MLB Bullpen Red Flags
Bullpen Red Flags: STL Have Burned 12 Relief Arms in 3 Days
Published
Bullpens do not announce when they are tired; the box scores announce it for them. Counted straight from the last three days of pitching lines, every arm after the starter, this is who has been leaning hardest on the pen.
Running on fumes
STL have been playing bullpen roulette, twelve relief appearances in just four games, a 3.0-per-game pace that leaves a manager short of fresh options exactly when he wants them most.
CHC have been nearly as busy: 12 appearances across 3 games.
Keep an eye on ATH too, at 11 relief appearances over 3 games.
Fresh and waiting
CLE have barely touched the phone: one reliever outings over one games, leaving the whole late-inning menu available.
The same goes for WSH, who have needed only 2 relief calls in 1 games.
Put the two ends side by side and the gap is eleven relief appearances in an identical window, which is enormous in bullpen terms.
The board
The full usage board from the window:
| Team | Relief outings | Games |
|---|---|---|
| STL | 12 | 4 |
| CHC | 12 | 3 |
| ATH | 11 | 3 |
| COL | 11 | 3 |
| LAD | 11 | 3 |
The fine print
The tally counts appearances, not innings: each reliever who entered a captured game adds one to his team's total. Crude on purpose, and applied identically everywhere.
Usage is context, not destiny. But when the late innings arrive, yesterday's workload is very real, and it does not care about the matchup.
One to circle: St. Louis Cardinals meet Cincinnati Reds in their next game, and we will find out quickly whether this stretch travels.