Bullpen Banter - Change in Detroit and Clarity in Milwaukee?

I don’t know what’s worse, injuries or confusion. The good news is that we only have one injury this week, but there are plenty of situations that have more grey area than anything else when it comes to saves. Let’s take a trip around the league at the latest bullpen news.

Bullpen Banter - Prospects LiveProspects LiveRay Kuhn

Detroit Tigers

Kyle Finnegan (Photo Credit: Junfu Han)

Things were going along smoothly, or smooth enough, for Kenley Jansen in the closer’s role for the Tigers this season. However, the baseball gods decided they hadn’t had enough injuries, so Jansen is now on the Injured List with a groin injury. While it doesn’t appear to be a lengthy stay, saves are now up for grabs in Detroit’s bullpen. With a 4.80 ERA and seven saves, it’s likely, although not a certainty, that Jansen gets his job back upon his return.

To fill in, the Tigers have a former All-Star closer in reserve. It’s been an interesting season for Kyle Finnegan. Detroit, at least initially, tipped its hand by giving its first save opportunity to Finnegan on Friday. Of course, Finnegan promptly blew the save, but in fairness to the right-hander, he wasn’t exactly hit hard. The problem is that it was his fourth blown save of the season. Despite that, Finnegan still has a 2.03 ERA, but his 1.58 WHIP has raised some concern. Will Vest is another capable option in reserve, but he’s also struggled this season. Unless we see otherwise, Finnegan is still the target.

Milwaukee Brewers

Trevor Megill (Photo Credit: mlb.com)

Are we going to go back and forth on this all season? Both Trevor Megill and Abner Uribe are capable of picking up saves, but both are also prone to struggles. At this moment, it appears that the job belongs to Megill. While Uribe might be more talented, he’s also more prone to blowing up. Megill has now picked up the last two saves for Milwaukee, and that’s what we have to go with. Based on how the season has gone, it wouldn’t surprise me if this situation flips back the other way by next week. For that reason, I’m going to try to hold onto Uribe one more week, but unfortunately, that might not be possible. Megill is now up to four straight save opportunities for the Brewers, and if we look at his last 15 appearances, the job should belong to him. Over the past month and a half, Megill has allowed just two runs while striking out 25 batters in 20 innings this season.

Los Angeles Angels

Kirby Yates (Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports)

The intention all along seemed to be that Kirby Yates was going to be the closer for the Angels. After a Spring Training injury and a slight detour, it appears that we have reached our destination. His usage appears to match that of a closer, and Yates does have one save with a 3.68 ERA. As with most closers, we’ll get the strikeouts, but the walks could become a concern. The biggest stressor, though, is the lack of save opportunities for Yates with the Angels. He is healthy, and the last two months have proven that there is no competition for the role.

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