Nick Anderson’s return to the Rays bullpen looks to be imminent, as he has received glowing reports from AAA lately and appears to have his velocity appears to be getting better by the day. While there are no reports of when he’ll officially be activated, it feels likely that it happens in the next week. There’s obviously a ton of risk when it comes to rostering Anderson, but at his best, he can be a true league winner so the risk can certainly be worth it. That said, just make sure you can afford to take the risk without hurting yourself in other categories as there is probably a better than 50% chance Anderson provides little to no value the rest of the way. The Rays bullpen is absolutely loaded as is without Anderson, so we could be looking at a bunch of low leverage situations before October as the Rays ease him into the mix.
Notes
- Adam Ottavino has four saves in his last four outings and could figure to stick in the closer role even when Matt Barnes returns to the team. It’s been a rollercoaster of a year for Ottavino, but these past four outings as the teams closer have probably been his best four-game stretch all season. He’s hasn’t allowed a run while giving up just one hit and one walk and striking out seven over those 3.2 innings of work.
- Diego Castillo is set to return to the Mariners bullpen this weekend, but it’s uncertain what his role will be upon activation. Paul Sewald and Drew Steckenrider have really solidified things in the last two innings, so perhaps Castillo slides into a secondary setup role or maybe the team goes back to the three-man closer committee they were utilizing before Castillo’s injury.
- Joe Barlow returned from his blister issue earlier in the week, and also had the first meltdown of his MLB career allowing five runs (two earned) on a hit and two walks. It’s likely just a blip as it was only the second time this year he had walked more than one batter in an outing. The Rangers may be hard-pressed to win games the rest of the way, but Barlow should be a pretty safe option moving forward.
- Andrew Kittredge continues to prove why he was an All-Star this year, as he now has a 1.31 ERA and .89 WHIP for the entire season. He’s also picked up saves in each of his last three appearances, and while that may not continue, he will definitely remain a big part of that bullpen even after Nick Anderson and Matt Wisler return. The Rays relief pitcher factory just continues to churn out aces.
- Daniel Hudson, the Padres big deadline acquisition, has not pitched so well with his new team, finishing August with an ERA of 8.10 and WHIP of 1.80. It’s the last thing a Padres team in free fall needs at the moment after losing Drew Pomeranz and seeing other relievers like Austin Adams and Tim Hill also go up in flames lately. Hudson should still be in the high leverage mix considering the lack of alternatives, but he needs to start pitching well again.
- Four relievers picked up three SV+HLD’s this past week; Andrew Chafin, Edwin Díaz, Giovanny Gallegos, and Archie Bradley. Bradley has been racking up holds at a good rate this season but has been a liability on the mound as of late. Over his last seven innings, Bradley has an ERA of 7.71 and WHIP of 2.14 and owns a putrid 18.2% Whiff rate for the season.
| PITCHER | TIER | INJURY (EST. RETURN) |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Barnes | 3/4 | Covid (next week) |
| Matt Wisler | 4/5 | Finger (next week) |
| Julian Merryweather | 4/5 | Oblique (next two weeks) |
| Art Warren | 5/6 | Oblique (mid September) |
| Nick Sandlin | 5/6 | Shoulder (September) |
| Chris Martin | 5/6 | Elbow (mid-late September) |
| A.J. Cole | 5/6 | Oblique (next two weeks) |
| Evan Marshall | 5/6 | Elbow (next two weeks) |
Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire | Adapted by Justin Paradis (@JustParaDesigns on Twitter)