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| Jon Rauch pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout in Thursday's 8-3 win over the Orioles. |
Our View: Rauch is in the running for the closer's role that has been abruptly vacated by the injured Joe Nathan. The tallest man in baseball has a decent shot to take over the position, as he's closed in the past, but will have to battle setup man Matt Guerrier and also hope that the Twins don't explore an option through trade or free agency. We'll monitor the situation as it plays out through the spring season.
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| ESPN is reporting that the Minnesota Twins have acquired pitcher Jon Rauch from the Diamondbacks for a player to be named later. |
Our View: Rauch had a 4.14 ERA in 54.1 innings with the D-Backs this season, and he will provide some depth for the Twins in their pen. He has managed 12 holds and two saves this season as well, so he is plenty capable of getting the job done for the Twins.
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| Jon Rauch picked up his second save in three days as the Diamondbacks beat the A's 2-1 on Friday. He allowed a hit and a walk, but kept any runners from crossing the plate. |
Our View: Chad Qualls is still the man in Arizona, but it appears they do not want to use him on back to back nights. Rauch won't see many save opportunities this season, but he looks to be the primary alternative.
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| Jon Rauch has allowed eight earned runs and four walks over six innings this season, and his role as Arizona's seventh inning setup man may be nearing an end, according to the Arizona Republic. |
Our View: Tom Gordon would be his likely replacement when ready to return from the DL. Rauch would then be used as a middle reliever.
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| The St. Louis Post-Dispatch believes Jon Rauch is a potential candidate to fill the Cardinals' void at closer. |
Our View: As previously stated, the club also has Brian Fuentes, Matt Capps, and JJ Putz on their radar. Rauch would be a solid option as he held a 1.19 WHIP over 71.2 innings in 2008, with 66 strikeouts.
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| The East Valley Tribune reports that the Diamondbacks exercised right-hander Jon Rauch’s option for the 2010 season on Friday, securing him for the next two seasons. Arizona acquired him from the Nationals in the middle of last season. |
Our View: While Chad Qualls will enter spring training as the closer, Rauch and Tony Pena will be candidates for late-inning setup roles in a bullpen that is likely to lose free agents Brandon Lyon and Juan Cruz. Rauch was 4-8 with 18 saves and a 4.14 ERA last season, although he faded to 0-6 with a 6.16 ERA in 26 appearances with the D-Backs.
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| Diamondbacks hurler Jon Rauch was suffering from stiffness to his forearm, but after throwing a bullpen session on Sunday, he was deemed good to go and is available to pitch, according to DBacks.com. |
Our View: Rauch has been an effective reliever for the Diamondbacks this season, with a WHIP of 1.09, and handles setup duty for the Diamondbacks.
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| Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Jon Rauch may not pitch this weekend due to forearm stiffness, according to the MLB. |
Our View: The injury is not expected to be serious and the team is simply practicing caution as the playoff season moves closer.
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| Jon Rauch got the loss by allowing two runs on Brad Hawpe's two-run home run in the eighth inning, as the Diamondbacks lost to Colorado 6-5. |
Our View: Rauch has a 5.14 ERA in August, though he also has three holds during the month. If you are in a league that uses that statistic, he is certainly a valuable performer. Otherwise, fantasy teams can do without him.
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| ESPN is reporting that the D'Backs have acquired Jon Rauch from the Nationals. Arizona gave up Emilio Bonifacio in return. |
Our View: Brandon Lyon has been lit up his last two outings, but that doesn't mean Rauch will be taking over the closer duties. He will probably work in a setup role initially.
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| Jon Rauch allowed a 10th inning walk-off home run to Hanley Ramirez in a 6-5 loss to the Marlins on Monday night. It was his fifth blown save in 21 chances this year. |
Our View: With the news that Chad Cordero would miss the rest of the season to shoulder surgery -- and the understanding that he would be the Nats closer for the rest of the year -- the big right-hander celebrated by blowing a save.
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| Jon Rauch retired all five batters he faced on Wednesday night on his way to his fourth victory of the season for the Nationals. |
Our View: Through 39 appearances, Rauch has four wins, 15 saves, a 2.29 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. With numbers like that, the Nats could almost be happy that Chad Cordero has been hurt.
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| Nationals relief pitcher Jon Rauch has filled in admirably for injured Chad Cordero. His new role means a higher profile and a place among the National League leaders in saves. It means that some -- according to the Washington Post -- place him on a short list of choices to represent the team in the All-Star Game. |
Our View: Rauch saved his 15 in a 5-2 win Saturday night in Seattle. The huge right-hander has a 2.60 ERA, 1.01 WHIP and has struck out 31 in 34.2 innings.
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| Jon Rauch continues to post excellent numbers from the closers spot for the Nationals and he picked up his 10th save of the year on Sunday. |
Our View: Rauch lowered his ERA to 2.49 and now has 19 K in 21.2 IP, numbers that haven't been seen out of a Nationals closer in a couple of years. Rauch is well on his way to being this years Kevin Gregg, or a pitcher that comes out of nowhere to post 30+ saves.
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| Jon Rauch picked up his sixth save of the season on Thursday by pitching a perfect ninth inning against the Pirates. |
Our View: Rauch has now allowed only one run over his last 10 appearances, and seems to be settling in quite well to the closers role that he just might be putting a stranglehold on even when Chad Cordero is healthy.
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| Jon Rauch has a good chance of holding onto the closer role in Washington for the rest of the season. After struggling in early April, the veteran right-hander notched his fourth save of the season on Sunday.
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Our View: Ignore his 4.63 ERA for now, that number will shrink soon enough. It's obvious that Chad Cordero isn't right, evidenced by his 85 mph fastball and the way the training staff is currently pampering him. If Rauch can continue to throw like he has in the last four appearances, he's in line for 25 plus saves. Arguably the weakest offensive lineup in the league, the Nats don't win by much when they can manage a victory, giving Rauch plenty of save opportunities before the end of September.
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| Jon Rauch picked up his fourth save of the season in a 2-0 win over the Cubs on Saturday. |
Our View: The right-hander pitched a perfect ninth inning securing John Lannan's second win of the season.
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| Jon Rauch was the recipient of the Friday night 5-3 win over the Cubs after working a perfect ninth inning. The Nats closer was the fifth Washington pitcher used in the game. |
Our View: Rauch is now 2-0 with three saves on the season. He will continue to be the ninth inning option while Chad Cordero nurses a shoulder injury.
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| The Nationals confirmed that Jon Rauch would remain the closer while Chad Cordero works through his issues. Cordero is currently only throwing in the high-70s and low-80s. "Who knows how long that's going to be? Hopefully, it's not very long," he tells the Washington Post. |
Our View: The move for fantasy owners is fairly obvious here. Rauch is only holding the job on a day-to-day situation, but it sounds like Cordero has to prove he's back before he'll work the ninth inning again.
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| With Chad Cordero going on the DL, Jon Rauch will continue to serve as the Nats' ninth-inning option. Rauch has picked up a save and a win in his first two appearances this year. Cordero will be eligible to return in a week, but Rauch is a good pickup in the meantime. |
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| Jon Rauch picked up his first save of the season with a perfect ninth inning on Wednesday night. Rauch is a useful middle reliever, but he becomes an intriguing pickup with Chad Cordero on the shelf. Plus, there are rumors circulating that when Cordero is healthy he could be traded, and if that were to occur Rauch's value would go through the roof so consider keeping him on your roster even after Cordero returns. |
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| Jon Rauch blew a save opportunity against Atlanta on Sunday, but ended the night with a win. He entered the game in the ninth, but he couldn't close it out, as Martin Prado scored on a passed ball by Paul Lo Duca. The game ended on an exciting home run by Ryan Zimmerman in a 3-2 final.
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| Jon Rauch was solid in his lone inning of work against Baltimore on Thursday as he held the team hitless, with a pair of strikeouts. Rauch is competing for the top setup man role. |
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| Jon Rauch agreed to a $3.2 million, two-year contract with the Nationals Saturday, according to the AP. He will make $1.2 million in 2008 and $2 million in 2009. Rauch posted a 3.61 ERA and 7.3 K/9 rate in 88 relief appearances last year as the Nats' top setup man. He'll assume a similar role in 2008, unless Chad Cordero gets dealt, in which case Rauch would be one of the favorites to take over the closer job. |
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| Jon Rauch closed Wednesday's game with Chad Cordero working the eighth inning, though Manny Acta says Cordero will go back to closing when the Nationals return to action Friday, the AP reports. "It's nice to see that (Rauch) can close the games," Acta said. "That being said, what you do in four years, I don't forget in four outings. So after a day off tomorrow, if we can, Cordero's our closer again." |
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