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There's a very important holiday coming up this weekend and you will see fireworks lighting up the sky in celebration: the mid-point of the Major League Baseball season. Some teams have already played their 81st game, but most clubs will reach that number at some point this weekend. After the 2020 season, nothing else can really be called "a weird season" in the same way, but like...2021 has been a weird season, right?
This week, we have as always some new committees forming, some old committees being taken over, some injuries, some rough outings, and more. Fewer and fewer bullpens are relying on just one guy to wrap up their wins, but baseball managers are still creatures of habit and it doesn't look like the closer role is going anywhere any time soon for most teams.
Be sure to keep an eye on our RotoBaller Closers and Saves Bullpen Depth Charts. They're updated daily, or sometimes even more often in this wild 2021 baseball season. With that being said, here are the closers, saves, and bullpen waiver wire pickups to consider for Week 15 - July 5 through July 11.
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Bullpen News For The Week
Philadelphia Phillies
The Phillies bullpen continued to be the Phillies bullpen this week. Even with manager Joe Girardi taking Hector Neris out of the closer's role, it was none other than Hector Neris himself who earned the first save of the "post-Neris era" in the Phillies bullpen. It came in an extra inning win in the second game of a doubleheader, after Jose Alvarado blew a save in the first game and Archie Bradley blew it in the second game. Girardi's bullpen usage throughout the week implies than Alvarado is still the first choice, but Bradley will mix in and Neris is still there too. This is a bullpen best left alone in most fantasy leagues.
Risers: Joe Girardi's blood pressure
Fallers: The members of the Philadelphia Phillies bullpen
Cincinnati Reds
Everyone pretty much thought the Reds were just making ends meet however they could until Tejay Antone (forearm) returned, and then he'd be the guy in the Cincinnati bullpen. That may have been true, but Antone ended up right back on the injured list almost before anyone even noticed he'd come back. So who looks like he's at the top of the Reds committee? Brad Brach. Yes, that Brad Brach.
Amir Garrett and Heath Hembree will mix in, and Sean Doolittle might get a late inning or two, but it looks like Brach might be the leader of the committee for now. Fantasy managers desperate for saves can almost certainly find him on the waiver wire, unless a similarly desperate manager got there first. Garrett has been pitching better lately, so he may see a ninth inning if Brach is unavailable or if a bunch of lefties are due to bat.
Risers: Brad Brach, Amir Garrett
Fallers: Tejay Antone
Detroit Tigers
Michael Fulmer (neck) had worked his way to the top of the Tigers ninth inning committee, but a second trip to the injured list, this time for a neck strain, has him out for at least 10 days. Jose Cisnero was already closing the gap and should now take over as the clear head of the committee in Detroit. Gregory Soto will be next in line after Cisnero, and things may stay that way even after Fulmer returns if the two healthy guys pitch well. Cisnero may be worth picking up in deeper leagues and should be available on most waiver wires.
Risers: Jose Cisnero
Fallers: Michael Fulmer
Short Relief
-Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman has a 17.47 ERA over the past three weeks and has walked eight of the last 21 hitters he's faced. Combine that with Zack Britton (hamstring) going back on the IL, and the Bronx Bullpen looks like it's in trouble.
-Kendall Graveman seems like the leader of the Seattle bullpen for sure now, with even less competition than before. He was sharing the committee with Rafael Montero for a while, but Montero has been bad while Graveman has been good, so it's going to be Graveman in most Mariners save chances going forward.
-Liam Hendriks is still the unquestioned closer for the White Sox, but the arms leading up to him have shuffled a bit recently. Aaron Bummer (hamstring) and Evan Marshall (forearm) were both placed on the injured list, so Ryan Burr and Garrett Crochet will be the bridge that will send the game to Chicago's closer for now.
-Paul Fry has been okay as the committee leader in the Baltimore bullpen, but Cole Sulser and Tanner Scott have both been better, so there could be a shift coming for the Orioles soon. Sulser would seem to be the first one to try to unseat Fry.
-Drew Pomeranz is back for the Padres and is a must-start in all holds leagues right away.
-Tanner Rainey on the Nationals and Ryan Tepera (calf) on the Cubs both landed on the injured list. The two high-strikeout eighth inning guys aren't expected to miss a ton of time, but they'll give room for others to earn holds in their respective bullpens.
-Jordan Romano is definitely the closer in Toronto now. No more committee for the Blue Jays. Romano has been excellent, recording 15 scoreless appearances in a row and getting all of the save chances except for one in a game in which he was unavailable.
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