Fantasy Baseball: Closer Report (5/10)

When it comes to a “points” league, how much should a save be worth? When setting up such a league, part of the strategy is to make all players or positions valued somewhat evenly. If you’re a regular reader of mine, you know that I think the save stat may be the silliest in baseball for various reasons, but that doesn’t mean we can ignore it fantasy. I mean, I don’t like AVG either, tells you almost nothing about a player, but we still need to fill that category in fantasy. I prefer to make saves worth approximately two-thirds of what a win is. I don’t want people to treat closers like they would a quarterback in fantasy football and wait forever to draft one. It’s all about forcing owners to make tough decisions during a draft. Now for some more bad news about closers.

National League

Atlanta Braves: Although no official announcement has been made, it looks like Luke Jackson is now the closer for Atlanta. This not likely to be a long term position for Jackson, but one that needed to be made after the recent struggles of A.J. Minter. It is still likely that Minter gets another chance to regain the role, but he will need a few clean outings before that chance becomes a reality. As for keeping Minter on your roster, well that depends upon how badly you need saves and also your roster composition, but if you own Jackson, you may want to keep Minter as insurance.

Chicago Cubs: Pedro Strop was placed on the IL Wednesday with a Grade 2 strain of his hamstring, the same hamstring he injured last September. The good news is that the injury isn’t considered as serious as the one last year, but it’s still likely to cost him all of May. In his absence, the Cubs will likely go with a committee consisting of Steve Cishek, Carl Edwards, and Brad Brach. Cishek blew his first save opportunity Wednesday which certainly doesn’t instill much confidence. Perhaps the Cubs will be in the market for a closer as the trade deadline approaches.

Miami Marlins: It’s not that you were dying to have a Miami closer on your team anyway, but Drew Steckenrider was placed on the IL due to elbow inflammation. When it comes to any elbow injury, we are always worried about Tommy John surgery. As of this moment, there is not any indication that will be needed. If you’re desperate for a closer, Sergio Romo is your man here, but you shouldn’t expect much.

Philadelphia Phillies: There have been unconfirmed rumors that David Robertson could begin a throwing program in the near future. Even if true, the question will remain, does he get the closer job back when healthy? Robertson wasn’t pitching all that well before the injury and Hector Neris has done nothing to lose the job since taking over. Neris has failed as the closer for Philadelphia in the past, so even if he does stay in the role upon the return of Robertson, it’s hard to see him having a long leash.

American League

Boston Red Sox: The Sox don’t have a true closer. One game it looks like Ryan Brasier, the next Matt Barnes, but in any given game they could be used in the middle innings. One has to believe that Boston will eventually trade for a more established closer at some point this season. If I had to ride one guy, it would be Brasier, but I say this with zero amount of confidence.

Los Angeles Angels: Cody Allen was reinstated from the IL on Tuesday but that hasn’t changed anything. Allen had lost his job before the injury and will return as a setup man at this point in time. That’s not to say he won’t regain the job at some point in the future, just not immediately. Allen will need to prove to manager Brad Ausmus that he has overcome his early season struggles. Hansel Robles is still the reliever you want now, but his leash just got a little shorter.

Oakland Athletics: Blake Treinen can breathe a big sigh of relief. It was thought that an IL stint would be needed after he reported an elbow injury. While it’s true that Treinen didn’t pitch in 10 days (the same length as an IL stint) he proved himself 100% healthy when he pitched two perfect innings Wednesday with two strikeouts. Treinen is safe to once again place in your lineup.

Seattle Mariners: Hunter Strickland who has been on IL with a lat injury has been cleared to begin a throwing program and could return to Seattle in early June. Like so many other returning closers from injury, the question will be, will he return to the closing role for Seattle. My guess would be yes as it isn’t like Roenis Elias or Anthony Swarzak have excelled in the role. This is yet another team that doesn’t have a true closer on their roster, but that isn’t surprising as they are rebuilding and weren’t expected to compete this season.

Tampa Bay Rays: It’s hard to understand what is going on in the bullpen for the Rays. Jose Alvarado doesn’t have a save since April 7, despite only allowing two runs in 10 appearances and sporting a 1.20 ERA and 1.07 WHIP since then. Perhaps the Rays are running their bullpen the way most teams truly should. They are bringing in their relievers when the situation dictates, not when the save rule does. This does make sense. If you want to win every game possible, your best reliever might be needed in the 7^th inning when the heart of the lineup is coming up, rather than the 9^th when facing the bottom of the order.

Texas Rangers: Since being removed as the closer for Texas, Jose Leclerc has two clean appearances. Leclerc will get the job back eventually. The Rangers said as much when they removed Leclerc. That time may be now as Shawn Kelley was placed on the IL on Thursday with some kind of infection. The question will be, were those two clean appearances by Leclerc enough for him to be trusted in the ninth inning? If that answer is yes, Leclerc should close again immediately, if not, it’s likely that Chris Martin gets the next save opportunity, but even if he does, he’s not someone you should be running to the waiver wire to add as Leclerc should be back closing out games sooner rather than later.