Archive for Closers

… you’re the next closer for the Boston Red Sox!

Last night, the much-maligned Joel Hanrahan suffered an elbow strain while in the midst of blowing a save against the Twins at Fenway. Initial reports after the game were not positive with Hanrahan eschewing the clichéd “yeah, it’s a little tight, but I’ll be fine” and instead going with comments like “I threw the pitch and felt a little pull. My forearm went with the ball,” before eventually finishing the interview with “the pickoff at first, the ball barely got there. I threw one more. I couldn’t take it anymore.” Ouch. Those don’t sound like the comments of a man who thinks his removal from a tie game was an overly cautious one. With Hanrahan headed for an MRI today and quite likely to join fellow Boston late-inning reliever Andrew Bailey on the disabled list, the team’s bullpen depth, considered one of their key assets as recently as a week ago, is suddenly being tested.

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• As Colin suggested last night, the Red Sox placed Andrew Bailey on the DL backdated by a week. He should return in not too long if the soreness subsides in his biceps, but if Bailey has one weakness it’s his ability to stay healthy.  Joel Hanrahan would theoretically be back to his pre-season role as the full time closer for the Sox but Hanrahan blew the save tonight off of a Brian Dozier home run and left the game with an injury. We’ll have to wait to hear more information on Hanrahan but behind him in the seventh and eighth innings is Junichi Tazawa  and Koji Uehara who have both been fantastic this season. One of them could figure to pick up a save if Hanrahan were to miss any time and both should be considered great options for holds this week as well. While Uehara won’t pitch consecutive days for the Red Sox I assume he’ll get the first nod for saves if Hanrahan and Bailey were to be out.

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April showers bring May flowers, and the last Bullpen Report of April.

• With Joel Hanrahan on the DL, Andrew Bailey has done quite well saving five games with a 1.78 FIP and a stellar 42.6% K%. There has been speculation on who will close once Hanrahan returns, and now that he’s back the latest seems to be that Bailey will continue to close. Sean McAdam says that’s the plan “for now” and that both are “on board with the arrangement.” I suppose if Hanrahan turns it around in the seventh and eighth innings that he could reclaim the ninth, but with the way Bailey is pitching it’s hard to say that’s a likely scenario. Bailey is no beacon of health, and Hanrahan’s return as well as the great depth in the Sox pen (Koji Uehara and Junichi Tazawa) might lead to a Hanrahan opportunity to keep Bailey fresh, but my guess is Bailey keeps the job all year.

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When possible, we try to avoid one-trick ponies in fantasy baseball. That’s why hitters like Mike Trout, Carlos Gonzalez and Andrew McCutchen are as valuable as they are — they’re balanced and typically contribute to each of the traditional five hitting categories. But when honing your search for the perfect middle reliever in your deep holds league, the task becomes a bit trickier. In order to get the best bang for your buck, you want to look for the middle reliever who can earn the scab win, grab a save when the anointed closer has the night off and posts eye-popping whiff rates.

Let’s take a look at the four middle relievers who currently have at least one hold with a K% of 30% or better and a fifth reliever you should be paying attention to.

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• Matt Reynolds recorded the first save of his career last night in the eleventh inning and tonight recorded his second save again in extras, this time the tenth inning. J.J. Putz had blown the save last night and with the day off today the D-backs turned to David Hernandez in the ninth but he couldn’t get the job done. Hernandez owners can’t be too mad as he ended up with the win, but it would have been nice to see him close the door following a Putz blown save. Before the game, D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said that Putz is still their closer. Considering that Putz did nothing wrong today, I don’t imagine the ninth inning role being handed to Matt Reynolds, or anyone else for the time being, assuming Putz is healthy. Reynolds is a tall, decent lefty out of the bullpen (not the highest of praise) but his chances of seeing any future save opportunities will have to continue to be in extra innings, when the regulars (Hernandez and Heath Bell) have already been used.

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• Colin said it last night, and I don’t really have all that much to add so, “All aboard the Edward Mujica bandwagon!” Adam Wainwright couldn’t quite complete what he started and Mujica came on for the two out save, his third of the year. I’d be interested in betting some gummy bears or Jelly Beans on Trevor Rosenthal finishing the year with the ninth inning role but sometimes a pitcher can just run away with the job once he gets a hold of it and for now, Mujica has that opportunity.  Mujica has always had fantastic control (career 4.1% BB%) and this year he’s striking out a few more batters than he has in years past (28.6% K%) on the heels of an increased SwStr% of 14.9%, which would be  a career high. Small sample size warnings obviously apply, but if Mujica maintains any improvement in missing bats, it will go a long way in cementing him not only as the closer in St. Louis, but a particularly good one for fantasy.

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• Suffering through a hamstring injury, the Red Sox placed closer Joel Hanrahan on the Disabled List today. As we have said, expect Andrew Bailey to continue to replace Hanrahan in the closer’s role. While there is no timetable on Hanrahan’s return, it doesn’t figure to be too bad of an injury. However, considering how poor Hanrahan was pitching this season, he won’t be given such a long leash upon his return. Andrew Bailey should be owned in all leagues and while Hanrahan is out, teams desperate for saves or interested in helping their ratios can take a flier on Koji Uehara.

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• With Joel Hanrahan out with a hamstring injury Andrew Bailey came on for his first save opportunity of the year and proceeded to blow the lead, allowing an RBI single to Ben Zobrist who knocked in Desmond Jennings after he singled and stole second. Fortunately for Bailey owners, the Red Sox scored in the bottom half of the inning, getting Bailey the win. Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless eighth inning and while he might be the best reliever of the bunch in Boston the Red Sox don’t want him to pitch on consecutive days too often, limiting his potential to close games consistently, if at all this season. Still, as I mentioned previously, with a 14.33 K/BB last year and a career 2.67 FIP as a reliever, Uehara can be a useful fantasy player for many teams. Bailey may have blown the save, but he’s still pitched great this year (0.74 FIP/15.19 K/9) and significantly better than Joel Hanrahan. Hanrahan hasn’t lost the job, but if he doesn’t pitch well upon his return, it won’t be his for much longer. In spite of today’s results, pick up Bailey if you need saves.

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After word that an MRI revealed a torn ligament in Jason Motte’s elbow, fantasy owners should be assuming the worst. If Motte will indeed succumb to Tommy John> surgery, then someone is going to have to close the rest of the season for the Cardinals. But who will that be? The team opened the season with Mitchell Boggs in that ninth inning role, while Trevor Rosenthal waited patiently in the wings as the setup man. But after recent performances, the pecking order may have shifted.

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• After blowing the save last night against the Giants and receiving the win, Cubs closer Kyuji Fujikawa has been placed on the 15-day disabled list. The Cubs plan to go with a committee approach but Marmol won’t be part of that committee, leaving the save opportunities to Shawn Camp and James Russell while Fujikawa is on the shelf.  Teams in need of saves should certainly look towards Camp and/or Russell but unless you are desperate, the roster spot used on a mediocre reliever hoping to chase a few saves on a committee might not be worth it. Rafael Dolis was called up for Fujikawa and although he received a few save ops last year, he has a 6.18 ERA in the majors and mediocre peripherals throughout his minor league career. Shawn Camp’s better than his seasonal 6.75 ERA but with a career 6.2 K/9 and 4.09 FIP, if you’re not in a very deep or NL-Only league, he might hurt hurt your roster if he’s not getting consistent saves. James Russell, like Camp has uninspiring numbers and should only be owned if you really need the saves.

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