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Feb 15, 2017 By Alan Saunders for The 3 min read

The Pirates have an unusual philosophy when it comes to relief pitchers, particularly closers: They don鈥檛 seem to keep them around very long.

At last season蘑菇视频 trade deadline, general manager Neal Huntington parted with then-closer Mark Melancon, trading him to Washington for Felipe Rivero and a pitching prospect. The move might have been considered shocking for a team that was still in the running to part with their best reliever.

But for the Pirates, it was just the latest in a series of similar moves. They had traded Jason Grilli in 2014 and Joel Hanrahan in 2012, and it had seemed that the writing had been on the wall for Melancon all season.

Part of that involved the strong play of set-up man Tony Watson. Watson, now 31, has been one of the most reliable eighth-inning relievers in all of baseball over the last two seasons. His career WHIP 鈥� walks and hits per inning pitched 鈥� is just 1.035 and he蘑菇视频 struck out 3.22 batters for every one he蘑菇视频 walked in his six MLB seasons.

The move brought Rivero to the Pirates, who will likely replace Watson in the eighth inning this season, and the Nationals neither won with or were able to keep Melancon, who signed a $62 million contract with the San Francisco Giants in the off-season.

So the Pirates will roll the dice with Watson, and it蘑菇视频 easy to see why based on his overall numbers, but his two-month audition at closer at the end of last season didn鈥檛 go all that smoothly. He converted 15 saves, but blew three with a 3.86 ERA.

There蘑菇视频 more to Watson蘑菇视频 tough August and September than the position change. He蘑菇视频 been one of baseball蘑菇视频 most-used relievers the last few years, appearing in over 70 games in each of the last three seasons. That appears to be taking a toll as the season progresses.

In April 2015, his max fastball velocity was 96.98 mph, according to Brooks Baseball. By the end of that season, it was down to 95.59. The next year, it trickled from 96.75 early in the season to 95.41 by the end. The decrease in velocity has combined with an increase number of 鈥済rooved鈥� pitches, pitches that are thrown in the middle section of the plate both vertically and horizontally. The combination suggests that the wear of pitching over 70 innings per year has been getting to Watson.

If for whatever reason he doesn鈥檛 work out as the team蘑菇视频 closer, there蘑菇视频 little in the way of experienced depth behind him. Rivero was excellent after coming over from the Nationals and will likely be the set-up man, but Neftali Feliz was lost in free agency, leaving Juan Nicasio and Antonio Bastardo to fill in the bullpen.

The group doesn鈥檛 have an impressive resume. That蘑菇视频 been the hallmark of Huntington蘑菇视频 bullpens with the Pirates. Grilli was plucked from the minor leagues. Hanrahan and Melancon were seemingly throw-ins as parts of bigger trades. It蘑菇视频 likely that the Pirates鈥� next bullpen star will come from humble beginnings, as well.

That蘑菇视频 someone that might need to be found sooner rather than later, too. Watson and the team are going to arbitration over his salary for 2017 and is eligible to be a free agent following the season. If Huntington蘑菇视频 paradigm holds true, he may be looking for another closer shortly.