Fans: please bullpen, you are giving us all heart attacks, no more drama, please
Chasen Bradford hasn’t been exceptional, but as we’ve said many times on the podcast, the bar is to throw strikes, and Chasen has done that admirably. His BB/9 has been below that of Rosscup, Gearrin, Festa, Rumbelow, and Sadzeck, while chewing up more innings than any other reliever other than Elías. He’s also posted the fifth-highest groundball rate among the entire pitching staff, and has saved the bullpen’s bacon in a couple of high-profile outings.
On a team not so strapped for relief pitching, the loss of Chasen Bradford probably doesn’t sting as badly, but diverting any innings intended for Bradford for the ineffective Gearrin or Rosscup is a recipe for disaster.