Felipe Rivero is the Pirates’ best reliever, which is precisely the reason he shouldn’t be the team’s closer, if it must have one at all.
Tony Watson’s ninth-inning implosion Tuesday in Baltimore, combined with his recent struggles, have made his status as the closer a point of controversy for obvious reasons. It’s deflating for a team to blow a ninth-inning lead, as the Pirates did Tuesday when Watson gave up a game-tying homer to Jonathan Schoop before losing in extra innings.
Its chances of winning a given game, however, are higher if it’s leading rather than trailing entering the ninth inning, and using the best reliever before that point is the safest way to ensure a lead exists to be blown.