Closer Report

Boston Red Sox -  Jonathan Papelbon is still the man in Beantown and he should continue to produce as one fo the top closers in the game.  In case of injury, I’m sure Hideki Okajima could fill in or possibly even Daniel Bard, but that’s a concern for another day.

Chicago White Sox -  After putting up with enough jabs about his weight from Ozzie Guillen, Bobby Jenks has knocked 20 lbs off and is eagerly awaiting Spring Training.  He improved on his K -rate last year which had been in decline, so that was a good sign.  Getting into better shape is another good omen.  The White Sox brought in J.J. Putz as insurance and also still have Scott Linebrink and Matt Thornton just in case.

Cleveland Indians -  Sadly, the job still belongs to Kerry Wood despite posting an atrocious 4.25 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP.  You’ve got Chris Perez and Jensen Lewis as the two righty set-up guys, but if neither could wrestle the job away from Wood last season, then there’s not much that thinks they can do it this year either.

Detroit Tigers -  After trimming payroll, the Tigers went out and picked up a hired gun in Jose Valverde during the offseason and should have as dominant a bullpen as ever.  Valverde is healthy and should excel in the role, and couple that with Joel Zumaya as his set up guy and you’ve got serious heat coming out in the late innings. 

Kansas City Royals -  The Mexecutioner, Joakim Soria, not only remains the closer for the Royals, but is listed in fantasy baseball magazines as one of the top closers in the game.  If he gets hurt at all like last season, then expect Juan Cruz to fill in, but be confident that we won’t have to see that again.

Los Angels Angels -  While he led the league with 48 saves in 2009, Brian Fuentes’ ratios were not those of a typical closer.  In fact, they were barely those of a mediocre lefty specialist.  But still, the job is his to lose.  The Halos brought in Fernando Rodney as a set up guy, but he does have closing experience.

Minnesota Twins -  FANTASY UPDATE:  It’s still Joe Nathan, but just to make sure everyone remembers, he did have offseason surgery to remove two bone chips from his elbow and he did leave his March 6th Spring Training outing due to stiffness in said elbow.  The Twins say he was removed as a precautionary measure, but this is obviously something you should monitor.  Matt Guerrier seems to be the most likely choice to pick up saves if Nathan has any in-season issues.

New York Yankees -  FANTASY UPDATE:  Mariano Rivera remains the man in the Bronx, but his set-up tandem, and possible replacement, if necessary, looks like it could be a little different.  GM Brian Cashman, the other day stated that he thinks the team could be better served with both Phil Hughes and Joba Chamberlain in the bullpen.  There’s nothing else that’s been further discussed, but if that were to be the case, I’m leaning towards Joba as the guy to vulture any saves on days Mo needs some rest.

Oakland A’s  -  The A’s are handing the ball right back over to 2009 AL Rookie of the Year Andrew Bailey for ninth inning duties.  He’ll have Brad Ziegler and Joey Devine settign him up, but there’s no committee this year.

Seattle Mariners -  The job was finally nabbed by David Aardsma last season and that looks like the way it will stay this year.  The Mariners didn’t do much to shore up their pen this offseason and the only potential competition, Brandon Morrow, is now in Toronto.

Tampa Bay Rays -  After years of struggling to find a closer, the Rays finally picked one up in free agency.  Goodbye closer-by-committee, hello Rafael Soriano.  He was a solid option last season after he took over the job in Atlanta and should do very well for himself in his new home.

Texas Rangers -  As it stands right now, the job belongs to Frank Francisco.  However, if last year was any indication, we could have a bit of a problem.  Francisco has a hard time staying healthy, so that means you have to keep C.J. Wilson on your radar.  But while Wilson filled in well last year, he was not very good the year before.  What I’d like to see is the Rangers agree to keep Neftali Feliz in the pen because it would only be a matter of time before he became one of the more dominant closers in baseball.

Toronto Blue Jays -  FANTASY UPDATE:  Looks like it’s a three man race to the finish with Scott Downs, Kevin Gregg and Jason Frasor all vying for the chance to close out games in Toronto.  Downs held the job for a while after B.J. Ryan was cut loose, but was replaced by Frasor when he got hurt.  Frasor was solid enough to hold off Downs, who really didn’t do too much to take the job back once he returned.  Gregg comes in as probably the most experienced for closing out games having donw it for the Marlins and Cubs the last 3 years.  Cito Gaston has definitely talked committee, but from what I can gather, he would prefer to have one of them step up and run away with the job this spring.  Tough to draft a Jays reliever right now, so you should leave them for the waiver wire or let someone else worry about the potential revolving door. 

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Arizona Diamondbacks - We’re still looking at Chad Qualls here, and the D-Backs didn’t really bring anyone in this offseason that even looks like they could challenge him for the role.

Atlanta Braves -  The Braves go retro this year as they signed Billy Wagner this offseason and have given him the job for 2010.  Takashi Saito was brought in as insurance, but he’s not going to take save opps away.

Chicago Cubs -  FANTASY UPDATE:  While Carlos Marmol remains the primary option, the landscape of the set-up team has changed now that the MRI results on Angel Guzman’s shoulder reveal a “significant ligament tear” on the front, bottom part of his shoulder.  No decision on whether or not he will opt for surgery, but even if he doesn’t, we’re looking at a 4 to 6 week timetable for his return.  To me, while this may be a blow to the Cubs pen, I see the silver lining in that my sleeper pick for saves on the North Side, Jeff Samardzija, is one step closer to stepping in.

Cincinnati Reds -  Shockingly, Francisco Cordero did well enough last season that he maintains the job in 2010 and the Reds didn’t even bother to bring in anyone to give him an inkling of concern regarding job security. 

Colorado Rockies -  The Rockies continue with Huston Street this year, but be wary of his injury history.  If he gets hurt, I expect to see Franklin Morales step in again and do very well for himself.  Manny Corpas still lingers as well, but Morales, despite being a lefty, would likely be the choice. 

Florida Marlins - After winning the job last season, Leo Nunez remains the closer for the Marlins in 2010.  There doesn’t seem to be much in the way of competition, but supposedly there is an offer out to Kevin Gregg.  If Gregg, who once closed for the Marlins, signs, we coul dsee a possible committee situation.

Houston Astros - FANTASY UPDATE:  We all probably knew this when both Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom were picked up by the Astros in the offseason, but it was finally announced that there is a flat out competition for the job.  Manager Brad Mills has indicated that they two pitchers are on level ground here and the one that fares better this spring will begin the season with the job.  I give the edge to Lindstrom over Lyon, but if Mills gets an itchy trigger finger, we could see a shared role…which would suck for fantasy owners. 

Los Angeles Dodgers -  The job belongs to Jonathan Broxton and no other.  He’s got quality set up men in George Sherrill, Hong Chi Kuo and Ramon Troncoso, but he’s in no danger of losing the job to any of them. 

Milwaukee Brewers -  After a masterful 2009, Trevor Hoffman returns to close out games for the Brew Crew this year.  They have LaTroy Hawkins and Todd Coffey in set up roles, and either may be used if Hoffman ever wears down, but it doesn’t look like that’s happening just yet.

New York Mets -  There was a time when I could just say K-Rod and leave it at that, but with the down season that Francisco Rodriguez had last year, one would speculate that there may be more to the elbow recovery than we once thought.  Still, the job is, of course, his, but if injury should befall him, then look for Bobby Parnell or even Japanese fireball Ryota Igarashi to step in.

Philadelphia Phillies -  It’s still Brad Lidge, if you can believe that.  He had some minor peaks and some serious valleys last season but after offseason knee surgery, he is apparently ready to give it a go again.  Ryan Madson remains the alternative, so we’ll see how Lidge does during the spring.

Pittsburgh Pirates - Potentially a disaster of a bullpen this year.  The Pirates are bad enough as it is, but now they go into Spring Training with a competition between Octavio Dotel and Joel Hanrahan.  I’d be steering clear of this mess for a very long while. 

San Diego Padres -  Last year’s best value pick at closer, Heath Bell, returns for another season of closing the rare Padres victory.  He doesn’t have much in the way of competition, so feel confident when drafting him.

San Francisco Giants -  The job is locked down by Brian Wilson and given the fact that the Giants did nothing to their pen besides losing Bobby Howry and Merkin Valdez, there’s no one here that’s going to supplant him.

St. Louis Cardinals  -  Ryan Franklin returns again for 2010 after taking over, and running away with in 2009, the job.  He’s got former closer wannabe Jason Motte returning as his set up guy and also add in Kyle McClellan who might be the favorite to step in if something should happen to Franklin.

Washington Nationals -  What was once the ugliest pen in baseball, is now looking like a pretty decent bunch.  The Nats first brought in Brian Bruney to close, but then landed Matt Capps as well.  Capps will be the closer and Bruney will be his top set-up man.  But look out for Drew Storen.  The former college closer has risen through the minors pretty quickly and looked great in the Arizona Fall League.  He’s definitely the closer of the future, but if Capps and Bruney falter, the future could be now.