Mound Musings: Checking in on Some Unsettled Bullpens

Before we start looking at bullpens, I want to mention something I am really looking forward to. Tonight, August 12, we get to watch the Chicago White Sox and the New York Yankees play a game in the middle of a cornfield in Iowa. It's a celebration of the amazing movie – Field of Dreams. That's what I'll be doing. It should be a pretty special night.

Bullpens can be constantly evolving

Okay, on with the subject at hand. The trading deadline has come and gone. We're in mid-August, so only about six or seven weeks to go in the 2021 regular season. And, pitching is getting thin. Winning and losing could hinge on which teams can cobble together an effective bullpen and make it to the finish line intact.

For fantasy teams, there could be points to pursue in the saves category. Closer roles are generally set for the best MLB teams, but there are a lot of teams that either didn't have a reliable closer, or traded their closer away at the deadline leaving a void in their bullpens. Ideally, teams prefer to have fairly specific roles with regard to their daily bullpen assignments. In a perfect world, the starting pitcher would provide six, or better yet, seven strong innings, whereupon the set-up guys would pitch the seventh and/or eighth inning before turning the game over to the closer to finish things. It just doesn't happen like that these days. That's why a typical bullpen has six or seven available pitchers, and, from a fantasy perspective, the roles of the bullpen pitchers can be almost endlessly adapting and evolving. Today's closer can be tomorrow's fourth-inning mop-up guy, while last week's unheralded arm could be working in a key set-up role next week. With relief pitching, it's almost always a, "what have you done for me lately" game.

That's our goal. Let's see if we can sort out some of the most unsettled bullpens.

Here are some bullpen scenarios to keep an eye on:

Diamondbacks – For a moment in time, Joakim Soria was reliving the glory days. He did a reasonably good job closing, well enough to get the Blue Jays interested, so now he's in Toronto. The D'backs are hoping for something similar from 37-year-old Tyler Clippard, but list me as a doubter. To be honest, there is no one on this roster I feel comfortable labelling a closer. Stefan Crichton is not the answer, and Taylor Clarke isn't much better. I still like J.B. Bukauskas since Arizona converted him to a fulltime relief pitcher, but he hasn't been healthy or effective, so he remains a "maybe someday" guy.

Orioles – Hunter Harvey remains the best option to close for Baltimore, but only when he is healthy, and that hasn't been the case in a very long time. In the meantime, Cole Sulser is probably the interim closer. He would be better in a set-up role, but he's not totally over his head, so he could be a consideration if you are desperate for saves. Dillon Tate has some pedigree (a former first-round pick) but he's better suited to more versatile usage, and lefty Tanner Scott might marginally slip into the mix once his knee is deemed healthy. 

Cubs – When you wave goodbye to a very good bullpen featuring Andrew Chafin and Ryan Tepera setting up Craig Kimbrel, it's hard to be optimistic. When you look at what's left, it's difficult to care. This is a poor bullpen on a very bad team, and I have problems seeing more than a handful of wins the rest of this year. But hey, the 1962 Mets won 40 games. The "best" option is probably Rowan Wick, but he has been hurt and hasn't pitched at the MLB level this season. He was just activated. Rex Brothers has a handful of career saves, while Codi Heuer and Dan Winkler will probably see some (rare) higher-leverage innings, but I really don't think this is the place for your fantasy team to look for help.

Royals – Where is Josh Staumont when you need him? Earlier this season, he was in the mix for high-leverage innings, collecting five saves and five holds. Then a shaky June put things on hold. Greg Holland took over most of the closing duties with Scott Barlow occasionally stepping in, but Holland has had mixed (that might be generous) results, and Barlow is best suited for a more versatile role. Holland is not the future, and probably shouldn't be the present, so perhaps it's time to have another look at Staumont who has been better the past few weeks. If not, I think Barlow could be pushed into more late-inning work. 

Pirates – Prior to the trading deadline, most assumed that Richard Rodriguez would be dealt, and David Bednar would step in as the team's new closer. The plan was implemented. Rodriguez is now in Atlanta, and Bednar got a save chance the day after the deadline. He blew the save, and Chris Stratton got the next chance. He blew that one, too, and then was rocked for four runs in a non-save situation. Bednar is probably still the guy, but he hasn't instilled a lot of confidence lately. There just isn't much available as alternatives. I did see a Pirates farmhand – Tahnaj Thomas – who has been starting, but looks like a potential late-inning reliever. He's a longshot, though, pitching at High-A.

Rays – I'm not sure there is much I can say about the Rays deployment of their bullpen that hasn't already been said. They are different. Way different. There is no "closer" in their bullpen, they are all closers at one time or another. By my count, eight different pitchers have collected a save for the Rays in 2021. That sounds like a lot, but they had 12 different "closers" last year. There is still time. Nick Anderson should be back from the IL soon (and he has been the closest thing to a real closer), plus JT Chargois doesn't have one yet, and a long reliever could always log a three-inning save. Chasing saves here is beyond frustrating. Pick up Anderson if you must, but don't break the bank.

Rangers – Ian Kennedy moved to Philadelphia at the deadline, and he didn't leave much behind to finish games for the Rangers. Joely Rodriguez probably would have gotten the first shot but he's now with the Yankees. That leaves the 33-year-old journeyman, Spencer Patton and maybe the occasionally but not consistently effective Josh Sborz as the favorites for saves. Even Brett Martin could get in on the act. Bottomline: None of them should be so much as a consideration for the ninth inning. Maybe they'll let Joe Barlow audition? He can miss bats – he misses the strike zone too often, too – and he looks like a better option than the others listed here.  

Some Notable Rotation Ramblings:

• As I expected, Jameson Taillon has quietly returned to his pre-injury form. The other members of the Yankees rotation get more attention, but Taillon has allowed just six earned runs over his last seven starts (43 innings), which translates to a 1.25 ERA. And, he's still not quite one hundred percent.
• Yes, San Diego's Blake Snell has to be high on the list of frustrations for fantasy owners this year. However, just when you think it's time to pull the plug, he pops up with seven shutout innings including 12 strikeouts. It was against Arizona, but still, he is capable of that on any given night. Predicting which night is the trick.
• The White Sox placed Carlos Rodon on the IL with shoulder fatigue. I'm hoping this is more of a precautionary move to lighten his workload since he pitched just 42 innings over the past two seasons. My guess is we will see more of this going forward whenever teams think they can afford the break.
• Every season a few pitchers can't seem to get a break. Aaron Nola is at the top of that list in 2021. The Phillies ace has generally looked good, but a bad pitch, a bad fielding play or just bad luck has haunted him. In his last start, he spun four, one hit, scoreless innings. Then the skies opened up and it rained, and rained.
• Boston (and fantasy owners) will celebrate the long-awaited return of Chris Sale this weekend, but don't set your expectations unrealistically high. I expect him to be effective, but he hasn't pitched in two years, so if he can get five innings you have to be thrilled. He'll help the Red Sox, but I'm not sure how much this year.

Endgame Odyssey:

Aroldis Chapman is on the IL, leaving the Yankees bullpen in a state of flux. I really think they would prefer Zach Britton to handle the ninth, but he has been dinged up most of the season (just 15 IP), so Jonathan Loaisiga and maybe Chad Green might help cover until Chapman returns. Similarly, Milwaukee has also had to adjust with Josh Hader on the Covid IL. Devin Williams got off to a shaky start this year, but he appears to be back in form now. With Taylor Rogers out for the season, the Twins have turned once more to Alex Colome. He struggled badly early in the season, but the results this time have been pretty positive. James Karinchak and Emmanuel Clase have been sharing the closing duties in Cleveland for most of the season, but Clase (the better choice IMHO) may be emerging as the primary guy. There has been much shuffling in Cincinnati this year, but after missing about six weeks with an elbow strain, Lucas Sims is back, and my guess is we will see him closing again fairly soon.