Welcome to the first Bullpen Report of 2013! Starting Opening Day, we’ll be back on a nightly basis, discussing near real-time bullpen happenings and what those Heath Bell meltdowns mean for your fantasy squad (hint: not too much this year). To stay sharp, we figured we needed to get a couple side sessions in to make sure we’re ready so we’ll be popping in every few days for the next couple weeks to hopefully provide some assistance (at least do no harm) for your drafts and pre-season waiver moves.

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It’s easy to see the Red Sox bullpen following many trajectories. They have assembled a staff which could prove to be one of the league’s elite, with his strikeout guys littering the 6th-9th innings. However, red flags exist if they are not appropriately snuffed out as the season opens, it’s also easy to see some of these guys suffering continued regression from their career peaks and Boston’s pen instead being most useful if you had a time machine and could bring them to 2011.

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Natstown had to suffer through some reliever identity issues early in 2012, but that doesn’t appear it will be the case in 2013. After getting guys healthy and a high-profile signing to shore up the end of games, Washington appears to have one of the more dynamic set of late inning pitchers in the majors. Stephen Strasburg owners must be be pleased.

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Minnesota’s bullpen is almost a twisted version of a stars and scrubs crew. OK, I guess it’s not even stars and scrubs, since you need bonafide stars for that, but they do at least have two very solid under-the-radar options for use late in games. Unfortunately for their fans, the currently mediocre starting pitching/offense figure to preclude them for having many leads late in games. Even when they do, the rest of their relief crop doesn’t appear helpful, either, being primarily filled with lots of slightly-above replacement level talent, but little else. Fantasy owners should only be interested in a couple names before moving on to other chum in the water.

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Pittsburgh has one of the younger bullpens in the league… outside of their newly-anointed closer, of course. There isn’t a ton of fantasy upside beyond the ninth, but pitching in the National League for a team that may be able to hang out in the middle of the pack means there should be some nice rates/holds plays from a few up-and-comers if you are so inclined.

The closer:
Jason Grilli

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Oakland’s bullpen should be largely unchanged from 2012 save for the addition of a couple pieces in the middle relief department. Their late inning relievers have impressive peripherals and should serve again as a core strength as they look to repeat as American League West champions. They also seem likely to be a nice collection of guys for rate-hungry owners since their home park should help keep their HR/FB% suppressed and their ERAs slightly lower than their park-regressed xFIPs.

The closer:
Grant Balfour

Balfour had an up-and-down 2012. He opened the season as closer, but eventually lost the gig in early May. All was not lost for Balfour owners who stashed, however, and he reclaimed the role in August and didn’t look back, holding opponents to a .125/.200/.167 triple-slash down the stretch. He’s now 35, but still had a firm grasp on a mid-20’s K% last year and should remain effective in ninth inning. His age and contract does make him a trade candidate for a team that has traditionally moved closers (such as Andrew Bailey) near the apex of their value, so owners should keep an eye on that come June and July.

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The Mariners bullpen packs quite the punch, with four guys at the back end who have the potential to strike out nearly one-third of the batters they face. Unfortunately for Seattle, there might not be as many holds or saves available to these guys as they would like, but for owners looking for rates there is plenty of fantasy relief upside tucked away in the Pacific northwest.

The closer:
Tom Wilhelmsen

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The Dodgers pen just might be one of the more interesting in the league. For the second year in a row, their best reliever will not be opening the season as closer and they have three former top-30 fantasy pitchers “fighting” to be the long-reliever on a team of all-stars and massive contracts. Tremendous roster turnover (at least amongst the relief corps) might have been lacking during the offseason, but that doesn’t mean the pecking order doesn’t offer the potential for intrigue.

The closer:
Brandon League

The setup guys:
Kenley Jansen
Ronald Belisario

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In the coming weeks, we’ll be covering each team’s potential depth charts in an effort to shine a spotlight on the interesting playing time battles that will be waged this spring. Obviously none of these depth charts are set in stone — rather they should function to focus your attention in the right places to find cheap fantasy value.

Early pecking order:

The closer:
J.J. Putz

The setup guys:
David Hernandez
Brad Ziegler
Heath Bell

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Monday’s surprising Oakland/Houston trade has generated a lot of buzz in baseball circles. While most of the discussion centered around Jed Lowrie and Chris Carter, one interesting name headed out of the Bay Area is Brad Peacock, former Nationals blue-chipper who was moved to Oakland last offseason in the Gio Gonzalez deal. Many may remember there was a fair amount of sleeper buzz last spring surrounding Washington’s former number one prospect, even after he was slated to start the season in Triple-A. Unfortunately, he just never seemed to put it together. Peacock, who seemed to be a candidate to be the first recall after the Athletics broke camp, eventually struggled to a 6.01 ERA for the Sacramento River Cats, never getting the call to make the trip short trip west down I-80.

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