July 23, 2008

With the trade deadline looming and injuries to several players, bullpen situations remain in flux throughout baseball. The first big move went down with Joel Hanrahan becoming the new man in Washington, and Jon Rauch moves to Arizona as another end-game option.

With the trade deadline looming and injuries to several players, bullpen situations remain in flux throughout baseball. Much of this week’s rankings are fluid, and will likely look vastly different in the next few editions depending on the severity of injuries and who moves where. Roles could be switched, and new names will emerge to rack up those all important saves. I’m here to sort it all out for you.

• Francisco Rodriguez continues his ridiculous pace notching his 41^st save of the year on Tuesday. I don’t see how he doesn’t break Bobby Thigpen’s record and break into the 60s if he remains healthy. The only real locks for performance I see for closers this season are K-Rod and the rest of the top six. Everybody else has question marks and issues.

• The first major move actually went down very quietly with Arizona acquiring Jon Rauch. The Diamondbacks are struggling mightily in relief, and Rauch provides a quality option to set-up or possibly close. For now, with Chad Qualls and Tony Pena struggling and Juan Cruz on the DL, Rauch will be pitching in middle relief.

Brandon Lyon however is starting to pitch like, well, Brandon Lyon. He gave up 7 runs to the Dodgers in just 1.2 combined innings in consecutive games somehow getting the save one night and blowing the other. More outings like those could result in Rauch becoming the man, but for now Lyon remains the closer. One concern for Rauch has to be his extreme flyball (career 0.66 GB/FB) tendency now that he moves from spacious RFK/Nationals Park to Chase Field in Arizona.

• As for the team Rauch left behind the new closer appears to be former Dodger prospect Joel Hanrahan. He left the Dodgers as a minor league free agent back in 2006 and started his career over with the Nationals after being plagued by injuries. Hanrahan had been a starter most of his career before being converted into a reliever this year. The move seems to have been a good one as his stuff has played up much better in the pen (fastball is now in the mid-90s).

Hanrahan still has poor ratios for a closer (3.94 ERA, 1.33 WHIP) mostly due to his lack of control and elevated walk rate (4.85 BB/9). He does possess a power arm and is posting solid strikeout numbers. Statistically speaking, he looks almost exactly like a right-handed George Sherrill. Sherrill of course was an All-Star this year and has 29 saves. Hanrahan should be fine.

• Brian Fuentes is more than likely to be moved, and when he does he won’t be closing. His versatility as a power lefty is very valuable and would probably be employed with a new team as a set-up man and situational pitcher. As many as 10 different teams are said to be interesting in acquiring him.

When Fuentes is moved, I believe Manny Corpas will get the first shot at reclaiming his old job. Taylor Bucholz should probably get it on performance, but Colorado is probably trying to rebuild Corpas and build for the future.

• I have finally moved George Sherrill into my top 10 at number 9 due to his consistent performance all year. He was also terrific in the All-Star game. His ratios still aren’t very good but the strikeouts are there and the save numbers have been high and consistent. He is also highly coveted on the trade market. Sherrill is killer on lefties (.178 BAA) and doesn’t reach free agency until 2011. A trade for him would not be a rental which makes him more desirable than Fuentes. If he is moved he likely won’t stay a closer killing his value almost completely.

• Others closers who could potentially move: Damaso Marte, Huston Street, C.J. Wilson

• Mike Gonzalez has performed very well since coming off the disabled list but has recorded just four saves because of a lack of opportunities. Rafael Soriano has just come off the DL himself, and could be in the mix for some saves although the injury risk I believe is much higher with him. Gonzalez is still the main man for Atlanta. This is just a friendly reminder that Soriano is back to pitching, and is a name to watch.

• Takashi Saito’s injury could end his season. The best case scenario at the time of his elbow injury was six weeks which would mean he could be back in early September. That timetable would leave very few games in the regular season. I’m going on the assumption that Jonathan Broxton will the closer from here on out. Broxton has had some problems as a temporary closer in the past, but with added maturity and experience I think he should be fine this time around. He needs to be if the Dodgers are going to make a real playoff push.

• Kerry Wood has missed about a week already with blister issues. The Cubs never put him on the DL (even though they still could retroactive to before the break, he’d be eligible to be activated on Sunday). He will be out a few more days, and will probably be back by next week. Carlos Marmol is the interim closer.

• Troy Percival was activated Sunday and got his first save since returning on Wednesday. Dan Wheeler and Grant Balfour return to middle relief, but I would bet on Percival going back on the DL sometime in the next month or so. More saves for everyone in Tampa!

• J.J. Putz also returned on Sunday, but he will be eased back into closer duties by pitching in middle relief. No word on how long it will be before he’s pitching in the 9^th again, but Brandon Morrow showed he’s certainly capable and maybe even deserves the closer role this season. Yet another muddled situation. I’ll go with Putz for the rest of the year, but not by much. I think both will continue to get saves.