcome back to the latest edition of our Reliever Ranks series! This will bring you up-to-date bullpen depth charts every morning for the day’s games and makes for an excellent tool for those looking to stream saves or wins. This series runs seven days a week, so check in every morning to get your daily bullpen fix!
Notes
Transaction and Schedule Notes
- Yesterday’s Rays-Red Sox matchup was postponed to Monday due to rain, but the other 28 teams got their games in despite the weather. Today, it’s a 16-game slate as TBR and BOS suit up for a (planned) double-header, starting at 1:10PM EST.
- The Marlins placed Matt Barnes on the IL with a left hip impingement.
- The Rays traded for reliever Robert Stephenson, sending prospect Alika Williams to the Pirates. Stephenson has been mediocre in 2023 (5.14 ERA), but it’s the Rays, so expect improvement.
- The Pirates demoted Duane Underwood Jr. to Triple-A.
- The Royals placed Amir Garrett on the IL (retroactive to 5/29/2023).
Stream of the Day
- With 18 innings of baseball on the docket, the TBR-BOS double-header should be ripe with streaming opportunities:
- On the Boston side, Corey Kluber is expected to make a less-than-triumphant return to the rotation and start the night game. He hasn’t pitched since May 21, after which he and his 6.21 ERA were removed from starting duties. I think the absolute max for him tonight is five innings unless they leave him in on the wrong side of the blowout. If it’s close, I’m looking to Kutter Crawford throw multiple innings. In the late innings, your best hope for a save vulture is Chris Martin, although that will obviously require an unlikely two SVOs against the league-leading Rays.
- For the Rays, things are a bit in flux. Bulk arm Josh Fleming is all but on the IL with elbow inflammation, so there’s not a surefire bet on who will follow opener Trevor Kelley in game one. I’d expect Cooper Criswell to go three to four innings, but it’s a bit of a crapshoot – he was great in his last outing against the Dodgers, but that followed a five ER outing vs. the Brewers. With Tyler Glasnow making just his second start returning from injury in the nightcap, there will likely be lots of bullpen innings to go around. Fortunately for the Rays, the pen is well-rested, but that makes guessing at bullpen usage (especially in Tampa Bay) a bit impossible.
Yesterday’s Performances
STL 5 – PIT 7
- Giovanny Gallegos took his third loss of the season as the Cardinals continue to struggle to lock down the late innings. He gave up four earned runs in just two-thirds of an inning as part of a six-run seventh. Andre Pallante allowed two in the inning as well, while Génesis Cabrera pitched a clean eighth. Gallegos had found himself seeing more of the save share with Ryan Helsley struggling to find his 2022 form, but this will likely halt that rise. In fact, Helsley now has the best ERA in the entire bullpen at 3.52 – if someone on the team can go on a run, I think the closer role would be there for the taking.
- The Pirates needed five arms out of the pen in this one, but Rob Zastryzny, Cody Bolton, Yohan Ramirez, Colin Holderman, and David Bednar combined for five shutout innings. Ramirez took the win, while Holderman secured his 11th hold and Bednar his 11th save.
COL 7 – KC 2
- Justin Lawrence secured the rare, one-out, five-run lead save last night. Huh? With said five-run lead, Daniel Bard was brought into the ninth to close things out. After a strikeout, walk, lineout, single, and another walk, he’d loaded the bases, and Lawrence was brought in to get the final out of the game, which he did on five pitches. But because the on-deck hitter constituted the tying run, those five pitches netted him his first save of the year. The more you know. What’s more interesting is whether this represents a changing of the guard in the back of the Rockies pen. Closer Pierce Johnson hasn’t been solid all season (6.85 ERA), and he’s now given up seven ER in his last four appearances. Meanwhile, Lawrence has a sub-three ERA over 1o more innings. Both pitched on Thursday as well, although Johnson did throw more. Lawrence will probably be off tonight, but it’ll be interesting to see who gets the next SVO after that.
- Carlos Hernández took the loss for the Royals out of the pen, serving up four runs in the top of the eighth. Nick Wittgren followed and allowed two of his own. Earlier in the game, Taylor Clarke (7) and Jose Cuas (2) recorded holds.
DET 0 – CWS 3
- Kendall Graveman recorded his fifth save of the year, striking out one in a clean inning. Keynan Middleton got the win while pitching the sixth and Reynaldo López and Joe Kelly both recorded holds. This was the first save recorded by the White Sox since Liam Hendriks‘ return – he hasn’t pitched since Monday. With the team’s best arms all throwing last night, I wouldn’t see surprised to see him used tonight, although it seems likely not the ninth (for now).
- Pitching from behind, Will Vest, Chasen Shreve, and Mason Englert combined for the final three innings for the Tigers.
Best of the Rest
- Jhoan Duran lit up the radar guns (104.6!) en route to his eighth save of the year over the Guardians, striking out three in 1.2 IP.
- Jordan Romano secured his 14th save, striking out one in one inning.
- Mark Leiter Jr. struck out the side for his third save, while co-closer Adbert Alzolay recorded a hold in the eighth.
- Miguel Castro converted the SVO for the D-Backs for his sixth save, while co-closer Andrew Chafin hasn’t been used since Monday.
Bullpen Depth Charts
Also, if you’re looking for a detailed list or ranking of RPs, check out Rick Graham’s weekly pieces:
The Hold Up: Ranking the Top 100 Relievers for Holds Every Thursday
Closing Time: Ranking the Top 30 Closers
Top 100 Relievers for Save+Hold Leagues