Author: George Kurtz, Staff Writer
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be no better time for Fantasy owners to hear this news than going into your playoffs or battling down the stretch. Good luck to everyone in either case.
Baltimore Orioles: Any concern about Zach Britton and his knee seem to have been eliminated as he has now gone four straight appearances without allowing a run. You might worry a little bit about the Orioles shutting him down if/when they are eliminated from playoff contention but that isn’t likely to happen until the end of September at the earliest.
Blake Parker saved three games before blowing a save Monday. AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter
Cleveland Indians: Andrew Miller is still on target to return to the bullpen within 10 days. He won’t take over the closer role from Cody Allen but could once again be a good source of Ks and ratio protection for a Cleveland team that doesn’t seem to want to lose right now.
Colorado Rockies: After struggling for most of August, Greg Holland has also seemed to right the ship with three straight scoreless outings. There were some whispers that Jake McGee could take over the closer role from Holland if he continues to struggle but for now, that talk has been quieted. With the Rockies struggling to hold onto the final wildcard spot in the National League, the team may not give Holland all that much rope to hang himself with.
Los Angeles Angels: As we play spin the closer with the Angels, it’s now Blake Parker’s turn to see what he can do in the role. Well, after converting four straight save opportunities, he blew the save Monday in Oakland. The Angels did eventually win the game but with Bud Norris likely to return from the disabled list Tuesday, it’s really anyone’s guess as to who will lead the team in saves from this point on. It could be Parker or maybe Cam Bedrosian; I mean, at this point it wouldn’t surprise me if KenyanMiddleton got a shot.
New York Mets:Jeurys Familia has been struggling since his return from the DL and doesn’t seem to be any closer to taking over the ninth inning role from A.J. Ramos. With the Mets out of contention, there really isn’t much of a need to take a chance with him or any pitcher on the roster. Then again, nothing would surprise me with this team as they have decided to start Matt Harvey on short rest Wednesday after a terrible outing Saturday in Houston. How does this make any sense? Didn’t he just come back from a long DL stint? Now you want to start him on only three days’ rest? Familia could still end up as a Top 10 closer next year but I wouldn’t trust him now, even if the Mets did put him back as closer.
New York Yankees: Aroldis Chapman is also no closer to returning as closer. The Yankees are in quite the battle for a playoff spot and don’t have the time to let Chapman work through his problems. DellinBetances is the closer with David Robertson next in line. As for Chapman, he is the seventh inning guy and even that is iffy, as manager Joe Girardi seems very hesitant to bring Chapman in the game if it’s close. The next save Chapman gets for the Yankees is likely to be next season.
San Francisco Giants: Mark Melancon will eventually need surgery for chronic exertional compartment syndrome that could sideline him for a couple of months. Melancon is hoping to postpone this surgery until the end of the season and still pitch for the Giants in September. Even if he is able to pull that off, he is unlikely to pick up any more saves. Sam Dyson has done quite the job since taking over for Melancon and the ninth inning should be his at least until spring training.
As always feel free to follow me on Twitter and ask any questions you like, @georgekurtz.
| Team | Closer | Bullpen | Deep Potential | DL | Top Hold Reliever |
|---|
| ARI | Fernando Rodney | Archie Bradley/David Hernandez | Archie Bradley | Randall Delgado | Archie Bradley |
| ATL | Arodys Vizcaino | Jose Ramirez/Jim Johnson/Jason Motte | Mauricio Cabrera | | Jim Johnson |
| BAL | Zach Britton | Mychal Givens/Brad Brach/Darren O'Day | | | Brad Brach |
| BOS | Craig Kimbrel | Matt Barnes/Heath Hembree/Addison Reed/Joe Kelly | | Tyler Thornburg | Addison Reed |
| CHC | Wade Davis | Carl Edwards/Pedro Strop/Hector Rondon/Koji Uehara/Justin Wilson | Carl Edwards | | Justin Wilson |
| CHW | Juan Minaya | Chris Beck/Jake Petricka/Gregory Infante | | Nate Jones | Jake Petricka |
| CIN | Raisel Iglesias | Drew Storen/Michael Lorenzen/Blake Wood/Wandy Peralta | | | Drew Storen |
| CLE | Cody Allen | Bryan Shaw/Zach McAllister/Dan Otero/Nick Goody/Joe Smith | | Andrew Miller | Dan Otero |
| COL | Greg Holland | Adam Ottavino/Pat Neshek/Jake McGee | | | Pat Neshek |
| DET | Shane Green | Alex Wilson/Joe Jimenez/Bruce Rondon | Joe Jimenez | | Alex Wilson |
| HOU | Ken Giles | Luke Gregerson/Chris Devenski/Tyler Clippard | | Will Harris | Luke Gregerson |
| KC | Kelvin Herrera | Brandon Maurer/Mike Minor | Brandon Maurer | Joakim Soria | Brandon Maurer |
| LAA | Blake Parker | Kenyan Middleton/Cam Bedrosian/Bud Norris | Kenyan Middleton | Huston Street/Andrew Bailey | Cam Bedrosian |
| LAD | Kenley Jansen | Tony Watson/Pedro Baez/Josh Fields/Tony Cingrani | | | Tony Watson |
| MIA | Brad Ziegler | Junicha Tazawa/Kyle Barraclough | Kyle Barraclough | | Junicha Tazawa |
| MIL | Corey Knebel | Jacob Barnes/Jared Hughes/Anthony Swarzak/Jeremy Jeffress | Jacob Barnes | | Anthony Swarzak |
| MIN | Matt Belisle | Ryan Pressly/Taylor Rogers/Tyler Duffey/Glen Perkins | | | Taylor Rogers |
| NYM | A.J. Ramos | Hansel Robles/Erik Goeddel/Fernando Salas/Jerry Blevins/Jeurys Familia | | | Fernando Salas |
| NYY | Dellin Betances | Aroldis Chapman/Adam Warren/Chad Green/David Robertson/Tommy Kahnle | | | David Robertson |
| OAK | Blake Treinen | Santiago Casilla/Liam Hendricks/Ryan Dull/Chris Hatcher | | | Santiago Casilla |
| PHI | Hector Neris | Luis Garcia/Juan Nicasio | | | Juan Nicasio |
| PIT | Felipe Rivero | Daniel Hudson/Joaquin Benoit | | | Daniel Hudson |
| STL | Seung Hwan Oh | Kevin Siegrist/Matt Bowman/Brett Cecil | Matt Bowman | Trevor Rosenthal | Brett Cecil |
| SD | Brad Hand | Ryan Buchter/Kirby Yates/Phil Maton/Carter Capps | Carter Capps | | Kirby Yates |
| SF | Sam Dyson | Hunter Strickland/George Kontos/Mark Melancon | Derek Law | | Mark Melancon |
| SEA | Edwin Diaz | Nick Vincent/Marc Rzepczynski/David Phelps | Shae Simmons | Tony Zych | Nick Vincent |
| TB | Alex Colome | Steve Cishek/Ryan Stanek/Brad Boxberger/Tommy Hunter/Dan Jennnigs/Sergio Romo | | Xavier Cedeno | Brad Boxberger |
| TEX | Alex Claudio | Jose Leclerc/Jason Grilli/Keone Kela | | Jake Diekman/Matt Bush | Keone Kela |
| TOR | Roberto Osuna | Danny Barnes/Ryan Tepera | Joe Biagini | | Danny Barnes |
| WSH | Sean Doolittle | Sammy Solis/Enny Romero/Matt Albers/Shawn Kelley/Brandon Kintzler | | Koda Glover/Ryan Madson | Brandon Kintzler |
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