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It's Week 1 of football season, which is exciting here at Rotoballer for many reasons! One specific reason, here at Closers and Saves Report, is because Week 1 of football means Week 1 of the fantasy playoffs is very very soon. Some leagues with expanded playoffs already started, but by next week, it seems safe to say that most head-to-head fantasy baseball leagues will be at least starting their playoff tournament.
Just like real baseball, every little thing counts in the fantasy playoffs, as one save, one loss, even one strikeout could be the difference between your team surviving another week or virtually going home. This week, we had a big trade deadline name finally pitching how his new team hoped he would. We had a former big name closer pick up another save. We had...actually not a ton of bullpen news, for maybe the first time all season? This was by far one of the quieter bullpen weeks of 2022, but as always, we'll find something to talk about.
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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San Diego Padres - Bullpen and Closers News
Josh Hader is finally back. Maybe. The former Brewer converted two straight saves this week, including one with his first 1-2-3 inning in over a month. Nick Martinez, who had been working as San Diego's closer, pitched the eighth in the game where Hader got his second save in a row. There's no official announcement from the team just yet, but Hader getting the last two save opportunities and especially Martinez pitching before him leads us to believe that Hader is back on top of this hierarchy. At least he's the head of the committee if the Padres choose to still mix and match a bit.
Risers: Josh Hader
Fallers: Nick Martinez
Texas Rangers - Bullpen and Closers News
Jose Leclerc was one of the best relievers in baseball in 2018. He was solid despite some bad luck in 2019 as well, but then only threw two innings in 2020 and missed all of 2021. Well, Jose Leclerc, it seems, is back. He's pitched 38 2/3 innings this season, posting a 3.03 ERA and picking up three saves so far. He actually has the two most recent saves for the Rangers, but one was on August 26 and the next on September 6. Still, Jonathan Hernandez, the (at least) committee leader of the Rangers bullpen, has been struggling with his command quite a bit lately. Leclerc's most recent save came on a day when Hernandez's availability was in question, but with the two relievers trending in different directions, we could see Leclerc jump into the ninth inning more often in the season's final month.
Risers: Jose Leclerc
Fallers: Jonathan Hernandez
Short Relief - Other Bullpen News
-Kyle Finnegan has been rather solid this year as Washington's closer. A poorly-timed blowup outing this week may have fantasy managers thinking differently, though.
-Ian Kennedy has been struggling for the Diamondbacks, blowing his last two save chances, but it doesn't seem like they're about to go back to Mark Melancon any time soon.
-Ryan Pressly could have come off the IL on Tuesday for the Astros, but he reportedly still wasn't feeling "quite right". He should be back soon, but Rafael Montero will continue to close in the meantime.
-James Karinchak is good (at baseball) again.
-Peter Fairbanks has three of the last six saves for the Rays, putting him right up there with Jason Adam as co-heads of the Tampa Bay Revolving Door.
-John Schreiber has three of the past four saves for the Red Sox, but he's still not going to work on his own ahead of Garrett Whitlock. Schreiber has just been able to make the most of his opportunities, it seems, and could get a few more to wrap up the season.
-Kenley Jansen has been struggling while Raisel Iglesias has been excelling, but there doesn't seem to be a change coming any time soon in Atlanta.
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