Garrett Whitlock has once again been amazing as a reliever this season and as a Red Sox fan, I hope we see him as the teams closer through the remainder of his contract (potentially through 2028). In 31.1 IP this season out of the bullpen, Whitlock has a 25.9% K-BB rate and 2.75 xFIP while keeping his ERA and WHIP at a cool 1.44 and 0.61 respectfully. He now has 104.2 innings as a reliever in his career (not a small sample size) with a 1.81 ERA and 0.96 WHIP. I know the three pitch mix and his contract make him a tempting cheap rotation option, but that contract also looks really really good with him as the teams closer moving forward.
Notes
- Clay Holmes is set to return Monday and while the Yankees bullpen could desperately use the help, I’m not convinced that he will just go back to his first half self right away. The back injury certainly could have played into his recent issues, but I do worry that the book may be out on him and hitters have adapted to where they aren’t chasing his stuff out of the zone anymore.
- Adam Ottavino has quietly had a great season for the Mets this year, with it being his best season since at least 2018 and perhaps even the best of his career. His 2.94 xFIP and 2.59 SIERA are the best of his career in a season where he’s pitched more than 27 innings and his 23.2% K-BB rate is the second highest of his career.
- While there isn’t anything that sticks out in Kyle Finnegan’s profile to get excited about (plus the walk rate and hard hit metrics are concerning), he has still been a fairly steady presence at the back end of that Nationals bullpen and appears to be pulling away from Carl Edwards Jr. in their closer committee.
- Brooks Raley and José Alvarado each had 3 SV+HLD’s this past week to lead all relievers. I talked about both relievers yesterday in the Hold Up, but I’ll reiterate how nice it is to see Alvarado back on the list again and really hope his control stays in check for the rest of the year. If he’s right and they can get Seranthony Domínguez back, this bullpen should lead them to a playoff spot.
| PITCHER | TIER | NOTES |
|---|---|---|
| David Bednar | 2-3 | Back. Could start throwing soon, but in no rush. |
| Ryan Pressly | 2-3 | Neck. Will likely only miss 15 days and could return the week of September 8th. |
| Seranthony Domínguez | 2-4 | Tricep. Concerning given his injury history but the team seems confident in a min stay. |
| Nick Anderson | 3-4 | UCL. Still not ready to return yet, and is now in AAA on a non-rehab assignment. |
| Drew Pomeranz | 3-4 | Flexor Tendon. Rehab has moved to AAA (8/17) where he figures to spend a couple of weeks. |
| Blake Treinen | 3-5 | Shoulder. Expected to return next weekend barring no setbacks |
| Scott Effross | 3-5 | Shoulder. Strain is considered “small” so the hope is this is a min stay. |
| J.P. Feyereisen | 3-5 | Shoulder. Close to facing hitters, could return in a month. |
| Aaron Bummer | 4-6 | Lat. Threw a bullpen on 8/18 and could start a rehab assignment shortly. |
| Tanner Houck | 4-6 | Back. Throwing again, but still a long way from returning. |
Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)
Diego Castillo is a fine pitcher for SV/H formats so long as you don’t actually care about saves (6 total, last one 7/14) or holds (5 total, last one 8/10).
Sleeping on Pallante