Reliever Ranks – 9/2

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

 

• Only eight games comprised Thursday’s slate, so 14 teams were off, including NYY, TBR, TOR, MIN, HOU, LAA, PHI, MIA, CIN, CHC, PIT, STL, SDP, and SFG.
• All 30 teams are back in action today.
• Luis Cessa will start for the Reds again today. As a reliever most of the year, he doesn’t figure to throw many innings. So the bullpen should be busy, though there isn’t an obvious option for who the Reds will use as their pen has worked hard lately.

 

• With rosters expanding yesterday, a slew of players made their way to MLB rosters. None of the relievers called up made the chart, but there will be a lot more arms throwing for teams down the stretch.
• The Dodgers placed Brusdar Graterol on the 15-day IL with right elbow inflammation. Graterol only made four appearances since his last IL activation. We don’t know how serious the injury is at this point but suffice it is to say he probably won’t be of much use for fantasy the rest of the regular season. We removed him from the grid and replaced him with Caleb Ferguson. However, that may change tomorrow due to the next bullet point.
• Blake Treinen is supposed to be activated today after missing most of the season with a shoulder injury. The Dodgers are likely to take it slow with him at the outset, with their eyes on October already.
• Matt Wisler was activated off the IL by Tampa after being sidelined since July 27 with a neck strain. Wisler has been effective this year with a 2.36 ERA, five holds, and a save, so he could find his way back into the mix for holds in the Rays’ pen.
• The D’Backs DFA’d Noé Ramirez and activated Keynan Middleton and Kyle Nelson. Ramirez has been dropped from the grid, with Nelson sliding into his spot as a candidate for holds.

 

 

SEA 7 – DET 0

• Logan Gilbert dominated the Tigers over six innings, allowing only two hits while striking out nine. He left with a six-run lead, so his bullpen didn’t need to stress. Matt Brash, the freshly-activated Matthew Boyd, and Penn Murfee pitched a scoreless inning each to complete the shutout.
• Eduardo Rodriguez did not fare as well as Gilbert, getting torched for six runs (five earned) over only four innings of work. Garrett Hill picked him up and covered three innings before handing off to Andrew Chafin and José Cisnero. Cisnero did not have an easy time getting through the ninth, allowing another run to score off three singles and a walk.

 

CHW 7 – KCR 1

• Johnny Cueto put out another flashback performance, pitching into the sixth inning and winning his seventh game of the year. Reynaldo López came on for him with one out in the sixth and finished the inning. The Sox trotted out four more relievers over the next three innings, none of whom allowed a run. The list includes Kendall Graveman, Jake Diekman, Jimmy Lambert, and Matt Foster (who was just recalled). As Chicago pulled away late, there were no holds or saves recorded. Graveman has pitched in two straight and may not be available this evening.
• Daniel Mengden was called up to make his first start of the year and couldn’t make it through three innings. He turned it over to the bullpen down 3-1 with two outs and two men on base. Collin Snider threw three pitches in the game to record the last out of the third. Brad Keller started the fourth and lasted until the sixth when he was yanked after a walk, two singles, and a run scored. Jose Cuas finished the inning, allowing one more run to come in (charged to Keller). Anthony Misiewicz got the honor of closing out the final two frames. He was impressive in that all six of the outs he recorded were via strikeout. Unfortunately, he also surrendered an AJ Pollock two-run bomb in the eighth.

 

NYM 5 – LAD 3

• Chris Bassitt held the Dodgers to two runs over six innings and left with a slim 3-2 lead. Trevor May followed with a scoreless seventh, and Buck Showalter called on Edwin Díaz in the eighth to face the heart of the Dodgers lineup. Diaz allowed a run, but the Mets had scored two more in the bottom of the seventh, so they were still up by two. Adam Ottavino closed the game out with a 1-2-3 ninth to earn his third save, while May and Diaz were credited with holds. Diaz is still the primary ninth-inning option for the Mets, but we’ve seen that Showalter is willing to use him earlier in the game if the situation warrants it. He and Ottavino have pitched in two straight, so Seth Lugo or Mychal Givens could be an option for a vulture save tonight.
• Clayton Kershaw returned from the IL and pitched well, allowing only one run over five innings. The Dodgers bullpen, on the other hand, was not as effective. Chris Martin relieved him in the sixth and allowed a couple of runs to score. Caleb Ferguson duplicated the effort in the seventh, and that was all she wrote for L.A. New Dodger Heath Hembree threw a scoreless eighth, in case you’re keeping score.

 

WAS 7 – OAK 5 (10 innings)

• Nationals starter Paolo Espino gave them five innings and left with the score tied at one. Víctor Arano got through the sixth, but Jake McGee lasted only four batters in the seventh before giving way to Carl Edwards Jr., who finished the inning. Two runs scored, both charged to McGee, though one was generated off Edwards. The following two Washington pitchers, Erasmo Ramírez and Kyle Finnegan, threw scoreless frames, getting the team to extra innings. Hunter Harvey took the mound in the tenth and allowed two A’s to score, including the unearned inherited runner, but still recorded his first win of 2022 after the Nats came back in the bottom of the inning. Finnegan and Edwards have gone back-to-back. If a save opportunity arises tonight, Steve Cishek could get the nod.
• Ken Waldichuk made his MLB debut for Oakland and pitched well, allowing only one run over four and two-thirds innings. With trouble brewing in the fifth, Joel Payamps was called upon to get the final out. He succeeded and pitched another inning and two-thirds before needing Sam Moll to finish the seventh after getting into trouble of his own. Moll also got the first two outs of the eighth, earning a hold, but left with a runner on second and handed off to A.J. Puk. Puk immediately gave up a single, which tied the game, but finished the inning and threw a scoreless ninth. Norge Ruiz came on in the tenth with a chance for a save, but Joey Meneses shattered those dreams with a walk-off three-run HR. Puk tossed 27 pitches in this one, so he’s questionable for tonight. Domingo Acevedo could have a shot at a vulture save if Puk isn’t good to go.

 

BAL 3 – CLE 0

• Kyle Bradish went seven shutout innings for the Orioles and walked away with his third win. Cionel Pérez recorded his 21st hold of 2022 with a perfect eighth, and Félix Bautista notched his 11th save with a scoreless ninth. Bautista and Perez have pitched back-to-back, but neither has a high pitch count across the two outings, so they may still be available tonight. If not, Dillon Tate or Joey Krehbiel could get a save opportunity.
• The Guardians wasted a strong effort by Shane Bieber, who struck out 11 over his seven innings. He also allowed three solo HRs, so weird game for him. Enyel De Los Santos and Bryan Shaw pitched the eighth and ninth without much drama.

 

BOS 9 – TEX 8

• Rich Hill sailed through the first four innings, only allowing one run. But he ran out of steam in the fifth. With one run in and two on, he was relieved by John Schreiber, who couldn’t keep his inherited runners from scoring. Kaleb Ort threw a scoreless sixth, but Zach Kelly and Eduard Bazardo were both touched for two runs in the seventh and eighth. Jeurys Familia allowed only a harmless single in the ninth and walked away the winner after the Boston offense rallied in the bottom of the inning.
• Glenn Otto was up 4-2 heading into the sixth, but a lead-off HR by Alex Verdugo cut the lead to one. That was it for Otto, who was replaced by Jésus Tinoco. Tinoco, who was just recalled, pitched two shutout innings and earned his first hold of the year. Matt Moore came on for the eighth and lasted only five batters before Boston had cut the lead to three. Jose LeClerc picked him up and averted further damage, earning a hold for his efforts. The Rangers had to be confident heading into the bottom of the ninth with a three-run lead and their closer, Jonathan Hernández, on the hill. But Hernandez would only record one out while issuing three walks (one intentional), three singles, and a double. The final blow came on Rob Refsnyder’s walk-off single.

 

ATL 3 – COL 0

• Spencer Strider continued to make a strong case for rookie-of-the-year, throwing eight innings with an incredible 16 strikeouts. That’s two an inning for those of you who are math-challenged. It also means two-thirds of his outs came via the K. But anyway, Kenley Jansen pitched a clean ninth and earned his 31st save of the year. Jansen has gone in two straight, so Raisel Iglesias could be called on if a save opportunity arises tonight.
• Chad Kuhl couldn’t make it through the fifth inning after pitching well through four. Justin Lawrence got the last out of the inning and threw a scoreless sixth as well. Dinelson Lamet and Chad Smith finished the game with clean innings, but no comeback was forthcoming.

 

ARI 5 – MIL 0

• Merrill Kelly continued his underappreciated 2022 by posting seven shutout innings en route to his 12th win. Caleb Smith kept the shutout intact by not allowing a baserunner over the final two innings.
• Brandon Woodruff had his worst outing since May, giving up five runs in less than six innings of work. The final blow came off a Josh Rojas double that knocked him out of the game down 5-0. Brent Suter threw three pitches to finish the sixth, and the just-recalled Luis Perdomo threw the final two innings.

 

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

 

Photos by Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Doug Carlin (@Bdougals on Twitter)