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David A Marcillo looks at Week 17 closer performances around MLB for 2018, including bullpen changes. He identifies fantasy baseball waiver wire pickups and adds for saves.
The stove is warming up! Just when we were all being entertained by the All-Star Game being the most 2018 baseball game of the year, the Dodgers and Indians were busy making their teams better for the playoff push. While we're far from done with trade rumors and actual trades, two big dominoes did indeed fall during the break.
The Los Angeles Dodgers got Manny Machado from Baltimore, of course. More relevant to bullpens, the Cleveland Indians picked up both Brad Hand and Adam Cimber from San Diego. Add to those moves a relatively big name closer heading back to the disabled list, and you have a fairly eventful bullpen week despite not many games that count.
All that and more in this week's abbreviated Closers and Saves Report, so let's dive into the news and any suggested moves for your fantasy team this week:
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Bullpen News During the All-Star Break
Cleveland Indians
Cleveland has had bullpen issues all season, especially with superstar Andrew Miller spending most of the year so far on the disabled list. They've lost plenty of games in which their starting pitcher left the mound with a lead. So they gave up top catching prospect Francisco Mejia in exchange for Brad Hand and Adam Cimber. Hand could get some save chances right away, but manager Terry Francona will probably stick with Cody Allen at least until he messes up a couple of times. Cimber is a solid late-inning reliever, but won't factor into fantasy leagues beyond some deeper holds leagues. Miller's value, once he's back from the DL, shouldn't change much. Both Hand and Allen could see their values dip until one of them crawls to the top of the Cleveland bullpen food chain.
San Diego Padres
The Padres may be doing a little better than expected this year, but still not well enough to keep from selling pieces before the trade deadline. They sent their closer and one of their better relievers to Cleveland, but got back one of the best catching prospects in the game. For now, Kirby Yates will step into the closer's role in San Diego and should provide some solid mixed league value. However, Yates has already drawn interest from several teams and may also be in a different uniform come August.
Chicago Cubs
The Cubs haven't made a trade (yet), but they did make a transaction: closer Brandon Morrow was placed on the disabled list again, this time due to inflammation in his right biceps. Steve Cishek, C.J. Edwards, and Pedro Strop are all expected to see save chances in the meantime, but Morrow isn't expected to miss too much time.
Roster Moves of the Week
Adds
Kirby Yates, San Diego Padres- Who knows where Yates will be pitching after the deadline? At least for now, he'll be tasked with closing games in San Diego and should be able to excel in that role. He's an immediate add in all formats and should return excellent value until he gets dealt.
Drops
There are no immediate drops throughout the league, although owners of Brad Hand and Cody Allen should keep a close eye on the Cleveland bullpen to see what happens in the ninth inning. Eventually, one of those two will be given a permanent ninth-inning role, but for now it seems like they will share.
