Clay Holmes Still The Yankees' Closer

New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone confirmed that right-handed reliever Clay Holmes remains the team's closer heading into the 2024 season. The Yankees used Holmes in a variety of high-leverage roles to open last season, including in some save chances, but he was mostly used in the ninth inning in the second half of the […]

Paul Sewald Using A Changeup This Spring

Arizona Diamondbacks closer Paul Sewald has added a changeup to his arsenal this spring training. He hasn't thrown a changeup with any kind of regularity since the 2020 season. Upon arriving in Seattle before the 2021 season, he rode his fastball/slider combination into the closer's role for the Mariners. Through four Cactus League appearances, Sewald […]

Brewers Won't Name A Defined Closer To Fill In For Devin Williams

Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams (back) is expected to miss around three months due to stress fractures in his back. General manager Matt Arnold said he would leave the decision up to manager Pat Murphy and his staff as to who will be the team's closer while Williams is sidelined. Abner Uribe, as well as […]

Trevor Stephan To Undergo Tommy John Surgery

Cleveland Guardians relief pitcher Trevor Stephan (elbow) will undergo Tommy John surgery in the next week or two and will miss the entire 2024 season. The right-hander had been shut down with what was referred to as a deep bone bruise in his elbow this spring and more recently had been seeking additional medical opinions […]

Michael Kopech Moving To The Bullpen

Chicago White Sox right-hander Michael Kopech is being moved to the bullpen, according to general manager Chris Getz. It doesn't come as a huge surprise after Kopech finished last year pitching in relief for the Pale Hose. However, it's a bit more surprising after Chicago just traded ace Dylan Cease to the San Diego Padres […]

Fantasy Baseball Injury Reports for Pitchers - Updates for Devin Williams, Gerrit Cole, Eury Perez, Kodai Senga, Gavin Williams, and more

Opening Day is just two weeks away, meaning the MLB season will be here before we know it. That also means fantasy baseball drafts are in full force, and as always, injuries are already a challenge in the preseason. Many key hurlers are dealing with bumps and bruises before the season kicks off. Let's take […]

Steven Wilson Heading To White Sox

San Diego Padres right-handed reliever Steven Wilson is expected to go to the Chicago White Sox in the trade that sent starter Dylan Cease to the Padres on Wednesday, according to sources. In addition to Wilson, the Padres also sent pitching prospects Drew Thorpe and Jairo Iriarte and outfielder Samuel Zavala. Wilson, 29, has posted […]

Joel Payamps, Abner Uribe Could Be Candidates For Saves In Milwaukee

With Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams (back) expected to miss three months due to stress fractures in his back, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Curt Hogg writes that relievers Joel Payamps and Abner Uribe are among the most obvious early candidates to see save chances for the Brewers until Williams is able to return. There isn't […]

Devin Williams Expected To Miss Three Months With Stress Fractures

Milwaukee Brewers star closer Devin Williams (back) has two stress fractures in his back and is expected to miss around three months, according to sources. Williams pitched through back soreness last September, but it returned this spring. He will rehab and is expected to return by midseason. The top fantasy closer will now miss at […]

Who is the New Padres Closer for 2024? Fantasy Baseball Saves Outlook

Josh Hader signed a five-year, $95 million deal with the Houston Astros during free agency. The star closer played for the San Diego Padres in the last two seasons, and his departure left a void in the Padres bullpen. After Hader's departure, the franchise signed Japanese reliever Yuki Matsui to a five-year, $28 million deal. […]

Michael King Excelling In Cactus League Action

San Diego Padres right-hander Michael King has been very good in limited Cactus League action this spring. The 28-year-old has yet to allow an earned runs with four strikeouts against zero walks in five frames to begin his spring. Acquired from the Yankees in a trade that sent superstar Juan Soto to the Bronx, King worked […]

Jordan Romano Looking Good In Grapefruit League Action

Toronto Blue Jays reliever Jordan Romano has enjoyed a nice spring to this point as he prepares for the 2024 campaign. The right-hander has worked in five games so far, tossing a 2.08 ERA with six strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings of action. He has walked two hitters while limiting the opposition to a minuscule […]

John Brebbia Throwing Live BP Wednesday

Chicago White Sox right-handed reliever John Brebbia (calf) is throwing live batting practice in camp on Wednesday. Brebbia suffered a right-calf strain early in camp and has not appeared in a Cactus League game yet because of it. However, the 33-year-old veteran is working his way back and could still be ready for Opening Day […]

3 Overvalued Closers: Bust Candidates for Fantasy Baseball Drafts (2024)

Relief pitcher is one of the trickier positions to determine fantasy baseball value given the volatility of the position and the limited ways it can provide fantasy output. Generally speaking, relief pitchers are only valuable in most fantasy leagues if they serve as the closer for their team. There are exceptions depending on league type, […]

Camilo Doval Tosses Another Scoreless Inning

San Francisco Giants closer Camilo Doval tossed another scoreless inning in Tuesday's loss versus the Los Angeles Dodgers. Doval allowed two hits in the contest, with no walks or strikeouts. The fireballer has now thrown four innings this spring and allowed just three hits with two walks and five strikeouts. The 26-year-old appeared in 69 […]

Yuki Matsui Scheduled To Pitch Wednesday

San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt said Tuesday that relief pitcher Yuki Matsui (back) is slated to return to game action on Wednesday in the team's Cactus League finale against the Athletics. Matsui, who was signed this off-season, has missed the last three weeks with back tightness. However, the left-hander pitched in an intrasquad game […]

Gregory Santos Will Not Be Ready For Opening Day

Seattle Mariners reliever Gregory Santos (lat) will not be ready for Opening Day after he suffered a lat strain and will be shut down for a few days, per manager Scott Servais. Santos has been dealing with a lat issue this spring and was reportedly progressing well in his throwing program but has apparently suffered […]

Kenley Jansen Expected To Make Spring Debut Friday

Boston Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen's (lat) live batting practice session appeared to go well on Tuesday, as he gave a thumbs up and a "yes, sir" when asked how it went. He is expected to pitch in his first Grapefruit League game on Friday. The Red Sox have been slow-playing Jansen in camp after […]

ATC Projections: Overview and How to Use Them for Fantasy Baseball

As someone who played fantasy football for a lengthier period, the roster size, league depth, and categorical balance remained challenging in fantasy baseball. The player pool becomes difficult to master and understand, especially as the league and roster size grows. Thankfully, projection systems help give us a baseline of numbers of what to expect before […]

Closers and Bullpen Arms to Target for Fantasy Baseball Drafts - American League

The toughest decision you might have to make in your fantasy baseball draft is when to target a bullpen arm. Securing those saves in a roto league could be the difference between winning or losing a week. So, is it worth it to spend a fifth- or sixth-round pick on Houston Astros closer Josh Hader?  […]

Braves' Rotation Spot Down To Reynaldo Lopez, Bryce Elder

The Atlanta Braves final rotation spot is currently down to Reynaldo Lopez and Bryce Elder, per MLB.com's Mark Bowman. AJ Smith-Shawver put forth an impressive spring but was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett on Monday. Lopez has looked excellent this spring, while Elder has yielded poor results. Elder put forth a decent 2023 season for the […]

Edwin Diaz Strikes Out Side In Spring Debut

New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz (knee) made his first big-league appearance since the postseason of 2022 in Monday's 1-0 Grapefruit League loss to the Marlins. Diaz entered the game in the fifth inning and struck out the side swinging, touching 98 MPH with his fastball. The 29-year-old suffered a season-ending knee injury last March […]

Kenley Jansen To Throw Live Batting Practice Tuesday

Boston Red Sox closer Kenley Jansen (lat) is scheduled to throw another live batting practice session on Tuesday, per the Boston Globe's Pete Abraham. The 36-year-old reported right lat soreness early in camp and was shut down, but is now building up for Opening Day. Fantasy managers should monitor his situation for a better idea […]

Pete Fairbanks Makes Spring Debut

Tampa Bay Rays relief pitcher Pete Fairbanks made his spring debut against the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday. The right-hander threw a perfect ninth inning while striking out two batters. Fairbanks isn't coming off an injury, but the team is taking things slowly with him given his injury history. He was a viable ninth inning […]

Jason Foley Dealing With Arm Fatigue

Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch stated that reliever Jason Foley, who was scheduled to pitch in Sunday's Grapefruit League matchup with the Mets, did not pitch due to "mid-camp pitching fatigue." At least it doesn't sound serious, but on the other hand, fatigue this early in the season doesn't seem to bode well for the […]

5 Mid-To-Late Round Sleepers: NL West - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values

Welcome to the final draft sleeper series, where I go through every MLB team to find one sleeper you should be drafting in fantasy baseball this year. The NL West is the last one on our list. The NL West features plenty of superstars who are going early in drafts. Mookie Betts, Corbin Carroll, Freddie […]

Closers and Saves Bullpen Report for Fantasy Baseball - NL Edition

With a little more spring training behind us, we're back with the National League version of Closers and Saves Bullpen Report! Make sure to look over the American League edition that was published last week. There's still plenty of time until Opening Day, so as usual we can expect changes to come, but for now? Looks […]

4 Impact Relief Pitchers for Fantasy Baseball Drafts (2024)

As fantasy players, we love to use the term "breakout" to define players who will outperform their projections. Finding these values that others miss can be the key to a successful season for our teams. One such place where we need not only acumen but also luck finding helpful players is in the bullpen. Bullpens […]

Mid-Round Closers and Relievers - Fantasy Baseball Draft Values And Targets (2024)

Spring training is underway, March has arrived, and the fantasy baseball draft season is upon us. Wrestling with the thought of when to select a closer is a shared struggle among fantasy managers. A common misstep in drafts is to reach for the elite closers in a misguided effort to “lock down” the saves category. […]

Relief Pitchers To Target For Holds in Fantasy Baseball Drafts (2024)

Holds is a fun alternative stat category to saves. Chasing saves can be difficult, as most teams go with a traditional approach and have just one player serving as their closer. That makes finding them in fantasy baseball leagues potentially difficult, especially for managers who don’t want to spend early draft capital on a closer. […]