The Orioles placed Félix Bautista on the IL today, putting this bullpen in flux for the next week and potentially longer. Bautista was unlikely to go the entire season without missing some time as he comes back from Tommy John surgery, so he’ll take some time off now to recover and should return in early/mid August as long as the MRI results come back clean. For now, we probably see some mix of Seranthony Domínguez and Gregory Soto closing out games, but a week from now Yennier Cano may be the only reliever left standing in this bullpen. Domínguez, Soto and Andrew Kittredge are expected to be moved over the next week, leaving Cano as the only roster worthy reliever in that bullpen come August 1st. Keegan Akin could join him in a committee once he returns from the IL but ultimately I don’t know if anyone is worth chasing here at the moment. If Bautista is going to miss more than 15-20 days, then perhaps Cano could be more of an option in save only leagues.
Notes
- Braydon Fisher has really struggled in July as perhaps the book is out on him and his unorthodox approach now. Over his past 4.2 IP Fisher has a 7.71 ERA (7.57 xFIP), 2.36 WHIP and 0% K-BB rate so giving his lack of track record another rough week could send him much further down the list. Former rookie Ben Casparius has also struggled recently and is now dealing with a calf issue. Going back and forth between starter and reliever and long reliever and short reliever may be taking its toll on Casparius but hopefully a few days off and getting him in a set role can help him over the last two months.
- Nick Mears velocity is all of a sudden back to where it was last year, as he has been at 96.4 MPH over his past four outings. It’s resulted in three strikeouts over his 1.2 innings post All-Star break, and yes thats a super small sample size, but if the velo sticks that strikeout rate may as well. Tony Santillan is in the same boats as a reliever who’s pitched well this year despite decreased velocity, but he too has seen an increase over the past four appearances, sitting at 96.8 MPH, which is closer to where he was last season. The results over those four games? 52.9% K and 25.3% SwStr rates.
- Jordan Hicks continues to see high leverage situations for the Red Sox and I still think he’s the favorite for saves here when/if Aroldis Chapman is traded, but should he be? Hicks only has 5.1 IP with Boston, but he has a 5.41 SIERA, 1.69 WHIP and just a 14.8% K rate over that span despite his velocity looking much better (100.5 MPH on average).
- Jon Gray made his debut out of the bullpen for the Rangers this week which is interesting considering the team lost Chris Martin to injury this week and DFA’d Luke Jackson. It was only his first time pitching in an MLB game but I am a little dissapointed that the velocity from Gray was actually lower than where he was at last year as a starter. He’s still worth keeping an eye on as that bullpen is depleted and the Rangers may not feel like it’s wise to pay up for reliever help as their playoff odds currently sit at 32.6%.
