It took Fernando Rodney until June 21 to allow his first ER of the season
With summer officially here, according to the calendar, and baseball fans already starting to scoreboard watch, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of a solid, reliable closer. Some teams have their guy and know if they’re winning in the ninth, they’ve won the game. Other teams are certainly tiring of ninth inning roller coasters and are desperate to find an arm that can get them out of the inning with the lead intact. Here’s a look at this week’s closer news and notes.
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Closer News From Around The League
Cincinnati Reds
After trading All-Universe closer Aroldis Chapman in the offseason, the Reds started the season with J.J. Hoover as their closer. All he did was save one game and post a 9.72 ERA. That led to a demotion to Triple-A, and the Reds scrambled to find a ninth-inning option. Since Hoover’s demotion, lefty Tony Cingrani has become the team’s de facto closer, saving eight games and posting a decent enough 3.86 ERA. His 5.11 FIP, however, shows plenty of cause for concern. Relievers Blake Wood, Ross Ohlendorf, and J.C. Ramirez also picked up saves since Hoover left the role. This week, the Reds recalled Hoover, who posted a 3.38 ERA in Triple-A, and activated Rasiel Iglesias from the disabled list. Iglesias began the year as a starter and pitched to a 3.26 ERA with great strikeout and walk rates (8.60 K/9, 2.37 BB/9). The team has decided to have Iglesias pitch out of the bullpen for the remainder of the season in order to save his arm. While it has not yet been decided or possibly even discussed, Iglesias would seemingly have a chance to pick up saves at some point down the line. He is by far the best pitcher in the Reds’ bullpen, and current “closer” Cingrani has five blown saves and is walking almost as many batters as he is striking out. For fantasy owners with roster space who are willing to take a chance, Iglesias is a good pickup right now. He’ll be eased in with middle relief and mop-up innings, but it’s hard to imagine him not working his way up to more and more significant appearances.
Minnesota Twins
The guessing game with Glen Perkins is finally over. When he first landed on the disabled list in early April, some reports said he would only need to miss the required 15 days before returning. Kevin Jepsen was installed as the team’s closer in the meantime. Then, gradually, Perkins needed more and more time. Jepsen struggled in the closer’s role and rumors began to swirl about Trevor May potentially taking his place. Perkins started throwing bullpen sessions, but they were not going well as the pain in his shoulder was continuing to bother him. Jepsen, meanwhile, continued to struggle and May, struggling himself, was injured and joined Perkins on the DL. Before long, Jepsen was removed from the closer’s role and replaced by an announced committee of righty Brandon Kintzler and lefty Fernando Abad. Not long after, the Twins announced that Perkins would be shut down and forced to undergo season-ending shoulder surgery. While the closer’s role is supposed to be Kintzler and Abad, Kintzer had appeared for every save opportunity since replacing Jepsen until Abad had an appearance this week. However, Abad’s appearance came after Kintzler had converted four-out saves two days in a row. Also, Abad’s name has been mentioned in trade rumors for teams looking for a left-handed reliever. While this closer’s role maybe a committee in name, it’s clearly Kintzler’s job, with Abad as his handcuff.
San Diego Padres
Padres closer Fernando Rodney allowed his first earned run. While this predictable event could have been written about on April 12th last season (when he allowed four earned runs), it was not a potential discussion topic this year until June 21st. June 2-1. That’s when Rodney allowed his first earned run of 2016. He’s sitting pretty with a 0.34 ERA and 15 saves, having allowed just that one earned run all season. His FIP shows he’s actually been pretty good, although not 0.34 ERA good, of course (2.41 FIP). Since last season, his strikeout rate is up and his walk rate is down. He’s stranding tons of runners, inducing ground balls, and (obviously) not allowing home runs. While his ERA will gradually go up, it probably won’t even make it to the 3s. Rodney is having a legitimately good season and owners who drafted him likely after every other team had two closers are reaping the rewards. Of course, anyone with a 0.34 ERA at this point in the season is a sell-high candidate, but Rodney’s owners shouldn’t worry about keeping him on for the rest of the season.
Injury Updates
Closer Report Injury Update darling Glen Perkins will have his last mention of the season here in this week’s report. As mentioned above, Perkins will undergo season-ending shoulder surgery, leaving the Twins closer spot to (mostly) Brandon Kintzler and (occasionally) Fernando Abad. Perkins was initially expected to be fine for the start of next season, but surgery revealed more damage than was initially expected. As such, his availability for the start of 2017 is now more in question, and his offseason progress will have to be monitored for those considering him. The good news is that he will likely have his ninth-inning job waiting for him whenever he is able to return.
Washington Nationals closer Jonathan Papelbon went on the disabled list on June 13th due to a right intercostal strain. He was able to play catch on the field for a few minutes this week, but that is only the first step in the recovery process. He’s likely to need another two to three weeks of rest and rehab before he’ll be ready to return to the mound. Shawn Kelley, a better reliever than Papelbon anyway, is filling in as closer in the meantime and is worth a pickup in all formats.
Top Performers From June 16 – June 23
Sam Dyson (TEX): 4.0 IP, 1 K, 4 SV, 0.00 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
Rangers closer Sam Dyson was the only closer to record four saves this week. He did it by pitching four innings and allowing no runs on four hits and a walk. Not a dominant week for Dyson, but he’s not that kind of pitcher. He won’t light up a strikeout column, but he’ll continue to collect saves as the season goes along.
A.J. Ramos (MIA): 4.0 IP, 5 K, 3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP
Marlins closer A.J. Ramos has been perfect all season with 22 saves in 22 opportunities. He kept that up this week by saving three games by allowing just two hits and no walks in four innings. The zero walks are incredibly encouraging, and Ramos is a bit better control away from being an elite closer.
Jeurys Familia (NYM): 4.0 IP, 4 K, 3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP
Mets closer Jeurys Familia had a very similar week to Ramos. Familia also saved three games by allowing just two hits and no walks in four innings of work.
Fernando Rodney (SDP): 3.0 IP, 8 K, 2 SV, 2.70 ERA, 1.20 WHIP
Padres closer Fernando Rodney may have given up his first run on the season this week, but he also struck out almost every batter he faced. Getting a total of nine outs this week, eight of them were strikeouts. In his three innings, he allowed the one earned run on three hits and a walk. Rodney’s sparkling 0.00 ERA is now a still-sparkling 0.34.
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David A. Marcillo is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from David, check out his archive and follow him @DavidMarcillo77.
