Bullpen has been excellent.

[Roll Tide]

4 hours ago, DrungoHazewood said:

I'm skeptical that they'd get three decent-to-good prospects for a guy whose entire value is staked on 46.1 innings this year.

If the tables were turned would you give up, say, Westburg, Rom, and another lower guy for someone with Lopez' resume?  

Yes if I needed a closer! Like Tony said and he’s a controllable player not a rental. I was hoping for them to add Mancini and Ziegler to the trade but maybe he’s too much to ask.

[DrungoHazewood]

27 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

If I thought I was a World Series contender and was one reliever short, yes, I would. Plus Lopez is not a free agent until 2025 so he's not just a rental. 

If Elias can really get three top 20 organizational prospects for Lopez I'd have to seriously consider pulling the trigger.

Relievers are so freakin' weird. Last year the Orioles' pen had an ERA of 5.70 and this year it's one of the best pens in baseball and they didn't even go out and target anyone but reclamation projects to fix it. I wish I had confidence they could just come up with five good relievers from nothing every year.

[ScGO's]

Quick shout out to Bryan Baker, leading the O's in FIP. I feel like he has really come on as of late.  Every member of the BP is a leader in a stat to be proud of.

Lopez leads in Saves. Perez in Wins and ERA, Bautista in K/9, WHIP, and H/9, Baker w/ WHIP and HR/9, Tate with BB/9, Akin with IP, and Krehbiel doesn't lead in any category but has a great stat line all the same. 

No weak links in this BP right now, and now Vespi seems like he may have turned the corner too.

[RZNJ]

Let's remember, it wasn't that easy to put this bullpen together. It just looks like it was easy.   Most of the key pieces were through waiver claims and players who were released, no?

Lopez

Bautista

Perez

Kriehble

Baker

All essentially for free, I believe. 

[sportsfan8703]

The bullpen has been great.  Bradish could be the newest addition, but they will probably keep him stretched out because we have such little depth.  Would love to sign Weber and have him in the last slot for now.  The guy the Giants just realized could be AAA depth as well.  

[sportsfan8703]

They are just Nails, but we’re riding them hard. Wish DL Hall could give us a boost as another late inning arm. 

[RZNJ]

9 minutes ago, sportsfan8703 said:

They are just Nails, but we’re riding them hard. Wish DL Hall could give us a boost as another late inning arm. 

Either that or have him follow Austin Voth or Bradish when they start and just go 3-4 innings every 5 days.

[sportsfan8703]

The bullpen needed that rainout. 
 

I also am worried that we’re having to rely more heavily on everyone after the Lopez trade. Baker is the concern. He’s our most risky option of the regulars in the pen. 
 

I can see us relying more heavily on Perez. Vespi in the middle innings as well. 

[sportsfan8703]

The bullpen has been shaky recently. It feels like we’re just now starting to feel the loss of Lopez, in that everyone seems to be slotted up into a slightly more important role.
 

I don’t know what the answer is because we need them to get 9-12 outs each night. Hall?  We’ve let some DFA guys/released vets go by that I thought could’ve helped. Maybe Wily Peralta that the Tigers just released?  Tyler Wells?

 

Gotta get back on track. It’s our blueprint to winning. 

[justD]

1 hour ago, sportsfan8703 said:

The bullpen has been shaky recently. It feels like we’re just now starting to feel the loss of Lopez, in that everyone seems to be slotted up into a slightly more important role.
 

I don’t know what the answer is because we need them to get 9-12 outs each night. Hall?  We’ve let some DFA guys/released vets go by that I thought could’ve helped. Maybe Wily Peralta that the Tigers just released?  Tyler Wells?

 

Gotta get back on track. It’s our blueprint to winning. 

Well, I see Travis Lakins Sr made a rehab appearance for Bowie last night.  I never really had much faith when he'd come in, but maybe being healthy could mean he can help out now?

[Bahama O's Fan]

I imagine why we should expect to see Hall later in the pen

[RVAOsFan]

18 minutes ago, justD said:

Well, I see Travis Lakins Sr made a rehab appearance for Bowie last night.  I never really had much faith when he'd come in, but maybe being healthy could mean he can help out now?

I will pass on Lakins.  Rather take my chances with Hall.

[Sports Guy]

Akin hasn’t been that sharp for a while.  
 

This BP has been great this year but I think, just like the offense, a lot of changes need to be made as we got into 2023.

Edited August 25, 2022 by Sports Guy

[deward]

3 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

The bullpen has been shaky recently. It feels like we’re just now starting to feel the loss of Lopez, in that everyone seems to be slotted up into a slightly more important role.
 

I don’t know what the answer is because we need them to get 9-12 outs each night. Hall?  We’ve let some DFA guys/released vets go by that I thought could’ve helped. Maybe Wily Peralta that the Tigers just released?  Tyler Wells?

 

Gotta get back on track. It’s our blueprint to winning. 

They're definitely paying the price for the Lopez trade now. Some combination of Wells, Hall, or even GrayRod could be the answer, but it's just as likely that knocking away a key pillar of support from the team's biggest strength will prove to be the undoing of this wild card chase. Hopefully Povich turns out to be worth it. Although, it's worth pointing out that Lopez hasn't been as good in his first few games with the Twins as he was here. We'll see if that continues.

[LA2]

8 hours ago, deward said:

They're definitely paying the price for the Lopez trade now. Some combination of Wells, Hall, or even GrayRod could be the answer, but it's just as likely that knocking away a key pillar of support from the team's biggest strength will prove to be the undoing of this wild card chase. Hopefully Povich turns out to be worth it. Although, it's worth pointing out that Lopez hasn't been as good in his first few games with the Twins as he was here. We'll see if that continues.

Comparison of Lopez to Bautista since the trade:

Lopez's 8 games: 3 three-out Saves / 2 Blown (one of which Twins eventually won); 2 winning non-save Finishes; 1 scoreless 9th before extra innings.

Change in ERA: 1.64 - 1.92. Team record: 6-2.

Bautista's 10 games: 6 saves, incl. a 4-out S and 5-out S / 0 Blown; 4 winning non-save Finishes.

Change in ERA: 1.65 - 1.68. Team record: 10-0.

The problem, as many have pointed out, is that the rest of the bullpen has not held up as well.

 

Edited August 25, 2022 by LA2