The case for a closer: breaking down the Diamondbacks’ relief committee

By Alex D’Agostino

The Arizona Diamondbacks suffered a heartbreaking 8–5 loss at home against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday.

After part-time closer Miguel Castro stole a gritty save to beat the Braves 3–2 in the series opener, the Diamondbacks found themselves in a familiar spot in the deciding game: Leading the Braves by one run in the top of the 9th.

After loading the bases, Castro fought down to the final out, but ultimately hung a 96 mph sinker right in Eddie Rosario’s sweet spot for a game-losing grand slam.

This tragic end to a promising series prompted plenty of question regarding Torey Lovullo’s pitching choices — many calling for Miguel Castro to be removed from the closer role. The Diamondbacks currently have no designated closer, with Castro taking the majority of the recent save opportunities — with general success prior to the meltdown.

Many may ask for the Diamondbacks to go out and acquire a proven veteran closer — but one of the major weaknesses of Torey’s recent decisions is the fact that there is no designated closer role on the team. Having a designated closer would open up the bullpen without putting limits on who can pitch in which situations.

Here is a breakdown of Lovullo’s current closer-by-committee arms:

1: Scott McGough:

A deceiving 0–4 record, the righty came in with a horrible first impression. Giving up back-to-back home runs against the Padres in his second save opportunity erased the memory of the 1 run save he recorded against the Dodgers 1 game prior.

McGough holds a 3.23 ERA in 30.2 innings and a respectable 0.91 WHIP.

He relies primarily on his 4-seam fastball and splitter, with minimal attention to the slider that cost a 2 run blown save back in April. While his spotting has been excellent, he lacks a strong put-away pitch, and has limited closing experience — excelling mainly in the 7th/8th innings this season.

2: Andrew Chafin

Bringing back the former Dback has certainly been a boost to the weak bullpen. Adding a solid LHP to a room full of righties was an excellent move by GM Mike Hazen.

Chafin has marked 8 saves in 9 opportunities this season, with a 3.38 ERA in 21.1 IP. The veteran LHP has more of a closer resume, with a top 4% K rate in MLB and a knockout put-away pitch from his slider. Chafin is in the 95th percentile or higher in whiffs, K% and chase rate.

However, Chafin occasionally has trouble hitting his spots, forcing him to go back to his shakier 4-seamer. Since starting the season on an excellent closer run, Chafin has had only 3 save opportunities since the beginning of May, becoming primarily an 8th inning reliever due to LHP and all-star Joe Mantiply’s absence.

3: Miguel Castro

Miguel Castro has had his moments — both fortunate and unfortunate. Up until his recent blown save, he was sporting a 2.13 ERA in 25.0 IP. Before giving up the grand slam, he had given up only 6 ER on the season.

Starting off in a late relief role, Torey Lovullo appeared to be gearing Castro up to take over full-time closing duties. In the last 13 games, Castro was given 7 of his 8 save opportunities.

Castro has 6 saves in his 8 opportunities. A high velocity thrower in the 99th percentile in hard hit %. What can make him a shaky closer is a complete lack of a put-away pitch. While his slider has been known to tie guys up, it is mostly ineffective against lefties, and he has mainly relied on his +96mph sinker. Finding the zone, as well as hanging pitches have been his downfall, but his ability to remain calm and fight through tough innings has given him a mental edge necessary for a closer.

Torey Lovullo needs to examine his closing options — while it might be a good idea to have a righty/lefty on deck to close out games, designating a closer will take the pressure off some of these relievers and define their roles more clearly. With the return of Joe Mantiply imminent, being able to preserve one of these guys’ arms for save situations only will be invaluable to a somewhat shaky bullpen.

Make the call, who should be the Dbacks’ full time closer?