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Fantasy Baseball Closers

By Tim Dierkes [February 19, 2008 at 12:15am CST]

Fantasy baseball closers are ever-changing, and require constant vigilance. You'll need to be lightning quick to pounce on the latest closers. Changes can occur due to injury, ineffectiveness, or even salary. RotoAuthority.com will constantly monitor and update this post so that you always know who has the closing gig for every team. The first pitcher listed is the current closer; the second/third are the next in line for saves.

If you have closer info or corrections, leave them in the comments with a link and I'll update the post. Or, email me.

Updated 9-3-08 at 10:30am CST. Most recent changes in red.

American League

Baltimore Orioles - George Sherrill (if healthy), Jim Johnson (if healthy), Alberto Castillo, Jamie Walker. Sherrill is on the DL with shoulder inflammation, and Johnson is also having shoulder issues. Tough to find an Orioles reliever who had a decent August, so pursue saves here at your own risk.

Boston Red Sox - Jonathan Papelbon, Hideki Okajima, Manny Delcarmen, Justin Masterson. The Sox weren't able to add a reliever at the deadline.

Chicago White Sox - Bobby Jenks, Octavio Dotel, Matt Thornton, Scott Linebrink (if healthy). Linebrink is on the shelf with shoulder inflammation.

Cleveland Indians - Jensen Lewis, Rafael Perez, Masa Kobayashi, Ed Mujica, Rafael Betancourt. Lewis has jumped to the front of the line.

Detroit Tigers - Joel Zumaya (if healthy), Fernando Rodney, Kyle Farnsworth, Todd Jones (if healthy). Zumaya is injured again and out of the picture, so look to Rodney for saves in Detroit. Jones may be out for the season.

Kansas City Royals - Joakim Soria, Ron Mahay, Ramon Ramirez, Leo Nunez. Soria and Mahay have both been elite this year.

Minnesota Twins - Joe Nathan, Eddie Guardado, Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier. Pat Neshek is out for the season. Everyday Eddie is back in the fold, this time as a setup man.

New York Yankees - Mariano Rivera, Damaso Marte, Edwar Ramirez, Jose Veras. New acquisition Marte has struggled.

Los Angeles Angels - Francisco Rodriguez, Scot Shields, Jose Arredondo, Justin Speier. K-Rod is challenging the saves record. Shields has regained his eighth inning job. Speier has had a rough go of it.

Oakland Athletics - Brad Ziegler, Joey Devine, Huston Street. Ziegler has been incredible, and has supplanted Street in the short term. Devine is also in the mix.

Seattle Mariners - J.J. Putz, Roy Corcoran, Sean Green, Mark Lowe. Morrow has returned to Triple A to work his way back as a starter. Putz has his job back, but he's being babied for the season's final month.

Tampa Bay Rays - Troy Percival, Dan Wheeler, Grant Balfour, J.P. Howell, Chad Bradford. Percival is off the DL and presumably back in the closer role.

Texas Rangers - C.J. Wilson (if healthy), Frank Francisco, Jamey Wright, Joaquin Benoit. Wilson is out for the season with elbow surgery, and Guardado was traded. Francisco has a huge strikeout rate and gets first crack.

Toronto Blue Jays - B.J. Ryan, Scott Downs (if healthy), Jeremy Accardo (if healthy), Jesse Carlson. Downs is clearly second in line, though he is playing through a twisted ankle.

National League

Arizona Diamondbacks - Brandon Lyon, Jon Rauch, Tony Pena, Chad Qualls, Juan Cruz. Rauch could step if Lyon continues to struggle. Pena could be next if both fail.

Atlanta Braves - Mike Gonzalez, Rafael Soriano (if healthy), Blaine Boyer, Manny Acosta, Will Ohman. John Smoltz is out for the season. Gonzalez is the one to own, with Soriano's elbow acting up once again.

Chicago Cubs - Kerry Wood, Carlos Marmol, Jeff Samardzija. Wood is back from his blister problem, and has the ninth inning back. Marmol has been looking good since the break, while rookie Samardzija has entered the mix with a mid-90s heater.

Cincinnati Reds - Francisco Cordero, Jared Burton, David Weathers. Burton deserves first crack if Cordero goes down; he was just activated from the DL.

Colorado Rockies - Brian Fuentes, Manny Corpas, Taylor Buchholz, Matt Herges. Corpas lost his job to Fuentes due to a terrible April. Corpas has been better lately, but Fuentes will keep the job until season's end.

Florida Marlins - Kevin Gregg (if healthy), Matt Lindstrom, Joe Nelson, Arthur Rhodes, Doug Waechter, Renyel Pinto. Gregg has a knee injury, so Lindstrom and Nelson will handle closing duties.

Houston Astros - Jose Valverde, Doug Brocail, Chris Sampson, LaTroy Hawkins. Valverde has struggled, but he'll keep his job.

Los Angeles Dodgers - Takashi Saito (if healthy), Jonathan Broxton, Chan Ho Park, Hong-Chih Kuo, Joe Beimel. Broxton will take closing duties with Saito out for most of the remaining season. Kuo has been lights out and makes a great source of Ks.

Milwaukee Brewers - Salomon Torres, Eric Gagne, David Riske. Torres has a hold on the ninth inning. Who would've thought all three of these guys would be healthy and he'd be closing?

New York Mets - Billy Wagner (if healthy), Luis Ayala, Al Reyes, Scott Schoeneweis, Aaron Heilman. Ugly situation, but new guys Ayala and Reyes should get a shot.

Philadelphia Phillies - Brad Lidge, Chad Durbin, Tom Gordon (if healthy), Rudy Seanez, J.C. Romero. Gordon may be out for the season. Lidge is back after a minor injury.

Pittsburgh Pirates - Matt Capps, John Grabow, Tyler Yates, Craig Hansen. Capps is off the DL, and should get his job back shortly.

San Diego Padres - Trevor Hoffman, Heath Bell. Definitely an erratic '07 for Hoffman, but he seems safe for now.

San Francisco Giants - Brian Wilson, Keiichi Yabu, Tyler Walker, Merkin Valdez (if healthy). Wilson's job is safe, though control has been an issue.

St. Louis Cardinals - Chris Perez, Kyle McClellan, Jason Isringhausen (if healthy), Ryan Franklin. Perez seems to have a lock on the job, after Izzy and Franklin failed.

Washington Nationals - Joel Hanrahan, Saul Rivera. Rauch was traded and Chad Cordero is out for the season, so Hanrahan gets a look. He's got a strong K rate but questionable control.

Full Story | Comments (24) | Categories: Fantasy Baseball Closers

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Comments

Tim,

Can you help the technologically deficient out here? I really like the closer thread. How can I subscribe to this thread to learn of all updates immediately? thanks.

Posted by: BillyB | March 13, 2008 at 11:41 AM

Tim- how about Wheeler in Tampa or Morrow in Seattle? Do you think either slot in close? thanks

Posted by: rooker72 | March 27, 2008 at 09:19 AM

Tim,
Are Riske and Torres really that far in front of Turnbow for saves for the Brewers that Turnbow doesn't even make the list? I know Derrick's had some control issues lately but has he fallen that far?

Posted by: live4vball | March 28, 2008 at 11:12 AM

So in other words, Hoffman would have to single handedly destroy the 2008 season for the Padres before they dare remove him from the closer's role. I am not saying I disagree with you, it is just pathetic on the Padres part as well as so many other franchises with this mentality.

Posted by: Kevin W. | April 08, 2008 at 10:12 AM

I am not saying these guys will be closers, but I do believe they should be mentioned as possibilities with some of the names included with this list. The first is Leo Nunez of KC and the second is Brandon Morrow of Seattle.

Posted by: orioles19 | April 08, 2008 at 12:22 PM

Nunez and Morrow are good adds. I was reading comments from Kevin Towers today regarding Hoffman...doesn't seem anywhere close to looking toward Bell.

Posted by: Tim Dierkes | April 08, 2008 at 10:08 PM

Hey Tim,

Two additions, one of which has been noted in the comments already.

Leo Nunez is definitely the 8th inning guy in KC right now. He has the build of young Pedro Martinez, and his stuff isn't too far behind for a one-inning guy. 93-97 fastball, tight slider (I think it's his best pitch), and a swing and miss change up. He's easy to look over because his career numbers aren't impressive. However, if you dig a little deeper, you find out that he first made the bigs as a 21-year-old, and has basically been going back and forth between AA, AAA, and the bigs since 2005. Also, a majority of his innings have come as a starter, but his numbers as a reliever last year were very impressive (KC moved him to the pen in Sept).

14 IP
11 H
2 BB
16 K's
.206 BAA

He's always been a strike thrower (2.43BB/9 in the minors), and I suspect the change to one inning stints has added a few ticks to his fastball, as it does with most. It looks like he really figured it out in 2007, with combined numbers across AA, AAA, and bigs of:

86 IP
70 H
20 BB
69 K
1.05 WHIP
2.93 ERA

With all the talk surrounding Soria's "three plus pitches" and possible move to the rotation, Nunez should be next in line. If a league has Holds, expect 20+ from Soria this year.

The other guy that deserves mention, and should be moved up in the pecking order is Dennis Sarfate of the O's. Stuff-wise, he's already a closer. 94-97, touching 99 in his last outing vs the M's over the weekend. He's always had the stuff, but has never been able to control it, as his 4.96 BB/9 in the minors can testify. However, including his 3.1 IP this year, he's now totaled a career line big-league line of:

20 IP
14 H
6 BB
29 K
1.00 WHIP
2.25 ERA

With the O's expected to finish at the bottom of the division this year, I'd expect them to move Sherrill to a contender looking for a closer - Ah, Milwaukee? Sarfate could be closing by the All-Star break.

Posted by: ftheyankees | April 09, 2008 at 07:47 AM

4/9/08 - Soriano (ATL) is dealing with elbow soreness. Cox went with Acosta the other night to close. What do you think here?

Posted by: mecole33 | April 09, 2008 at 08:43 AM

I think it's more that he said he would've went with Acosta that he actually did.

Posted by: Tim Dierkes | April 09, 2008 at 09:06 AM

He isn't need the top of the Marlins chart just yet, but it wouldn't surprise me if Justin Miller winds up being the most explosive arm in their pen this year. Lindstrom's stuff is too straight, and Tankersley has so far been an underachieving lefty. If Greg gets traded mid-season, a dark horse to taking his place by then might be Miller. Just a hunch.

Posted by: YourPalChrisMal | April 11, 2008 at 05:31 PM

Tim:

IMOP, Jared Burton of Cincinnati should be listed. He is not technially ahead of Cordero or Weathers but his stuff is definitely better than Weathers.

Posted by: orioles19 | April 12, 2008 at 11:25 PM

Again, just a personal opinion from watching a lot of Mariner games, but I would have to say Morrow is now directly behind Putz.

Posted by: orioles19 | April 27, 2008 at 11:14 AM

Does anyone feel Kyle McClellan of St. Louis would get a shot if something is wrong with Izzy? He is not mentioned here, but it seems LaRussa wants to keep Franklin in his spot and is not apt to put Reyes as a closer.

Posted by: orioles19 | May 04, 2008 at 08:05 AM

I might add Ramon Ramirez as a third option for KC. He has been extremely effective as a 7th-inning guy thus far, stranding 100% of the runners he has inherited.

Recently, Hillman has started to use Ramirez in some 8th inning situations as well. I could see him getting a look if something were to happen to Soria (or if Soria were to ever get moved to the rotation, which I don't believe will happen this year).

Posted by: bluechipper22 | May 07, 2008 at 03:41 PM

One more guy to pay attention to for those in keeper leagues is Craig Hansen. While Papelbon isn't going anywhere soon (although it is somewhat telling that the Sox haven't signed him to an extension and buy out his arb years), it wouldn't surprise me to see Hansen in the key 7th/8th inning role with Okajima. Delcarmen has been abysmal to date, allowing 21 baserunners in 12 inn's (1.75 WHIP). His fastball command was nowhere to be found in April. Hansen, still only 24 years old (just seems older), was cruising through AAA before his recall to Boston.

16IP
6H
5BB
17 K
1.62 ERA (Gave up his first runs on April 29th)

More importantly, his stuff is back to his college days. According to fangraphs, his avg FB is 95.3, and he's been hitting 97 regularly. He's also found that slider that made him a 1st round pick in 05. Francona has mentioned a few times that his command is also improved. So while I can't see him taking over the closers role anytime soon, he's definitely someone to keep an eye on for the 2nd half of the year, especially if Delcarmens continues to struggle.

Posted by: ftheyankees | May 08, 2008 at 05:51 AM

Tim - I think you need to add Jose Veras to Yankees closing situation. He has put up good numbers and has recently pitched in some 8th inning spots. Farnsworth is struggling again and i could see a battle between those before I could see Edwar getting saves

Posted by: Dan W | June 19, 2008 at 07:43 AM

I'd keep an eye on Frank Francisco in Texas. He's not "next in line" at this point, but after a slow start to the season, he's put together some very good numbers over the last month or so, with a ton of K's per inning. Is it possible that he's just now fully recovered from surgery from 2 years ago? The guy can bring it, and no one in front of him lights the world on fire.

Posted by: YourPalChrisMal | July 13, 2008 at 01:43 PM

I'm not sure they are worthy of being put on this list, but Mike Adams is pitching very well for the Padres, and Brad Ziegler has been unbelievable for the A's, and is a great story too. 20+ IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 0.00 ERA?!?!

Posted by: YourPalChrisMal | July 13, 2008 at 01:47 PM

There is no way that zumaya is in front of Jones for Detroit. He doesn't get anything but setup duty. Jones is unfortunatley the solid closer until injured Then its a tossuo between Zumaya and Rodney!

Posted by: Coulson | July 13, 2008 at 02:17 PM

I have to drop one of these guys but can't decide. Who would you keep for the second half between Morrow or Franklin?

Posted by: JT | July 14, 2008 at 09:56 AM

I guess you would call this another longshot, but regarding the Nationals, I was watching the other night and Jon Rauch was not able to attend the game. Manny Acta indicated Joel Hanrahan would be given the save opportunity. Simply a FYI.

Posted by: orioles19 | July 21, 2008 at 05:17 PM

Which seems more likely to keep his job - Perez for St. Louis or Lewis for the Indians?

Posted by: homerjs50 | August 13, 2008 at 11:31 AM

Wheeler is getting the SVOPs in Tampa Bay while Percival is out. (Wish it was Balfour, I have him in all three of my leagues.)

Posted by: The Globalizer | August 27, 2008 at 05:02 PM

Corpas closing for the next week with Fuentes on bereavement.

Posted by: The Globalizer | August 27, 2008 at 05:03 PM