This is part two of my series on possibly unowned pitchers who might (or might not) get some save chances this season. Last night I looked at the National League; today I'll focus on the A.L.
Los Angeles - Jason Bulger: I only mention Bulger because Rototimes mentioned Bulger in an April 10 note, saying that the "word on the street is that the L.A. skipper (Mike Scioscia) will lean on Jason Bulger" if Francisco Rodriguez went down. My guess is that Scot Shields and Justin Speier would vie for the job, and Bulger would pitch in middle relief. Beware notes like this, no matter how reputable the web site. It wasn't sourced, and it wasn't even cited as pure opinion. Bugler did put up a great K/IP in the minors last year, but Scioscia seems like the kind of manager who'd stick the veterans in there first.
Oakland - Dallas Braden: He's the only healthy A's reliever who is unowned in my league. Between the anticipation of a Huston Street trade, along with the raw talent of pitchers like Santiago Casilla and Joey Devine, savvy owners snatched these guys up fast. There was a silly note at Rotoworld early this morning that said "It's time to start thinking about picking (Casilla) up in AL-only leagues." In serious leagues, Casilla's long gone.
Toronto - Brian Tallet: Tallet is seen as more of a middle reliever in Toronto, and even if both Jeremy Accardo and B.J. Ryan falter, still would have Jason Frasor and Scott Downs ahead of him. Tallet is a lefty, though, and he could pick up a save or two while Ryan is still working his way back to pitching on consecutive days. Tallet keeps the ball in the park, and is a solid pitcher to own in deeper leagues even if he doesn't save any games.
Tampa Bay - Kurt Birkins: Like Street, Troy Percival made enough owners wary that many of his logical back-ups are owned. That leaves guys like Kurt Birkins as your "best" bets in the free agent pool. I mention Birkins because he's struck out a batter an inning in his otherwise unremarkable career. He's not a saves candidate.
Cleveland - Jorge Julio: This is yet another bullpen where the closer was weak so all of the viable set-up candidates are owned. Julio has closed in the past, so he does have that "proven closer" pixie dust on him. But three or four guys are ahead of him in the pecking order. He could leapfrog Jensen Lewis or Rafael Perez, I guess, but he won't slide past Rafael Betancourt or Masa Kobayashi.
Seattle - Arthur Rhodes: Perhaps some of the Mariner relievers will start finding their way back into the free agent pool with yesterday's return of J.J. Putz. For now, Rhodes is another poor best bet: a guy who, like Julio, is long past his best days but once closed games. He'd need a pretty strong 2-3 week run to even be considered if something happened to Putz again.
Baltimore - Radnor Bierd: Finally, a guy on this list who could actually get some saves before the year is out. He's recovered from Tommy John surgery, and is baffling major league hitters with a heavy sinking fastball and a biting slider. He obviously won't pitch this well all year long, but he looks to me like he could be this year's Joakim Soria: a guy who everyone assumes doesn't belong in the majors because of his lack of experience in the high minors who simply knows how to pitch. If George Sherrill is traded, I think this guy has a good chance at nailing down the job in July.
Texas - Franklin German: Another bullpen where most of the CIWs (Joaquin Benoit, Eddie Guardado, Kazuo Fukomori) were taken. I'm only listing German because he once had promise and is the only middle reliever in the Texas pen who wasn't inserted as target practice against the Tigers tonight. German has severe control issues, so his odds of closing are poor.
Boston - David Aardsma: In some MLB bullpens, a lot of pitchers are owned because the closer is mediocre. In other bullpens, the set-ups are owned because they're good, too. The Red Sox pen falls into that camp, which leaves Aardsma as your most promising reliever who probably is unowned. I'm convinced now that Aardsma will have his flashes of greatness but never learn how to pitch. He's either incredibly wild (like he was last year) or he's just throwing meatballs down the middle (like he did last year when he imploded with the White Sox). Throwing gas is a sexy attribute in a pitcher, but if that's all it took, a lot of guys who flamed out in the high minors would have big time careers.
Kansas City - Joel Peralta: Yasuhiko Yabuta has been terrible, and Leo Nunez is likely owned by most teams. That leaves steady, reliable Joel Peralta. He's more of a middle reliever, but could pick up a save or two if Soria gets hurt and Nunez is struggling.
Detroit - Aquilino Lopez: For all of the hand-wringing about how lousy the Tigers bullpen is, this retread has put up some nice numbers. With Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya currently on the DL, Lopez is probably the guy who would get saves if Jones struggled or got hurt, if only because he has the hot hand.
Minnesota - Jesse Crain: Pat Neshek is probably one of the most commonly owned middle relievers in baseball, even in less knowledgeable leagues. Crain and Juan Rincon are probably unowned. Both are middling bets for vulture saves, but I'd lean toward Crain, who I think will improve as the season goes on as his injury recovery is completed.
Chicago - Matt Thornton: CIWs Scott Linebrink and Octavio Dotel would both be in line in front of Thornton. I only mentioned Thornton because Ozzie Guillen had warmed up to the idea of Thornton as a replacement closer last year, so it's possible that Guillen might elevate his opinion of Thornton a little bit as a result.
New York - Brian Bruney: This only becomes relevant if Joba Chamberlain is rushed into the rotation and if Mariano Rivera gets hurt. Bruney throws hard but can't harness his control. He's shown some signs this year that he might be harnessing it a little bit. If he does, he'd ease the pain of a Chamberlain move to the rotation and perhaps pick up the odd save here and there when Mo was out. I wouldn't bet on that happening, though.
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