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Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: Week 16

Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: Week 16

Here was my reaction when I heard about the A’s-Nationals trade involving Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson.

And here was my reaction when I heard that the White Sox had traded both David Robertson and Tommy Kahnle to the Yankees after I’d been telling everyone to stash Kahnle for the last few weeks.

(I’m sorry, guys. I just love GIFs. It’s a problem. I’ve sought help.)

Ranking the closing situations in recent weeks has been incredibly difficult because nearly every reliever is rumored to be on the trade market. Even if a pitcher is doing well (i.e. Robertson), he could quickly be shipped to a contending team and be relegated to a set-up role.

While it got a little easier with the recent trades, we’ve got a long week-and-a-half coming up until the deadline. So let’s do our best to navigate the landscape.

Bookmark our Closer Depth Chart for updated coverage throughout the season partner-arrow

Team (Closer) Current Rank Previous Rank
Dodgers (Kenley Jansen) 1 1
Red Sox (Craig Kimbrel) 2 2
Cubs (Wade Davis) 3 3
Rockies (Greg Holland) 4 5
Blue Jays (Roberto Osuna) 5 6
Brewers (Corey Knebel) 6 7
Rays (Alex Colome) 7 8
Yankees (Aroldis Chapman) 8 4
Pirates (Felipe Rivero) 9 13
Royals (Kelvin Herrera) 10 9
Astros (Ken Giles) 11 10
Mariners (Edwin Diaz) 12 18
Indians (Cody Allen) 13 12
Twins (Brandon Kintzler) 14 14
Reds (Raisel Iglesias) 15 16
Marlins (AJ Ramos) 16 17
Diamondbacks (Fernando Rodney) 17 19
Tigers (Justin Wilson) 18 20
Orioles (Zach Britton) 19 21
Mets (Addison Reed) 20 22
Giants (Sam Dyson) 21 23
Nationals (Committee) 22 30
Angels (Bud Norris) 23 24
White Sox (Tyler Clippard) 24 11
Braves (Jim Johnson) 25 25
Padres (Brandon Maurer) 26 26
Cardinals (Committee) 27 15
Phillies (Hector Neris) 28 28
Rangers (Committee) 29 29
Athletics (Santiago Casilla) 30 27

 
The Big Movers

Aroldis Chapman is still amazing, but being honest, I’m not entirely convinced he’s healthy. His swinging strike rate is just 12.5% on the season, easily a career low. His strikeout percentage is similarly much lower than usual, standing at a still-stellar 32.7%, but well below last year’s 40.5%. And that strikeout rate has been worse lately. Since he returned from the disabled list, it’s at just 28%. A “bad” version of Aroldis Chapman is still better than most other relievers, but with David Robertson now behind him, the Yankees might not be as hesitant to let Chapman have a break.

Speaking of David Robertson, with his move to the Yankees, the White Sox situation drops pretty heavily. The team wasted no time naming Tyler Clippard as its new closer, which was . . . unexpected. All closers need to be owned, so Clippard is obviously a pickup. But, I mean, the dude has nearly a 5.00 ERA on the season and is walking 4.71 batters per nine innings. And he’s also playing for a team that doesn’t win very much. So, he certainly doesn’t rank very high on the list.

Edwin Diaz suddenly looks a little like what we expected him to look like, doesn’t he? Entering Thursday, he had run off five saves in six games, allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out 10 over five innings. Diaz has obviously been a bit of a roller coaster ride this season, so I wouldn’t be pushing all my chips to the middle of the table with him. But he’s certainly trending in the right direction, in part because of his performance and in part because so few closing situations are safe.

The Nationals finally addressed their hot mess of a bullpen, adding both Sean Doolittle and Ryan Madson. Doolittle got and converted (albeit in messy fashion) the first save opportunity, while Madson pitched a perfect eighth and looked great doing it. Honestly, I’d be shocked if the Nationals are done adding to their bullpen and, as I’ve said repeatedly, I maintain that the leader in saves for the Nationals for the rest of the season is not yet on their roster. But for now, even though we can’t be sure who the regular closer is, the situation moves up significantly, because it’s narrowed to two guys, both of whom should get the job done. And that’s LIGHTYEARS ahead of where it’s been this season.

Finally, it’s time to just avoid the entire Cardinals bullpen. If I own Seung-Hwan Oh, I’m probably still keeping him on my roster if I’m desperate for saves, but I have no idea who is going to get the next opportunity. Between Oh, Trevor Rosenthal, and Brett Cecil, the Cardinals are full of struggling relievers, each of whom has had opportunities to take the closer job, but none of whom appears to want to do so. It’s certainly a situation to avoid as of now.

Random Musings

You know who’s good? Felipe Rivero, that’s who. Tops among relievers with a 0.71 ERA. Fifth in WHIP with an identical 0.71 WHIP. Zero blown saves on the season. And with the Pirates suddenly one of the hottest teams in baseball, there are save chances aplenty, and the kid has six saves and a win in July. One of the best surprises among relievers.

It seems pretty likely that A.J. Ramos is going to be dealt, so the Marlins situation should probably be lower. But frankly, the majority of team situations below them are just as unsettled, and Ramos has been solid this season. With the David Phelps trade, Ramos owners would be wise to stash Kyle Barraclough and just hope the Marlins’ asking price for Ramos is too high. If he does get dealt, he likely loses the closer’s role, unless it’s to Washington.

What are the Diamondbacks going to do with Fernando Rodney? After the J.D. Martinez trade, it’s clear they’re in it to win it. And can a team like that really afford to put its life in the Wild Card game in the hands of Fernando Rodney? Despite a few hiccups lately, Rodney has been mostly fine since the first month of the season. But, anyone who has watched him pitch knows that he makes his manager and fantasy owners uncomfortable at best. My bet is that they make a deal for a reliever, which could put Rodney’s job at risk. Not much to do if you’re a Rodney owner, other than be on the lookout for other relief help on the waiver wire.

Finally, the Rangers have activated Keone Kela from the disabled list. Like most people, I expect Kela to take over as the everyday closer, but with Alex Claudio’s success, I’m not taking it as a given. if Kela does grab the job, the Rangers will move up significantly.


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Dan Harris is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Dan, check out his archive or follow him on Twitter at @danharris80.

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