Brett Tomko, closer

Via Chad Jennings, Triple-A Scranton pitching coach Scott Aldred said the team will use veteran Brett Tomko as the closer this year. As Chad noted, they’re using Tomko in that role so they can have some flexibility and control the innings of the younger, higher ceilinged arms like Mark Melancon and David Robertson. This is nothing new; last year the closer at Triple-A was 32-yr old Scott Strickland, the year before it was 34-yr old Jim Brower, and the year before that it was 32-yr old Mark Corey.