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Fantasy baseball closers, saves and bullpen waiver wire pickups for Week 16 (2022). David's relief pitcher and bullpen updates, and potential closers to add.
The deadline is coming! The deadline is coming! It's like Christmas for many baseball fans: the trade deadline. This season, we get a few extra days of rumors and what ifs, as the deadline won't be until August 2. The Yankees and Royals kicked things off early with the Andrew Benintendi trade, and there will certainly be dozens more coming in the next few days.
RotoBaller has you covered for all your trade deadline needs! Take a look at last week's Closers and Saves Report for coverage on every team's bullpen and what might happen in the next couple of days. Before that though, let's go through what went down this week in bullpens across the league.
Be sure to also keep an eye on our RotoBaller Fantasy Baseball Closers and Saves Bullpen Depth Charts. They're updated daily, or sometimes even more often in this wild 2022 baseball season.
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New York Yankees - Bullpen and Closers News
The Yankees bullpen took a hit this week, as Michael King suffered a fractured elbow. He's done for the season and may even need to miss a large part of 2023, but for now the team is hoping to have him back next year. With King out and Aroldis Chapman still struggling, the Yankees bullpen suddenly looks a little more vulnerable than expected.
We could see them be very active in the relief pitcher trade market over the next few days. For now though, Clay Holmes remains entrenched as the closer, with Wandy Peralta and Lucas Luetge working ahead of him. Holmes should keep his closer job, but Peralta and Luetge's setup roles could change if the Yankees bring in new high leverage arms.
Risers: n/a
Fallers: Michael King
Seattle Mariners - Bullpen and Closers News
The Mariners bullpen was a full on committee (and, arguably, a full on mess) for a while at the beginning of the season. Paul Sewald took matters into his own hands though, and pitched well enough that he was the outright traditional closer for Seattle for quite a while.
This week though? Looks like he may be back in a fireman role. In two straight games, Sewald pitched in a very high leverage eighth inning. That left other Seattle relievers to pitch the ninth inning and earn the saves. Sewald will remain the guy to roster in the Mariners bullpen (unless they pick up a "big name" closer at the deadline), but his value takes a hit in saves only leagues when he's not out there only getting saves.
Erik Swanson got two saves this week and he could continue to see work in the ninth inning. Meanwhile, Diego Castillo was placed on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation. Matt Brash is up to take his spot, and if he pitches well, could work his way into the late inning mix. For now, it'll be Sewald, Swanson, and likely Andres Muñoz in the late innings.
Risers: Erik Swanson, Andres Muñoz
Fallers: Paul Sewald, Diego Castillo
Boston Red Sox - Bullpen and Closers News
The Red Sox bullpen got a boost with the return of Garrett Whitlock, but it also raised a few questions about how things would shape up. Tanner Houck has been operating as the team's closer, and doing a pretty good job at it. This week though, Whitlock picked up a two inning save by retiring all six batters he faced in the eighth and ninth innings of a ballgame.
Houck remains the closer in Boston, but another few strong outings by Whitlock could at the very least turn this into a committee of sorts. Houck is still the one to roster in saves leagues if you have to pick one, but Whitlock may be the better fantasy asset for managers in saves+holds leagues.
Risers: Garrett Whitlock
Fallers: Tanner Houck (very slightly, for now)
Short Relief - Other Bullpen News
-A clear sign that he's going to get traded (as if we needed another one), Cubs closer David Robertson was "unavailable" several times this week despite no workload concerns.
-Nick Martinez is ascending in the Padres bullpen. With Taylor Rogers apparently on thin ice despite leading the league in saves, Martinez or Luis Garcia could be next in line.
-The Phillies will definitely add a reliever or two at the deadline, but they may not need to make a ninth inning switch, as Seranthony Dominguez has been excellent in the role, saving all five games he's had a chance to.
-Willians Astudillo, now an everyday starter in Don Mattingly's Marlins infield for some reason, maintained his 0.00 ERA after a relief appearance this week. It's possible he's better at pitching than he is at anything else.
-Ryan Pressly spent some time on the paternity list this week, but returned and immediately picked up a save in his first appearance as a new father.
-Jake McGee signed with the Brewers this week after being released by the Giants. His history states that he may work his way up into the late innings, but his extreme struggles this season may disagree.
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