Closer Report

Boston Red Sox -  With a few offseason moves the Red Sox will now be turning over ninth inning duties to former A’s closer Andrew Bailey.  But don’t think that the job is a complete lock just yet.  Sure, he’s been tabbed the closer right now, but given his injury history and the fact that the Sox also signed former Astros closer Mark Melancon, the job is far form safe.

Chicago White Sox -  The South Siders are right back to where they were prior to the start of the 2011 season — Matt Thornton is the team’s closer.  He had his struggles with the job last year and lost the gig after just the first month of the season, so be careful.  Both Addison Reed and Jesse Crain could be vultures circling early on.

Cleveland Indians -  Chris Perez did an admirable job as the team’s closer last season and he gets the nod walking back into the season here in 2012.  Both Tony Sipp and Vinnie Pestano did an excellent job providing support and those would be the guys to look at in case the Tribe needed a change from Perez.

Detroit Tigers -  The job was held onto by Jose Valverde for all of last year and he walks in as the Tigers’ closer yet again.  Joaquin Benoit and Octavio Dotel will handle the primary set up duties and one of them, likely Benoit, would take over if needed.

Kansas City Royals -  After all the trade rumors and all the drama, when the dust settled, it was still Joakim Soria closing out games for the Royals.  The rumors will likely persist and the team brought in Jonathan Broxton, but neither is enough for me to waver here.  Soria should be a top candidate for saves again this season.

Los Angels Angels -  Though it was obvious that he was no one’s first choice, in either fantasy or reality, Jordan Walden managed to hold onto the closer’s job for almost the entire season.  He took over in early May and barely looked back, save for a moment or two when he hit a bump in the road.  With only Scott Downs and Hisanori Takahashi as relievers with closing experience in the pen, Walden should walk into the season with the job being his to lose.  How long he holds it could be up to him.  A recent rumor has them looking at Francisco Cordero.

Minnesota Twins -  After all was said and done this offseason, the job still belongs to Matt Capps.  There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of competition in the bullpen (I have no faith in Glen Perkins or Joel Zumaya), so the leash shoul dbe plenty long this year.  He could end up as a nice pick up in terms of job security.

New York Yankees -   It could be his last season, but Mariano Rivera will begin and end it as the Yankees closer.

Oakland A’s -   With Bailey gone, the job defers to Grant Balfour as of now.  Brian Fuentes should provide an alternative, but as of today the job is Balfour’s to lose.  As always, Joey Devine remains a dark horse, but his health is always a concern.

Seattle Mariners -  Rumors of a trade could have thrown this bullpen into aan eight man free-for-all, but the Mariners decided not to deal Brandon League and leave him entrenched as the team’s closer.  There may be an opportunity for Chance Ruffin to pick up a chance here or there, but that will only come if League falters.

Tampa Bay Rays -  I was as surprised as anyone that Kyle Farnsworth held the job all last season and is walking into 2012 as the team’s closer once again.  The usual suspects – J.P. Howell, Joel Peralta and Jake McGee — will be waitign in the wings once again, but unless Farsworth falters, all of them will remain in set-up roles.

Texas Rangers -  In an effort to move Neftali Feliz into the rotation, the Rangers brought in Joe Nathan this offseason and have him slated to take over ninth inning duties.  They still have both Mike Adams and Kojii Uehara from last year as quality insurance policies, but the job is Nathan’s to lose.

Toronto Blue Jays – So the Jays did a little cleaning up in their pen and have settled on former White Sox, reliever Sergio Santos as their closer.  They have Jason Frasor and Casey Janssen in set up roles, as well as Carlos Villanueva, so there is a back up plan in play, but hopefully Santos does as well as he did in 2011 and holds down the gig all year.

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Arizona Diamondbacks - J.J. Putz returns as the Diamonbacks closer this season, but the team has certainly fortified its ranks on the chance of an injury again.  David Hernandez, who filled in nicely last year, returns as the primary set-up man with Craig Breslow, Brad Ziegler and Takashi Saito waiting in the wings.

Atlanta Braves -  Craig Kimbrel returns for his sophomore season fully entrenched as the team’s closer.  Johnny Venters will assume his usual set-up role and obviously if anything happens to Kimbrel, he’ll be the first in line for saves.

Chicago Cubs – Once again it’s Carlos Marmol for the ninth innings with Kerry Wood as the primary set-up man.  Barring anything catastrophic, this is how it should remain all season long.

Cincinnati Reds -  A bold move for the Reds who opted to cut ties with Francisco Cordero and brought in, what could be the steal of the offseason in Ryan Madson.  The former Phillies closer should do just fine in the Queen City and will have Aroldis Chapman and Nick Massett as his primary set up men.

Colorado Rockies -  After years of dealing with Huston Street’s injuries, the Rockies and Street have parted ways.  It looks like Rafael Betancourt will begin the season, or atleast the spring, as the team’s new closer but Rex Brothers could turn into an interesting sleeper to watch.

Houston Astros – With Melancon gone, the job defers back to Brandon Lyon.  He’s not the greatest choice, so if you are going cheap with saves and end up with him, consider handcuffing him to Wilton Lopez who could make for an interesting choice.

Los Angeles Dodgers -  Javy Guerra finished out 2011 as the team’s closer and it looks like the job will remain his for atleast the start of the 2012 season.  Kenley Jansen and Matt Guerrier appear to be the next in line, but the Dodgers could also think about bringing in some one like Cordero as well.

Miami Marlins – The Marlins did some big spending this offseason and brought in Heath Bell to take over closing duties.  The also did tender a contract to Juan Oviedo (the pitcher formerly known as Leo Nunez), so if Bell’s dropoff last year was indicative of anything bad, the team is covering its bases.

Milwaukee Brewers -  The Brew Crew will leave John Axford in the role of closer again in 2012, so even with last season’s addition of Francisco Rodriguez, his job is safe…..for now.  You never know in some cases, so it’s always nice to have the handcuff, but it doesn’t look like anything is changing in the near distant future.

New York Mets -  The Mets did a little reconfiguring in their bullpen this offseason and are now walking into the 2012 with Frank Francisco as their top option to close.  They also added Jon Rauch as an insurance policy.  In addition to that there are dark horses Bobby Parnell and Pedro Beato who could have the opportunity if disaster strikes somehow.

Philadelphia Phillies -  For whatever reason, the Phillies opted to let Madson walk and ended up throwing a bunch of money at former Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon.  He’ll take over as the team’s top closer with Brad Lidge assuming the lead set up role.

Pittsburgh Pirates -  Joel Hanrahan has done a solid job since finally being handed the reins two years ago.  His K-rate may have diminished in 2011, but not enough to the point where the Pirates are looking at anyone else.  Evan Meek should remain one of the top set-up men and likely first option if anything happens.

San Diego Padres -  Now that Bell is gone, the Padres ended up bringing in injury-risk Huston Street to close out games.  He’s the guy to own to start the season, but keep and eye on Luke Gregerson who was supposedly heir-apparent before Street came to town.  Also look out for my dark horse candidate Brad Brach.  He could be a very interesting choice somewhere down the line.

San Francisco Giants -  Brian Wilson once again comes into the season as the team’s closer and, barring injury, will remain as such this season.  He is in a contract year and will be doing everything he can to perform well, so the elbow injury risk will be there as he pushes himself this season.  If you draft Wilson, you’ll likely want to keep tabs on Sergio Romo who would be next in line.

St. Louis Cardinals -  Now that Tony LaRussa is gone, perhaps the bullpen will be in less of a state of flux this year.  It appears as if Jason Motte has the inside track on the job right now, but he will obviously have to beat out Fernando Salas, Mitchell Boggs, Eduardo Sanchez and maybe even Kyle McClellan this spring to hold the gig.

Washington Nationals -  After all the late season/offseason fuss about the Nats trading away their closer, Drew Storen is staying put and will walk into the 2012 season as the team’s closer.  Sean Burnett, Tyler Clippard and Henry Rodriguez will handle the set-up duties and Burnett could be the first guy in line if anything happens to Storen, but for now, draft with confidence.