Pat Neshek Tosses Another Scoreless Inning

Following his return to the Philadelphia Phillies after a trade-deadline move last season, relief pitcher Pat Neshek has made three appearances for the club this spring. The 37-year-old was rocked by the Yankees in his opening outing, allowing three runs in an inning. Since then, he’s tossed two more innings, with the most recent coming Saturday against […]

Matt Bush Heading Back to Bullpen

T.R. Sullivan reports that the Texas Rangers have informed pitcher Matt Bush that he will be returning to the bullpen to start the season and will not be used as a starter. The former first overall pick had been stretching out all spring, even going so far as to work on a third pitch, but […]

Randall Delgado Dealing With Left Oblique Injury

Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Randall Delgado is dealing with a left oblique injury that puts doubt on his availability for Opening Day. While manager Torey Luvullo is unsure of Delgado's status for Opening Day, he has said that Delgado's timeline has been pushed back due to the injury. Delgado was set to be a key part […]

Jim Johnson, Blake Parker will be Setup Guys

Both Los Angeles Angels relief pitchers Jim Johnson and Blake Parker are expected to start the season in setup roles, with Cam Bedrosian serving as the closer for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Bedrosian began last season as the closer as well, but injuries kept him off the field and allowed veteran Bud Norris to […]

Kyle Barraclough Dazzles On Sunday; Expected To Be Miami's Setup Man

Miami Marlins relief pitcher Kyle Barraclough should begin the season as Miami's setup man, paving the way for the veteran Brad Ziegler to close out games for the Marlins. Barraclough's 22 holds were eighth most among National League relievers last season, though he did blow four saves as well. He pitched extremely well in just one […]

A.J. Minter Having Strong Spring

Atlanta Braves relief pitcher A.J. Minter has not allowed a run in his four games so far. He's gone 4 1/3 innings, striking out six and walking none. That's a good line for the lefty and it helps manager Brian Snitker know that he's going to be handing the ball to someone who will likely […]

Ross Stripling To Start Wednesday

Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Ross Stripling will start for the team on Wednesday. He'll throw a bullpen session Sunday and should be fine after that. Stripling has had a quiet spring so far. He was one of the players hit by the virus that swept through the clubhouse a few weeks ago. He picked his […]

Corey Knebel Says He's Fine

Milwaukee Brewers closer Corey Knebel (knee) said he is fine and occasionally deals with tendinitis in his knee. He is not expecting to miss any time in spring training. Those that already own Knebel can take a sigh of relief for now. The hard-throwing right-hander posted an amazing 14.9 K/9 and 39 saves in a […]

David Robertson Makes Spring Debut

After dealing with a bout of food poisoning, New York Yankees reliever David Robertson finally made his spring training debut Saturday against the New York Mets. He faced just two batters and tossed just six pitches, but they were all strikes, resulting in two strikeouts. The 32-year-old appears very likely to be the club’s eighth-inning pitcher […]

Hector Neris Gives Up First Runs Of Spring

After a strong first four outings to start spring training, Philadelphia Phillies closer Hector Neris struggled Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays, taking a loss. The 28-year-old allowed three runs on three hits, also striking out two during his brief outing. Prior to Saturday's loss, Neris appeared in four games, allowing just two hits and […]

Brad Ziegler Still On Track To Be Marlins Closer

Relief pitcher Brad Ziegler is still expected to be the Miami Marlins closer when the season starts, according to Joe Frisaro of MLB.com. The veteran Ziegler is close to 40 years old and is coming off one of the worst seasons he's ever had. In 2017, Ziegler finished with 10 saves but also blew five, […]

Greg Holland an Option for Rangers Closer?

In an article from Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports, it is reported that the Texas Rangers have considered signing free-agent reliever Greg Holland to bolster their bullpen ahead of the 2018 season. The move would make sense, as Texas has yet to name a closer. Currently, incumbent Alex Claudio is expected to start the season […]

Corey Knebel Tweaks Knee

Milwaukee Brewers closer Corey Knebel (knee) slipped on a wet mound in Cactus League action Saturday and slightly tweaked his left knee, according to manager Craig Counsell. However, Counsell said the injury wasn't serious, and they removed Knebel for "precautionary" reasons. It looks like Knebel dodged a bullet here, but it's something worth keeping an […]

Brad Brach Throws Clean Inning In Win Over Pirates

Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Brad Brach, who is holding down the fort at closer until whenever Zach Britton returns from his Achilles injury, threw an inning on Saturday. He struck out two and gave up no hits or walks. Brach has done the job before as closer, so he'd be a good pick for early […]

Roenis Elias Vying For Reliever Spot On Roster

Boston Red Sox pitcher Roenis Elias is being used as a reliever in spring training. Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe reported Elias is throwing sidearm to lefty hitters. Elias has long been a starting pitcher but despite being 29 years old, he has not had a successful career. The last year he was productive […]

Bud Norris To Start Season In Bullpen

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher Bud Norris has stated his desire to pitch out of the bullpen over starting. Norris is coming off of a solid season with the Angels and was their closer throughout part of the year. Norris is likely to be a swing man out of the bullpen for the Cardinals, but […]

Alex Wilson Will Remain In The Bullpen

Detroit Tigers reliever Alex Wilson expressed interest in and ultimately auditioned for a role in the starting rotation heading into the upcoming regular season, but he will instead pitch in relief. He pitched three innings on Friday and actually threw the ball quite well, retiring the first seven batters he faced before allowing a walk […]

David Price Will Not Pitch In A Game Saturday

Updating a previous report, Boston Red Sox starting pitcher David Price will not be pitching in a game Saturday, according to Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. Price will get his work done in a bullpen session. Price was originally supposed to pitch against the Twins this afternoon, but rain caused the plans to change. […]

David Price's Spring Debut Altered Due To Rain

Boston Red Sox starting pitcher David Price will pitch at Fenway South on Saturday morning instead of his afternoon start against the Twins, according to Pete Abraham of The Boston Globe. Price will pitch in a minor league game and have his first Grapefruit League start postponed. Coming off a season marred by injuries that ultimately concluded […]

2018 Bullpen Outlooks - National League West

The National League West wraps up our 2018 Bullpen Outlooks series. Check out all of the American League divisions here: AL East, AL Central, AL West, and the rest of the National League here: NL East, NL Central. Stick with Rotoballer all season long for weekly Closer Reports including recaps of the week that passed, outlooks for […]

Kenley Jansen Scratched With Hamstring Tightness

Los Angeles Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen (hamstring) was scheduled to pitch in his first Cactus League game Friday but was scratched with hamstring tightness. It doesn't seem serious since manager Dave Roberts said that Jansen will next pitch on Monday in the team's "B" game against minor leaguers. The plan is to then bring Jansen […]

Nate Jones And Joakim Soria In Contention For White Sox's Closer Role

Chicago White Sox manager Rick Renteria is not ready to name the team's closer. The battle seems to be between relief pitchers Nate Jones and Joakim Soria, but Renteria said he won’t hesitate to use the best guy for the right situation. For now it appears it will be a mix-and-match situation between the two, […]

Zach Britton May Bump Up Rehab Schedule

Baltimore Orioles closer Zach Britton (Achilles), who hurt himself in December and was looking at a possible July return, has now circled May on his calendar. He's progressing well and is having his protective boot removed next week. Britton is optimistic and wants to start throwing sometime soon. In the interim, make sure you have […]

Jeurys Familia Enduring Dead-Arm Phase

New York Mets reliever Jeurys Familia is currently enduring a dead-arm phase, but not to worry -- according to Familia, his arm feels this way every year in spring training as he grows accustomed to throwing every day. His arm currently feels “tight,” which makes sense given Familia’s dreadful appearance against the Nationals on Thursday. […]

Cardinals Are OK With Not Naming a Closer

The St. Louis Cardinals seem content to go into the season without naming a closer. While reliever Luke Gregerson was seen as the favorite to man the ninth inning, he is dealing with an oblique injury and has been limited to just one Grapefruit League appearance. Meanwhile, Dominic Leone and Tyler Lyons have pitched well enough […]

Cam Bedrosian Expected to Close in LA

Los Angeles Angels reliever Cam Bedrosian is considered the favorite to start the season as the closer, reports Jon Heyman of Fan Rag sports. Bedrosian was the favorite last year, but an injury limited him and ended up giving Bud Norris and Keynan Middleton opportunities to close out games. Bedrosian finished the year with six […]

Cubs Maul Jordan Lyles, Matt Strahm

Both fighting for starting spots, San Diego Padres pitchers Jordan Lyles and Matt Strahm were rocked in Thursday's spring training game against the Cubs. Lyles, who started, was pulled before he recorded an out in the second and gave up five earned runs. Strahm pitched a solid inning but struggled in his second. He left […]

Points League Primer - Fantasy Baseball Draft Strategy

When discussing fantasy baseball, an often neglected but entertaining format is the points league. These exist in both season-long cumulative and weekly head-to-head leagues. While existential debates about scoring categories and their true depiction of player worth are endless, points leagues arguably get closest to the objective of sabermetrics. Points leagues attempt to define a […]

ADP Myth Busters - Debunking Myths in the AL East

This series will attempt to help fantasy baseball owners make informed opinions on players whose ADP may not be in line with their value for the 2018 season. As fantasy owners, we can fall into a "group think" mentality and start to overlook certain teams and players. If we aren't careful, those ideas can turn […]

Brad Boxberger Throws Scoreless Inning

Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Brad Boxberger (arm) threw a scoreless inning Thursday, giving up a single hit against the Brewers. Boxberger looked good in his first game back from arm soreness, as his velocity sat in the 91-93 mph range with his fastball. The former Rays closer will continue to compete with reliever Archie Bradley for the […]