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This week we saw a bunch of turmoil in the closer world, with high profile guys returning and a couple of closers losing their jobs.
The relief pitcher waiver wire is poised to get a lot more interesting moving forward! Here’s what to keep an eye on...
Editor’s Note: to read about even more waiver wire options for closers and relief pitchers, be sure to check out our famous waiver wire pickups list which is a running list that is updated daily.
Closer Updates for Week 7
Kenley Jansen (LAD)
Jansen has finally made his way back from injury and is a must own player in all leagues. He was one of the top projected closers coming into the season, and manager Don Mattingly announced that Jansen will move right into the closer role after his great first appearance back.
In that outing, he pitched a full inning with a rare four strikeouts on only 14 pitchers. One of the batters reached base on a strikeout pitch that wasn’t blocked by the catcher. Jansen is a high strikeout pitcher, averaging just over 1.5 strikeouts per inning over the last three seasons as the Dodgers primary closer.
This also means that Joel Peralta and Chris Hatcher owners may want to start looking for value elsewhere. Peralta owners will want to be especially aggressive, as he is dealing with injuries and on the DL at the moment.
Addison Reed (ARI)
Reed has been removed from the closer role for the time being after consistently allowing base runners and in some cases giving up runs. Manager Chip Hale announced that he will still use Reed in some situations but not as the closer. Reed is owned in 54% of all Yahoo! leagues so you may want to look for other options is he is on your team.
The Dbacks are having trouble getting their bullpen in save situations so we can’t exactly be sure who will be the closer moving forward but Brad Zielger, at only 17% owned in Yahoo! leagues looks to be the primary candidate. While he won’t get a you a ton of strikeouts, he is a ground ball pitcher with a career 2.51 ERA and could get some save opportunities if the team ever can maintain a lead. If you’re a Reed owner I would take a strong look at Ziegler to plug in a play for the next couple of weeks.
Jake McGee and Brad Boxberger (TB)
I touched on this situation last week and it looks as though McGee and Boxberger will be closing based on match ups for the time being. While I still would like having either guy on my team, this does limit the potential of both guys as they’ll be taking away from each others save chances. They’re both high strikeout guys and still valuable to own.
Steve Cishek and AJ Ramos (MIA)
After blowing his fourth save of the season, the Marlins manager at the time, Mike Redmond, announced that he’d be removing Cishek as the closer. A brutal blow for Cishek owners who has dropped to 56% owned in Yahoo! leagues. He had been getting battered around this season, culminating in back to back blown saves that really cost him his job.
It looks like AJ Ramos will be stepping in as the closer right now and at only 46% owned in Yahoo leagues he’d be a nice pickup off the waiver wire. While he has had some ups and downs in his short career, he has proven that he will get strikeouts, averaging more than one per inning. The Marlins just fired their manager Mike Redmond so hopefully a new sense of urgency will allow Ramos to get some save chances moving forward.
Neftali Feliz (TEX)
Feliz owners beware, as it looks like his time as the sure fire closer could be coming to an end. While he hasn’t officially been removed as the closer, Rangers manager Jeff Banister did infer that he will be going with a bullpen by committee for the time being. This comes after Feliz blew his third save of the season, giving up three runs in an innings work.
There may be some value on the waiver wire in Shawn Tolleson who is only 5% owned in Yahoo leagues. He has been brought in late in the last two games and has more than a strikeout per inning so far in his career. With the Rangers falling short of expectations so far, a shake up in the bullpen is definitely something that's needed. This situation is certainly one to monitor over the next couple of weeks.
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