American League

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.