
This is not at all how you want your closer to look, writhing in pain on the mound. This is Milwaukee Brewers reliever Corey Knebel last night, keeping the never-ending fantasy baseball closer carousel spinning.
Baseball is in full swing and the first week has provided the usual surprises and disappointments. The position that seems to get the most attention in fantasy baseball the first week, well nearly every week, is who is closing out the ball game for each team.
Most teams settled on a closer coming out of Spring Training, but there were some who were the “tongue in cheek” option and on a short leash from the get-go. Here are some situations to keep an eye on.
Fernando Rodney vs. Addison Reed
Minnesota Twins
The Twins signed the 41-year-old Fernando Rodney to be their closer midway through the offseason and he pitched Opening Day, and then not again until the past two days. Opening Day was a poor first impression for Twins fans, giving up a walk off home run to Adam Jones in the 11th inning. He gave up two hits in an inning of work against the Pittsburgh Pirates Wednesday, and then recorded his first save in a relatively clean inning (1 K, 1 BB) yesterday against the Seattle Mariners.
I don’t think the Twins will be quick to pull the role from Rodney, but on a team with high expectations and a closer with a higher than average risk profile, Addison Reed is ready if called upon. Through four appearances and 5.1 innings of work, Reed hasn’t allowed a run and gave up only one hit. He did give up three walks in one appearance, but otherwise has six strike outs on the season.
Reed has experience closing with the New York Mets so he wouldn’t be thrown into a completely new situation if Paul Molitor were to make a change.
Brad Boxberger vs. Archie Bradley
Arizona Diamondbacks
Manager Torey Lovullo stated at the beginning of Spring Training that the closer’s role would be open with Brad Boxberger and Archie Bradley both trying to take the spot vacated by the departed Fernando Rodney. After a sit down meeting with Bradley, Lovullo stated that he, along with Bradley, wanted to keep him in the setup role thus leaving the closing duties to Boxberger.
If that is where Bradley feels comfortable, then more power to him, and Boxberger is pitching well in the early going recording three saves and no runs allowed in four innings. However, I question whether Boxberger is the answer to the D-Backs closing situation long-term. Based on pure “stuff”, I think Bradley will have the role, albeit possibly reluctantly, sooner rather than later.
Greg Holland’s Impending Arrival
St. Louis Cardinals
This one really was a no brainer. Pundits all off season talked about how the Cardinals needed a true closer and that the idea that manager Mike Matheny and the front office had to use the closer-by-committee option was a disaster waiting to happen. Dominic Leone gave up back-to-back home runs against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 3rd and all three of his outings have been shaky to start the regular season.
Signing Greg Holland, finally, will solidify the back end of the bullpen but how much time will he need to get ready? He was reported to have been working out with other unsigned Scott Boras agents in Florida but “practice” and game action are two very different things. Holland is currently pitching in the minors to get ready, and could be called up next Monday, April 9th.
Corey Knebel to the Disabled List
Milwaukee Brewers
A late breaking fourth team added to our closer carousel roundup and a possibility for future save opportunities, as the Brewers closer Corey Knebel injured his hamstring last night helping mop up an 8-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs. Knebel collapsed on the mound, grabbed his hamstring and needed to be helped off the field. It looks bad, and clearly, he is headed to the DL with an MRI scheduled for Friday to test the extent of the injury.
Manager Craig Counsell gave no early indication who will cover in Knebel’s absence, or even whether it will be a single primary reliever to close games, or a selection from a committee based on matchups. Names to consider at this time are Jacob Barnes (6 IP, 5 K, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB) and Josh Hader (3 IP, 7 K, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB), plus Matt Albers and Jeremy Jeffress.
That is some extra sting to Knebel owners since he went down in an 8-0 loss. Sucks. He was in there because he hadn’t pitched since Friday. CBS is speculating Albers could be the choice as a true one-inning guy while Hader and Barnes are better in a multi-inning setup role. Hard to pass on Hader’s K rate though.
Hope you found your way here because you read this morning’s member newsletter! This is where I am suggesting we collectively discuss closer situations – changes, injuries, etc., and we will continue the comments over to the new closer roundup article each week.
Let me start things off by pulling the current closers and setup guys from our depth charts. Assuming I wrote the database query correctly, here we go:
+————–+——————-+——————+
| Team | Closer | Setup |
+————–+——————-+——————+
| Indians | Cody Allen | Andrew Miller |
| Royals | Kelvin Herrera | Justin Grimm |
| Tigers | Shane Greene | Joe Jimenez |
| Twins | Fernando Rodney | Addison Reed |
| White Sox | Joakim Soria | Nate Jones |
| Blue Jays | Roberto Osuna | Ryan Tepera |
| Orioles | Brad Brach | Darren O’Day |
| Rays | Alex Colome | Sergio Romo |
| Red Sox | Craig Kimbrel | Matt Barnes |
| Yankees | Aroldis Chapman | David Robertson |
| Angels | Blake Parker | Cam Bedrosian |
| Astros | Ken Giles | Chris Devenski |
| Athletics | Blake Treinen | Chris Hatcher |
| Mariners | Edwin Diaz | Juan Nicasio |
| Rangers | Keone Kela | Kevin Jepsen |
| Brewers | Jacob Barnes | Jeremy Jeffress |
| Brewers | Matt Albers | Jeremy Jeffress |
| Brewers | Josh Hader | Jeremy Jeffress |
| Cardinals | Dominic Leone | Tyler Lyons |
| Cubs | Brandon Morrow | Carl Edwards Jr. |
| Pirates | Felipe Rivero | George Kontos |
| Reds | Raisel Iglesias | Jared Hughes |
| Braves | Arodys Vizcaino | Jose A. Ramirez |
| Marlins | Brad Ziegler | Kyle Barraclough |
| Mets | Jeurys Familia | AJ Ramos |
| Nationals | Sean Doolittle | Ryan Madson |
| Phillies | Hector Neris | Luis Garcia |
| Diamondbacks | Brad Boxberger | Archie Bradley |
| Dodgers | Kenley Jansen | Pedro Baez |
| Giants | Hunter Strickland | Tony Watson |
| Padres | Brad Hand | Craig Stammen |
| Rockies | Wade Davis | Jake McGee |
+————–+——————-+——————+
I will work on the formatting for next time. I didn’t even realize Kevin has 3 closers down for us for the Brewers, but, that seems to be the way they are rolling. Going to see if I can work up some stats to show recent closer performances.
Go to: Week 2 Closer Roundup