Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: (6/20)

We are hearing quite a buzz surrounding Cody Allen, the former closer for the Angels and Indians. Allen has been a huge disappointment for over a year now. The Indians were more than willing to walk away from Allen once they acquired Brad Hand and the Angels found out the hard way that Allen just may not have anything left. That being said, since being released by the Angels, Allen has had inquiries from over 10 teams about possibly signing with them. Allen will eventually sign, but it won’t be as a closer, so don’t make the mistake of paying a price to claim him. He is likely to sign with a contending team to be a part of their bullpen in the second half of the season, but he will have to prove to any team that he deserves to pitch in high leverage situations. Allen is best left alone and not placed on your fantasy roster.

National League

Atlanta Braves: Yeah, Luke Jackson is still the closer for now, but at this point, it’s become the exception, not the norm when he pitches well and records a save. Jackson has given up at least one run in five of his last seven outings. Yes, he has pitched in some bad luck and not all of those runs have been earned, but he also hasn’t been good enough to cover for his fielders when they make a mistake. The Braves just don’t have anyone else that they trust. It’s why it would be an upset if they don’t upgrade the bullpen before the July 31 trade deadline.                   

Chicago Cubs: Here is your weekly Craig Kimbrel update. Kimbrel had a clean outing in his first appearance for Triple-A Iowa on Monday and will throw another inning Friday. It’s at this point that the Cubs will make a determination as to his next step, but it’s expected that he will need to make a couple of more appearances for Iowa before being called up and activated by the Cubs.

Cincinnati Reds: Is Raisel Iglesias still the closer for the Reds? That’s certainly a question you can ask after the Reds passed over Iglesias twice in save situations this week in favor of Michael Lorenzen. In both contests, Iglesias pitched the 8^th inning instead of the 9^th. The first occasion Iglesias walked a couple of batters so maybe it made sense to replace him but not so much the second time. The Reds state that Iglesias is still the closer and I’m inclined to believe them.

American League

Baltimore Orioles: It’s so hard not to be sarcastic about whoever closes for Baltimore. This is an awful team that might not get 10 more saves the rest of the season, so yes, who cares who closes, but if you do, it’s Mychal Givens for now, but that won’t last the ROS either.

Minnesota Twins: As we discussed last week, the Twins are basically going with the committee approach at closer. Well, one person who won’t be closing for the immediate future is Blake Parker. Parker was placed on the Family Medical Emergency List on Wednesday and will be away from the team for the next 3-7 days. Taylor Rogers and Trevor May are the two most likely sources for saves if/when the need should arise for Minnesota.

Tampa Bay Rays: Jose Alvarado is still away from the team due to a family emergency. He hasn’t pitched since June 1. While there is still no timetable for when he might return to the Rays, manager Kevin Cash announced this week that when Alvarado does return, he will require a stint in abbreviated spring training and possibly the minor leagues before being called back up to Tampa. Alvarado wasn’t closing out every game before he left the team and who knows what will happen when he returns. If you need the roster spot, I would move on.

Toronto Blue Jays: It does indeed look like Ken Giles (elbow) will return from the injured list when first able. Giles threw 22 pitches in a rehab game Wednesday and assuming he wakes up with no residual problems Thursday, he is expected to be activated and returned to the closer role shortly thereafter.