Alex Colome finds himself right back in the closer’s role following another injury to Brad Boxberger

Even though the first “official” day of summer won’t be until June 20th, come on. It’s June, there’s baseball, it’s summer. With that comes closer news, and with some important things happening this week in the world of bullpens, let’s jump right in.

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Closer News From Around The League

Tampa Bay Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays had been waiting all season for closer Brad Boxberger to take the mound. They were so high on him that manager Kevin Cash said he would retake the closer’s role despite the excellent start to the season by Alex Colome. Colome probably felt slighted, seeing his 20 saves, 1.23 ERA, and 11.86 K/9 relegated to the eighth inning. But worry not, Alex. The injured Boxberger came back to the mound, pitched 2/3 of an inning while allowing two runs on two hits and a walk, then went right back onto the disabled list. His first time on the DL this season, he missed the first eight weeks of the year recovering from core muscle surgery. This time, it’s an oblique injury that will keep him off the mound. Oblique injuries can be tricky for pitchers, so there’s no specific timetable on Boxberger, but it’s likely to be 4-to-8 weeks until he’s able to pitch again. In the meantime, Colome will continue as the team’s closer and should continue to be an excellent option in all fantasy leagues.

Milwaukee Brewers
Before the season started, Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell said that the closer role would be a competition between righty Jeremy Jeffress and lefty Will Smith. Eventually, he admitted that both relievers would get save chances, creating the dreaded closer by committee for fantasy players. Then, Smith managed to tear his right LCL while putting on his shoe, leaving the ninth inning to Jeffress alone. Jeffress did a fine job, saving 13 games in 14 chances and posting a 2.55 ERA. He’s not a strikeout pitcher, though, punching out just 6.20 per 9 innings. Counsell has already said that Smith may see save chances soon, and he will be a much more attractive fantasy option for owners. While a split closer’s role is always messy and preferably avoided, Smith’s 12.93 K/9 in 2015 would look great in the ninth inning. He may eventually take the role outright from Jeffress, so Smith may be worth holding onto for now and reaping the rewards later.

San Diego Padres
As this is being written, it is June 2. San Diego Padres closer Fernando Rodney has allowed…zero earned runs. Yes, that same Fernando Rodney who on June 2 last season had an 8.18 ERA. Rodney has been revitalized in Southern California, saving 10 games and registering a pristine 0.00 ERA. He’s right around his career averages in strikeouts and walks per nine innings (8.05 K/9 this year, 8.78 career; 4.26 BB/9 this year, 4.38 career). The big difference has been, unfortunately, unsustainable. He’s allowing a .182 batting average on balls in play (BABIP) which is well below his career number of .287. He’s also stranded 94.4% of runners on base, unsustainably higher than his career average of 73.8%. There are some positives, though, as his 60.5% ground ball rate is the highest of his career and can lead to easier outs. He hasn’t lost significant velocity on his fastball either, so while he won’t end the season with a 0.00 ERA, he should still be a solid closer for the remainder of the year. This may be the time for owners to attempt to sell high, but holding onto him wouldn’t be the worst outcome either.

Injury Updates

Mentioned above, Rays closer Brad Boxberger returned from the DL for one appearance and went right back on with an oblique injury. He’ll be out 4-to-8 weeks and may have lost his closer role for good assuming Alex Colome continues his dominance.

Los Angeles Angels closer Huston Street returned to the mound this week, tossing a perfect inning and getting a win on May 31. He’ll take over closer duties from fill-in Joe Smith and should hold onto his inning barring another injury. While not a high upside guy by any means, Street is solid and owners are surely happy to have him back.

Injury Update favorite and Twins closer Glen Perkins is scheduled to throw off a pitcher’s mound this weekend. It is the first in many steps toward coming back to the Twins, and another setback is always possible. Kevin Jepsen will likely continue to pitch the ninth inning until Perkins is back and at full strength.

Top Performers From May 26 – June 2

• Wade Davis (KC): 4 IP, 5 K, 4 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.82 WHIP
  Royals closer Wade Davis was at the top of his game this week as the only closer to save four games. He did so in four scoreless innings, striking out five, and allowing just one walk and two hits.

• Zach Britton (BAL): 4 IP, 6 K, 3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.92 WHIP
  Orioles closer Zach Britton had a great week as well, saving three games and pitching in four overall. He allowed only three hits and a walk, striking out six.

• Roberto Osuna (TOR): 4 IP, 4 K, 3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP
  Blue Jays closer Roberto Osuna saved three games this week over four appearances, striking out four while allowing just two hits and one walk.

It was an overall not-so-impressive week for closers, as the only other pitcher to save three games, Houston Astros closer Luke Gregerson, posted a 10.80 ERA for the week. Jonathan Papelbon, A.J. Ramos, and Kevin Jepsen all saved two games this past week, but their other numbers weren’t impressive enough to be worth more than just a mention.

David A. Marcillo is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from David, check out his archive and follow him @DavidMarcillo77.