MLB Bullpen Red Flags
Bullpen Red Flags: MIA Have Burned 15 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.
The most-taxed arms
MIA have been playing bullpen roulette, 15 relief appearances in just three games, a 5.0-per-game pace that leaves a manager short of fresh options exactly when he wants them most.
Close behind, CHC have called down 12 times in 3 games.
KC have leaned on the pen 12 times in 3 games themselves.
The rested arms
At the other end, COL have used just five relievers across two games. A rested pen usually means the manager gets the matchups he wants late, instead of the ones he is stuck with.
The same goes for NYM, who have needed only 5 relief calls in 2 games.
From most-taxed to freshest, the difference is ten appearances over the same stretch of days, the kind of gap that quietly decides eighth innings.
By the numbers
Every pen in the sample, most-taxed first:
| Team | Relief outings | Games |
|---|---|---|
| MIA | 15 | 3 |
| CHC | 12 | 3 |
| KC | 12 | 3 |
| SF | 11 | 3 |
| CHW | 11 | 3 |
Worth remembering
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.
A taxed pen shows up late, not early: fewer trusted arms, longer leashes, fatter late innings. Watch the eighth.
One to circle: Miami Marlins meet Atlanta Braves in their next game, and we will find out quickly whether this stretch travels.