Darren Oliver: Fantasy Closer Update

Yesterday afternoon we got word that Neftali Feliz was placed on the disabled list with right shoulder inflammation, and it’s always scary when a young flamethrower has a shoulder injury. You can expect the Rangers to take their sweet time with Feliz’s rehab, making sure he’s fully healthy before activating him. They’d be stupid not to considering his long-term importance to the franchise. That opens the door for Darren Oliver, who grabbed the first save opportunity (and save) in the Neftali-less era last night.

Unfortunately the matchups in yesterday’s game don’t tell us anything useful. With a well-rest bullpen, manager Ron Washington turned to Oliver with a two-run lead against the Royals. He struck out the first batter (lefty hitting Kila Ka’aihue) before retiring the relatively punchless (and right-handed) Matt Treanor and Alcides Escobar on a ground ball and a fly fall, respectively. If Oliver had been brought in to face two or three tough lefties, then we’d have to wonder if it was matchup based. If he faced two or three tough righties, then we’d feel slightly more confident about Oliver’s chances of keeping the job going forward.

Oliver’s been around forever and he is what he is. He’s whiffed close to a batter per inning over the last two seasons (4.82 K/9 in a SSS this year) and has consistently kept his WHIP’s sub-1.20, and he is also more than a traditional lefty specialist. Oliver has faced more right-handed batters than left-handed batters every year since 2002, and his platoon split isn’t huge (4.39 FIP vs. RHB, 3.92 vs, LHB). He’s got the “proven veteran” tag and he did a great job for Washington last year, two things we can’t discount when trying to figure out who will close in Feliz’s absence.

Until further notice, consider Oliver the ninth inning guy in Texas. He’s owned in just 12% of Yahoo! leagues and in 7.7% of ESPN leagues, and there’s surely someone on your roster you can sacrifice in the sake of saves. If Feliz’s injury ends up lingering longer than expected, expect Texas to scour the relief trade market. Heath Bell seems like a natural fit, but we’re getting way ahead of ourselves. Oliver’s the man right now, and that’s what matters.