Jake Cousins, Seranthony Domínguez, Kyle Finnegan, Jason Foley, Mason Miller, David Robertson, and Kirby Yates all had three SV+HLDs this past week. Mostly familiar names on the leaderboard for this past week. It’s good to see the likes of Domínguez and Finnegan bounce back after some shaky outings, although Finnegan is still lucky to come out of this week with three saves after allowing six hits and a walk over his three outings. Foley picking up three saves was a bit of a surprise, as he had just seven since the end of April coming into the week.
Notes
- Ryan Pressly, Justin Slaten, Ryan Brasier, John Schreiber, Jorge López, and José Buttó were all added to the list this week. Pressly and Slaten are back from the IL. Brasier and Schreiber are seeing high-leverage work since returning from the IL. Lopez is in the mix for saves with the Cubs and Butto has seen more hold chances lately.
- Andrew Nardi, Dedniel Núñez, Nick Mears, Julian Merryweather, Yimi García, José Alvarado, and Kaleb Ort all fell off the list this week. Nardi, Núñez, Mears, Merryweather, and García all landed on the IL this past week. Alvarado was placed on the restricted list (he is expected to return this season).
- Ryan Helsley is now up to 41 saves, while Emmanuel Clase trails by two with 39 total on the season. Both closers have a shot at 50 saves for the season, which has only happened once over the past eight seasons (Edwin Díaz 57 in 2018). Barring an injury, Helsley’s total should be the most in baseball since Diaz’s 2018 season, and Clase has a very good shot at breaking his career-high of 44 saves from last year.
- Lucas Erceg left last night’s game after taking a comebacker off his throwing hand in an attempt to barehand it. There’s no word on the result of X-rays but if he were to miss time this would be a huge blow to a Royal bullpen that was starting to figure itself out lately. In his absence, I’d imagine James McArthur could wind up back in the closer role, but Matt Quatraro loves John Schreiber in high-leverage spots as well.
And if you want more daily reliever updates, please check out our Reliever Ranks series.
Injured List
| PITCHER | TIER | INJURY. NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| Pete Fairbanks | 2-3 | Lat. Out at least 2-4 weeks but at this point wouldn’t be surprised if it’s season ending. |
| Jordan Romano | 3-4 | Elbow. Underwent arthroscopic surgery and has yet to resume throwing yet. |
| Yimi García | 4-5 | Shoulder. Has already begun throwing in Arizona, so could be a minimum stay. |
| Dedniel Núñez | 5-6 | Forearm. Back on the IL with forearm tightness, does not bode well for rest of season outlook. |
| Nick Mears | 5-6 | Forearm. No timetable yet, but forearms injuries are never good. |
| Julian Merryweather | 5-6 | Knee. Guy can not catch a break, as he previously dealt with a back injury. |
| Liam Hendriks | 5-6 | TJS. Rehab has shifted to AAA, where he has looked good (velo around 95 MPH). Could return next week. |
| Gregory Santos | 5-6 | Bicep. Throwing again in Arizona, but still not timetable to return. |
| Hunter Harvey | 5-6 | Back. Was throwing but suffered a setback. Return remains TBD. |
| Danny Coulombe | 5-6 | Elbow. Resumed throwing off a mound, and could still return in a few weeks. |
| Andrew Nardi | 5-6 | Elbow. No timetable yet, but elbow injuries are never good. |
| Josh Sborz | 5-6 | Shoulder. Began a rehab assignment, hoping he can return in a week or two. |