Welcome to the penultimate edition of the Closer Report. For those of you in head-to-head leagues, you are hopefully in the postseason right now. If you are in roto leagues, hopefully you are at least in the hunt for the title. Either way, there are a few situations that could pay off for fantasy owners even with such little time remaining on the schedule. The grid has stayed mostly the same over the last couple of weeks, but keep up with any possible changes by following this link. Anyway, on to the news.
Changes Coming in San Francisco, but For Real This Time
Last week, I wrote that the Giants were finally moving away from Santiago Casilla as their closer after what seems like year of flirting with that possibility. As it turns out, that wasn’t entirely true as he was still in the mix among a bunch of different names. After a strong performance in a blowout last Friday, he got a save chance on Saturday. Of course, he blew the opportunity, and now Bruce Bochy is ready to officially move on. Unfortunately, there still isn’t a clear replacement for the ninth inning. Sergio Romo had been my choice for much of the year, but he’s allowed a run in each of his last two outings while recording just two total outs in that span. The talent is still there, but he’s probably squandered his chance with such a little amount of time left and the team in the midst of a tight playoff race. It appears the two main candidates right now are Hunter Strickland and Derek Law. The former might have the most overall talent in the bullpen, but he’s been inconsistent over his short career and is coming off a rough appearance himself. As of right now, Law seems to be the man to own despite being a rookie. He’s missed most of September, but has been largely successful when he’s on the mound. Additionally, he appears to have gotten the most positive comments from Bochy in the press. Strickland is a solid add as well, as the duties could be split, but if I had to choose one Giant for the last two weeks I’d go with Law.
Checking in on the Other Side of the Bay
It’s not just San Francisco that is dealing with closer controversies, as Oakland is across the bay with some questions of their own. Of course, the A’s are a terribly inferior team, and whoever their closer is will carry less value than the Giants’ even in such a small sample. Still, saves and saves and if you can find them on the waivier wire at this time of year you jump all over that. Ryan Madson has held the job all year against all odds, but it looks like the grip is finally loosening. He’s not allowed runs in each of his last three outings, and was given a night off in their last save chance. Getting the opportunity — and converting it — was Ryan Dull. You may remember Dull as the guy I was wrongly obsessed with earlier this year, but he may finally get his chance. The only issue is that Madson hasn’t officially been relieved of his duties, and he may have just gotten a night off when Dull got the save. Additionally, Sean Doolittle is back and one could assume they want him to return to closing in 2017 after a lost season. I still think Dull is worth an add if you need saves, but only because there aren’t many other options. In dynasty leagues, I may look to add Doolittle before he’s officially thrust back into the role.
Dellin Betances is Struggling
This segment is not for those in redraft leagues, as changes aren’t coming to New York right now and you obviously are not dropping Delling Betances. With that being said, he’s been bad in September. He’s allowed runs in four of seven outings and owns a 9.95 ERA since the calendar’s flipped. His strikeout stuff is still elite with 10 Ks in 6.1 innings, but his command is way off. As I said, he’s not someone to drop, but this is something to think about heading into next year. This is now the second year in a row that he’s been overused all year only to break down in September. Obviously, the rest of the season makes him worth it, but it’s worth considering. Additionally, the Yankees could try to retool their bullpen by bringing in one of the many good relievers set to hit free agency, including Aroldis Chapman or Kenley Jansen. Such a situation would push Betances back to a set-up role. Anyway, this is all speculation but I wouldn’t go out of my way to deal him in long-term leagues, but it’s something I’d at least explore heading into the offseason.
Quick Hits
I’ve talked about the Marlins for weeks now, but it appears A.J. Ramos has completely taken the closer role over. This isn’t much of a surprise, but it’s nice to see as a Ramos supporter. Unfortunately, I have a bad feeling (again, speculation) that he’ll be dealt over the offseason.
Tony Cingrani is struggling. It’s absolutely incredible that he’s kept the closer role all year, and he’ll probably keep it for the rest of the season. However, the fact that he’s struggled to finish the year makes it almost a sure thing he won’t get the job back in 2017.
Take literally everything I just said about Cingrani and apply it to Jeanmar Gomez.
Thank you for reading
This is a free article. If you enjoyed it, consider subscribing to Baseball Prospectus. Subscriptions support ongoing public baseball research and analysis in an increasingly proprietary environment.
Subscribe now