It’s been a rollercoaster ride for the Mariners bullpen over the past 72 hours, with the team trading away closer Kendall Graveman to the rival Houston Astros on Tuesday and just yesterday were able to make a move to acquire Rays closer Diego Castillo. For those of you in save-only leagues who rushed out to grab or dropped a bunch of FAAB on Paul Sewald after the Graveman move, I do feel for you; but for those in SV+HLD leagues, not a whole lot changes here. Sewald and Drew Steckenrider do get a bump as the Mariners bullpen does open up more for them as they lost Graveman, J.T. Chargois, and Rafael Montero while only adding Castillo and Joe Smith (7.48 ERA, 1.80 WHIP). With the trade deadline today, there’s always a chance for bullpen situations to change drastically, so I will try to provide updates as they happen today, so don’t be surprised if the list looks different at 4 pm EST compared to noon.
Notes
- Despite being in playoff contention and having five prominent relievers on the IL at the moment, the Tampa Bay Rays decided to ship off their closer yesterday (as mentioned above) which shouldn’t really shock anyone since this is the Rays after all. The Rays were able to get J.T. Chargois in the deal, which is another sneaky good addition for them, and someone who could potentially factor into the saves mix until Nick Anderson is ready to return. While losing one of their best relievers seems bad on paper, this bullpen should still be dominant once they get everyone healthy.
- Ryan Tepera moved across town from the Cubs to the White Sox yesterday, a deal that should greatly strengthen the Sox bullpen. While Liam Hendriks and Michael Kopech have been rock solid this season, Aaron Bummer and others in that bullpen have struggled so expect Tepera to slide right into a setup role.
- Brad Hand was moved to the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday, where he assumedly will get a chance to close out games but I’m not sure how long he will hold up in that role. I’m not sure there could have been a worse landing spot for Hand as he now has to deal with a hitter-friendly home ballpark as well as the rest of the AL East ballparks and lineups. I wouldn’t go dumping Jordan Romano in save-only leagues just yet.
- While there will surely be plenty of moves today, the two big relievers who have yet to move are Richard Rodríguez and Ian Kennedy (it’s been reported that Daniel Bard will stay in Colorado). Plenty of teams are still rumored to be in the market for bullpen help, so it’s tough to predict where either of them, or anyone else for that matter, may wind up today. The Phillies are definitely a team to watch as are the Dodgers and Yankees.
- Despite losing out on Max Scherzer, the Padres were able to make a trade with the Nationals last night, acquiring Daniel Hudson to help shore up the back end of their bullpen. Hudson is currently on the IL but should return in the next week or two. In San Diego, I could see Hudson bumping Austin Adams and/or Emilio Pagan out of set-up roles but I’d imagine roles there will be fluid. The Nationals having traded their closer and top setup man will likely now turn to some combination of Kyle Finnegan, Wander Suero, and Tanner Rainey for late-inning duties. Suero has struggled all year and Rainey did not look great yesterday in his first game back from his IL stint…
- …which leaves Finnegan, who was the only reliever to earn four SV+HLD’s this past week. Finnegan has above-average stuff and a pretty impressive slider, but does have some command issues and isn’t a big swing-and-miss guy. However, with the rest of that bullpen struggling, Finnegan should get a chance to run away with the closer job for the rest of the season.
EDIT: 2:20 est – The Cubs have traded Craig Kimbrel to the White Sox, perhaps the last destination we expected for Kimbrel. Kimbrel will probably see occasional save chances but ultimately likely slides into a setup role with Liam Hendriks (3/$54m) remaining the closer. Kimbrel loses a little steam, as do Ryan Tepera and Michael Kopech and the rest of the White Sox bullpen. The Cubs got Codi Heuer as part of the return and he instantly becomes the most interesting arm in that bullpen. He’ll jump back onto the list as a potential closer candidate for the Cubs.
3:00 est – The Phillies have landed Kyle Gibson and Ian Kennedy from the Rangers, which finally gives the Phillies a legitimate closer. It’s not the greatest fit for Kennedy, but getting out of Texas and on to a winning team gives him a significant boost. And he will still be closing out games for his new team which is a huge bonus. In Texas, some combination of Josh Sborz and Spencer Patton should figure into the saves mix.
| PITCHER | TIER | INJURY (EST. RETURN) |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Anderson | 2/3 | Elbow (August) |
| Tejay Antone | 3/4 | Forearm (August) |
| Lucas Sims | 3/4 | Elbow (August) |
| Julian Merryweather | 4/5 | Oblique (late August) |
| J.P. Feyereisen | 4/5 | Shoulder (August) |
| Colin McHugh | 4/5 | Arm (early August) |
| Pete Fairbanks | 4/5 | Shoulder (August) |
| Taylor Rogers | 4/5 | Finger (August) |
| Daniel Hudson | 4/5 | Covid (August) |
| Corey Knebel | 4/5 | Triceps (August) |
| Art Warren | 6/7 | Oblique (late August) |
| Pedro Baez | 6/7 | Shoulder (August) |
Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)
What’s Seth Lugo’s case for consistently being so highly ranked?