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Week 2 of football season is here. That means Week 25 of baseball season is here, so THAT means: it's playoffs time in almost every fantasy baseball league. Some leagues are deep in it, some are in their first week, and others are already wrapping up. But playoffs or not, head-to-head or rotisserie, it's crunch time folks.
Every little stat matters. Every save, hold, strikeout, run allowed...anything can be the difference between being the victor to whom the spoils go and just having your season spoiled. This week, two key closers hit the injured list, some bullpens got shuffled around, and a former closer looks to have regained his role. That and more, read on for this week's Closers and Saves Report!
Be sure to also keep an eye on our Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Charts for saves, holds, and bullpens. They will be updated daily or sometimes even more often throughout the 2023 baseball season.
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Chicago Cubs - Bullpen and Closer News
The Cubs have had a committee approach in their bullpen for parts of this season, but Adbert Alzolay had taken over for the most part and was doing an excellent job. This week, however, Alzolay landed on the injured list due to a forearm strain, leaving the Cubs once again with a ninth-inning committee.
The first save chance went to Michael Fulmer, who had just been reinstated to take Alzolay's roster spot. Mark Leiter Jr. figures to see the most save chances as he currently leads the team with four saves. Fulmer and Julian Merryweather will likely mix in as well, but fantasy managers looking for saves would probably do best to go with Leiter Jr. and his wicked splitters here.
Risers: Mark Leiter Jr., Michael Fulmer, Julian Merryweather
Fallers: Adbert Alzolay
Boston Red Sox - Bullpen and Closer News
The Red Sox bullpen has been anchored most of the year by veteran closer Kenley Jansen. He's having a solid season, putting up 29 saves and a 3.63 ERA to go with four blown saves all year. This week though, Jansen landed on the COVID-19 IL and will be out for at least seven days. At first, reports said that Jansen was dealing with fatigue. But that fatigue turned out to be due to the virus.
In his place, Chris Martin should see the majority of save chances. Josh Winckowski, Garrett Whitlock, and John Schreiber all move up a notch and should be decent holds league candidates. Martin is the one you want if you're looking for a temporary source of saves as the season winds down.
Risers: Chris Martin
Fallers: Kenley Jansen
Short Relief - Other Bullpen News
-We were told Ryan Helsley wouldn't pitch in back-to-back games. He has already pitched in back-to-back games and has three saves. He's the Cardinals' closer.
-David Robertson couldn't cut it as Marlins closer after cutting it as closer for plenty of other teams. He's settled in nicely as a high-leverage holds option in the earlier innings.
-Justin Lawrence appeared in a save spot this week and converted it, but it was after Tyler Kinley had pitched in two straight games.
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