Fantasy Baseball: Closer Report (5/16)

This is one of those weeks where I will enjoy writing the closer report because it will be a short one. It’s always good not to be able to write as much, but the reason why is even better. There haven’t been any new injuries to closers and over the past week and there have been no replacements. That doesn’t mean there isn’t any news, however. We are still hearing rumors of where Craig Kimbrel may end up. One thing I can almost guarantee now is that Kimbrel won’t sign until after the June 3 Amateur Draft. This holds true for Dallas Keuchel also. Why? Well if a team were to sign either player before the draft, they would be forced to give up a draft pick as compensation. With that draft less than three weeks away, there just isn’t a good enough reason for any team to give up that pick. They might as well just be patient and sign one or both on June 4. They both will sign, where is trickier. Will Kimbrel be willing to sign with a team as a setup man and not a closer, especially if he’s offered more money to do so? It should be quite a drama to see what happens. If Kimbrel is available on your waiver wire, the longer you wait to claim him, the more expensive he will become.

National League

Atlanta Braves: The Braves are likely to be one of those teams that will kick the tires on Kimbrel. They are down to their third-string closer as of this moment. Arodys Vizcaino is out for the season with a bum shoulder and A.J. Minter was just sent down to Triple-A due to poor performance. As of now Luke Jackson is the closer and granted, he’s pitching well, but the odds are against his retaining this role for the entire season as there is nothing in his past history that would suggest he will be an elite closer. Still, if he’s available, and you need saves, you have to grab him.

Chicago Cubs: Although manager Joe Maddon has stated that he will go with the dreaded closer by committee with both Brandon Morrow (elbow) and Pedro Strop (hamstring) on the IL, it seems clear that Steve Cishek is the choice over Carl Edwards. That doesn’t mean you should be running to the WW to claim Cishek. It looks like Strop could return by the end of the month with Morrow a possibility a couple of weeks after that. Every save is important, but just keep in mind that Cishek won’t belong in this role.

Miami Marlins: The good news for Drew Steckenrider and the Marlins is that the injured reliever will not require surgery on his elbow. The bad news is that Steckenrider is still out indefinitely. Once again though, this really doesn’t matter as the Marlins only have 10 wins right now and are on pace to finish the season with only 40 victories. How many saves can we expect any reliever on this team to accumulate? Sergio Romo is still the closer you want here, at least until he’s possibly traded by the deadline.

Philadelphia Phillies: David Robertson has been shut down for three weeks due to his elbow injury. This pretty much means we won’t see him in Philadelphia until at least mid to late June and even that seems somewhat unlikely. Once again, we need to ask, does it matter? Hector Neris may end up keeping the job, Perhaps, this is the team that signs Kimbrel. We know they have the money to do so if they wish. If you need the IL slot, I’m good with sending Robertson packing.

American League

Tampa Bay Rays: Jose Alvarado still doesn’t have a save since April 7. It seems the Rays have been saving him for high leverage situations against left-handed batters. If that situation in the 9^th inning, well then you might get a save from Alvarado, if not, then a hold is the best you can hope for. The Rays have always been the team that goes against the grain as far as baseball is played in this day and age. They believe in using their relievers when the situation calls for it and not according to the save rule. Good for them. More teams should actually do this. Fantasy owners, of course, are not happy as this leaves them guessing as to who will get a save, Diego Castillo, Emilio Pagan, or Alvarado.