Edward

Mujica

19 of those innings came in Double-A. The 22-year-old has given up a couple of unearned runs while allowing 24 hits and walking 12 batters. He’s struck out 34. The Indians might try him in their pen next time they lose a reliever due to injury.

Mujica, 22, hadn’t allowed an earned run in 38 2/3 IP between Double-A Akron and Buffalo. He’ll get a look in middle relief and should do pretty well, assuming that he throws strikes.

Mujica allowed four runs in 13 2/3 innings during his first stint with the Indians this year. He’ll get another look in middle relief.

Luckily for Bell, Frank Francisco was even worse at his ninth-inning duties this afternoon. Called on to hold the line in a 2-2 game, Bell set the tone for his latest disaster by serving up a one-out double to Daniel Murphy. In Bell’s slight defense, one of his walks was intentional, but it was still an indefensible outing for Miami’s $27 million stopper. It’s anyone’s guess as to whether manager Ozzie Guillen will stick with his Friday pledge to return Bell to closing duties, but at the very least, Steve Cishek and Edward Mujica should remain owned in all formats.

Bell was pulled from the role last week, but given that he signed a three-year, $27 million contract with the Marlins over the winter, we figured it wouldn’t be long before he got his job back. The process may have been expedited after Steve Cishek blew a save Wednesday night against the Astros, which was followed by a scoreless inning from Bell. We’re not fully convinced that Bell will be effective moving forward, but those in shallow mixed leagues are probably safe to drop Cishek or Edward Mujica at this point.

Interesting. We thought that Steve Cishek would be taking over for the struggling Heath Bell, but Mujica got the call and easily converted the opportunity. Perhaps Cishek wasn’t available after throwing three innings on Friday. Either way, manager Ozzie Guillen has indicated that Bell will be back in the closer’s role eventually.

One week after Cishek got stuck with one of Heath Bell’s blown saves, this one was all on him. Tasked with protecting a 3-2 lead, he got Jed Lowrie to fly out before serving up a triple to Carlos Lee. He then struck out Travis Buck and walked Chris Johnson before allowing an RBI single to Brian Bogusevic. He got Matt Downs to ground out to end the inning. Cishek’s peripherals are still sparkling, but the outing likely ensured that Edward Mujica, who pitched a scoreless eighth this evening, will remain the Marlins’ closer while Heath Bell sorts out his issues.

Heath Bell is struggling mightily in the early going, so the Fish are going to use him in lower-pressure situations for a little while. Cishek, 25, has registered a dominant 0.91 ERA, 0.63 WHIP and 15/6 K/BB ratio in 14 1/3 innings this season and should do well as Miami’s temporary ninth-inning man. Ryan Webb and Edward Mujica could also see some save opportunities.

Heath Bell is sporting a brutal 11.74 ERA in 7 2/3 innings this season and has also appeared in each of the Marlins’ past three games. If the Marlins decide to remove the high-priced closer completely from his current role, ninth-inning responsibilities would likely be split between Webb, Mujica and Steve Cishek.

After entering the game with a 2-0 lead, Bell surrendered hits to all three hitters he faced, pushing across a run and leaving the tying run at third with no outs. Steve Cishek took over from there and was actually credited with the blown save, even though it was mostly Bell’s handiwork. While the Marlins have questionably invested a large amount of money in Bell, they would be wise to remove him from the closer role, at least on a temporary basis. If Cishek is available in your league, now would be the time to run to the waiver wire and grab him. Edward Mujica is another possibility until Bell gets back on track.