Happy Opening Weekend! As I alluded to last week, this year's closer pool seems to be as tumultuous as ever, which is both good news and bad news for those of who decided to wait on closers in the draft. The good news is that there should be ample opportunities to find replacements on the waiver wire, but the bad news is that teams seems more intent than ever on implementing a committee approach at the closer position. Fret not, this just means you'll have to spend a little more time managing the position - from scouting to forecasting to placing weekly FAAB offers. Let's take a look at a few situations that have already seen a shake-up.
Around The League:
-One of the biggest surprises on Opening Day came out of Oakland when the team placed closer Trevor Rosenthal on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. While Rosenthal hasn't dealt with a shoulder injury recently, he did have the exact same injury in 2016 and ended up missing 51 days. In the interim, Jake Diekman figures to have the first crack at saving games, but former Giants closer Sergio Romo is also a member of the A's bullpen. Diekman has struggled with walks during his career, but a shift away from his fastball and more slider in 2019 led to higher strikeout rates and his CSW% went from a below average 29% in 2018 to a very strong 38% in 2020. Diekman is a very good waiver wire target this week - both because he has a strong skillset that will serve him well in the closing role, but also because Rosenthal lacks the big contract to necessitate him being assured a return to the closing role, when healthy.
-The Orioles opted to use Tanner Scott in the 8th inning and turned to 2020 breakout Cesar Valdez to close out the game for the team's first save of the year. Scott is clearly the more talented arm (fantasy-wise for strikeouts), but Valdez seems to have the trust of manager Brandon Hyde. There was talk in the spring that the team would try to stretch him out as a starter, but that was before the Hunter Harvey injury, so it looks like Valdez is currently sitting atop the committee in Baltimore right now.
-Yimi Garcia pitched the 8th inning in back-to-back games for the Marlins and seems to have the slight edge as the primary set-up man for Miami.
-In the first save chance of the season for the Royals, Greg Holland hit a bit of a rough patch by giving up a hit and two walks while recording just one out. Another former Royals closer, Wade Davis came in to relieve Holland and struck out two batters to end the game and sneak into the first save of the year for Kansas City. Davis had a decent spring, but he still walked more than he struck out in 7 exhibition outings (and remember - he wasn't even used in this game in the set-up role), which has been his biggest problem recently. Holland's struggles are worth keeping an eye on, but he has a nice spring (9:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio), so it's unlikely one bumpy outing would push him from the role. Davis is a name to watch though, as he may have earned himself more high leverage opportunities.
-The spring struggles for James Karinchak may have cost him a guaranteed closing job, at least initially. Pitching in the first game of the season despite him team trailing, Karinchak failed to show his spring hiccups weren't a concern, throwing just 9 of his 17 pitches for stirkes. He didn't allow a hit and he tallied a strikeout, but he did walk a batter, which is the concerning trend for him. Manager Terry Francona has already said he, Nick Wittgren and Emmanuel Clase would all have even workloads and that he would mix-and-match situational usage.
-Diego Castillo got the first and second saves of the season for Tampa Bay, with Pete Fairbanks pitching in the set-up role in both games. Castillo seems to be the initial favorite for saves, but the Rays utilized a committee last year even though they had one of the best relievers in the game (Nick Anderson) so expectPete Fairbanks to still see save chances this year. Between the two, Castillo feels a little safer because of his better control and previous experience in the role, but Fairbanks certainly has tremendous upside given the talent in his right arm.
-While Mark Melancon got the first save of the season for San Diego, Emilio Pagan did pitch in the highest leverage situation of the game in the 7th inning. Pagan was once again used in the set-up role in the second game of the season, with Melancon tallying his second save. As a result, it seems Pagan certainly has the trust of his manager to handle the important situations - the problem is that the only time that will result in saves is if those most important situations occur in the 9th inning and not the 7th or the 8th. This is a situation that certainly could still turn into a committee, but the right now Melancon is getting the chances and coverting them and he has a long major league history of consistently doing that. Padres are good enough and both Pagan and Pomeranz are productive enough to warrant mixed league ownership, even if they aren't every day closers, but Melancon seems to have the keys to the car right now.
-It wasn't a save situation, but Alex Reyes pitched in the 9th inning of the Cardinals lead with a 5-run lead. The team may still implement a committee in the 9th inning, but the move was certainly telling. Reyes had a great spring, he's healthy for the first time in a long time, and while the team would love for him to be in their rotation, that just isn't feasible with his 100 innings limit this year. Using the right-handed fireballer with devastating breaking pitches in the closing role would allow him to maintain a high impact role, without having to cut his season short. If he wasn't drafted in your league, he's a high priority pick-up this weekend.
-In a somewhat surprising (and in a lot of ways - not surprising at all) move, the Phillies named Hector Neris as the team's closer. As we mentioned last week, Neris was lights out during the spring and he has some of the most lethal pure stuff in the league. Many of his struggles the last few years have been a product of luck - not skills - so while the competition is certainly fierce behind him, Neris has what it takes to take the job and hang onto it for a long time.
-Daniel Bard's first save of the season was certainly exciting - he allowed a hit, a walk and he hit a batter - but managed to escape unscathed. Bard is one to watch simply because his track record of ineffectiveness and injuries are a concern, but the rest of the Rockies bullpen is equally questionable or inexperienced.
Handcuffs to Target:
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR IN-SEASON PACKAGE TO GAIN ACCESS TO OUR ENTIRE CLOSER REPORT!
Closer Chart & Handcuff Ranking By Team:
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR IN-SEASON PACKAGE TO GAIN ACCESS TO OUR ENTIRE CLOSER REPORT!
