Addison Reed’s struggles par for the course with Arizona Diamondbacks closers
May 14, 2015, 5:34 PM | Updated: 5:34 pm
Much has been made about Addison Reed’s struggles this season closing for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
He has blown two of his four save opportunities, with the most recent coming in rather spectacular fashion.
Reed’s inability to consistently lock down games for the D-backs has been an issue pretty much from start. Acquired for prospect Matt Davidson before the 2014 season, he suffered his first loss (though not in a save situation) in just his second outing with the team, and then notched his first blown save in just his fourth save attempt.
Reed went on to be moderately productive, earning saves in 32 of his 38 opportunities, though the 4.25 ERA he posted was rather ugly and the 11 home runs he allowed tied for third-most in all of baseball.
This season, Reed is 0-2 with two saves and two blown saves, along with an ERA of 7.20. He has allowed just one home run — the game-losing grand slam by Washington’s Michael Taylor Wednesday — and opponents are batting .333 against him.
But even with his issues, the D-backs do not appear ready to make a change.
Should they? Maybe, and if Reed continues to have issues, something will probably be done. But when looking at Reed, it may be important to put his performance in context with other closers in D-backs history.
Because, truth be told, it has not exactly been a position of excellence during the franchise’s 17-plus years of existence.
Of the 20 different pitchers to appear in at least 10 save situations for the franchise, just four have a better save percentage than Reed.
And remember, there are plenty of people who were ready to run Jose Valverde, J.J. Putz, Matt Mantei and Juan Gutierrez out of town.
Listed in order of their save percentage with the club, here’s a look at the D-backs’ illustrious history of closers.
| Name | Years with team | Saves | Save opportunities | Save percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose Valverde | 2003-2007 | 98 | 114 | 85.96 |
| Juan Gutierrez | 2009-2011 | 24 | 28 | 85.71 |
| J.J. Putz | 2011-2014 | 83 | 97 | 85.56 |
| Matt Mantei | 1999-2004 | 74 | 87 | 85.05 |
| Addison Reed | 2014- | 34 | 42 | 80.95 |
| Jorge Julio | 2006 | 15 | 19 | 78.94 |
| Byung-Hyun Kim | 1999-2003, 2007 | 70 | 89 | 78.65 |
| Greg Aquino | 2004-2006 | 17 | 22 | 77.27 |
| Gregg Olson | 1998-1999 | 44 | 57 | 77.19 |
| Chad Qualls | 2008-2010 | 45 | 62 | 72.58 |
| Brandon Lyon | 2005-2008 | 42 | 58 | 72.41 |
| Brian Bruney | 2004-2005 | 12 | 17 | 70.58 |
| Heath Bell | 2013 | 15 | 22 | 68.18 |
| Bret Prinz | 2001-2003 | 9 | 14 | 64.28 |
| David Hernandez | 2011- | 17 | 32 | 53.12 |
| Brad Ziegler | 2011- | 14 | 27 | 51.85 |
| Ramon (Tony) Peña | 2006-2009 | 7 | 16 | 43.75 |
| Aaron Heilman | 2010-2011 | 6 | 15 | 40.0 |
| Mike Myers | 2002-2003 | 4 | 13 | 30.76 |
| Mike Koplove | 2001-2006 | 2 | 10 | 20.0 |
