August 16, 2016

Closer Report

Week 20

by Matt Collins

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Sort of a quiet week in Reliever Land, but the Closer Report never sleeps. Well, except in the offseason. The Closer Report hibernates, I guess. That’s all I got for an intro. As always, keep up with the action on the closer grid. Let’s get on with this.

A.J. Ramos Hits the Disabled List

So, this was something that I mentioned as a possibility in last week’s Report, but it didn’t officially come to fruition until after it published. As expected, Fernando Rodney is taking over as the closer in Miami. Hopefully you were proactive on this front and added him before he was swiped off the waiver wire. If you weren’t so fortunate, don’t get too down. For one thing, Ramos should be back at some point, so you didn’t miss out on a permanent source of saves. Plus, it’s not as if Rodney is a staple of consistency. He has been impressive for most of this season, but he’s always only a few outings from completely imploding. He’s also been pretty bad since getting dealt to Miami, seeing an increase in walks and home runs along with his ERA. In deeper leagues, Kyle Barraclough could be a solid speculative add. Of course, Barraclough hasn’t been overly consistent, either, and there’s no whispers of Rodney losing the job any time soon, so there’s plenty of risk here.

Let’s Talk About Cleveland’s Usage

Andrew Miller was supposed to be one of the biggest fantasy beneficiaries of the trade deadline, finally leaving Aroldis Chapman’s shadow and earning a closer job. Instead, he’s being used smartly by Terry Francona, which is a serious bummer for fantasy baseball players. Since joining the Indians, Miller has thrown in the ninth inning exactly once in his six outings, spending most of his time in a set-up role. At the time of the deal, I expected a 65/35 split in save chances in Miller’s favor. I stand by that ratio, except at this point I’d probably flip it towards Allen. Eventually, there will be some games in which tough lefties line up to hit in the ninth, giving Miller his time to shine for fantasy owners. Unfortunately, as we’ve seen, that doesn’t happen as much as the alternative. This is extremely good news for those who held on to Cody Allen after the trade. For those who were expecting saves from Miller, I’m sorry for your disappointment, but at least you get to enjoy those sweet, sweet ratios.

The Reds Are Kind Of Confusing Again

Last week I mentioned that Tony Cingrani had been weirdly effective recently despite every peripheral pointing in the other direction. At the exact moment I was typing those words, he imploded and gave up five runs in one outing. This put some doubt in his role in Cincinnati. Unfortunately, we haven’t gotten any more clarity on this situation, as the Reds only had one more save chance since that implosion. On the one hand, Raisel Iglesias got and converted that save. On the other hand, Cingrani had been coming off two straight appearances and could’ve been getting some rest. In terms of talent, Iglesias is certainly the better bet, and if you need save he’s the guy to add if he’s available. Cingrani, though, is the incumbent and hasn’t been officially demoted out of the ninth inning. I’d still rather have Iglesias even if Cingrani is currently the closer, because it’s only a matter of time before he pitches himself out of the role if he hasn’t already.

Change Coming in San Francisco?

It seems as if Santiago Casilla has been vaguely on the hot seat for the entire season. While he’s not the most thrilling closer in the league, he’s usually pretty solid. Still, he never puts together a long enough run of success to completely erase the memory of his last blown save. He had another rough outing on Sunday, and now people are starting to wonder if he’s done as the closer. For what it’s worth, I don’t see a change coming immediately, though another rough outing his next time out could certainly change things. Either way, Sergio Romo could be a potential speculative add. This isn’t the first time I’ve said that this year, and obviously it hasn’t worked out well in the past, but there aren’t a ton of options right now.

Quick Hits

One potential option besides Romo is Nate Jones. David Robertson has struggled before I heaped unimaginable praise on his earlier in the year, and could be a waiver trade candidate. I don’t see him losing his job outright, but don’t be surprised if Jones is getting the saves in September.

Quick update on the Angels situation: Oh God don’t look. Just wait until Huston Street and/or Cam Bedrosian comes back.

Carlos Estevez lost his job in favor of Adam Ottavino last week. I speculated it would happen last week, but it didn’t officially come through until after the post went up. So here is me addressing that.

This isn’t fantasy-related, but Zach Britton is garnering some Cy Young love. I just want to go on record and say I am all about that.

Matt Collins is an author of Baseball Prospectus. Follow @MattRyCollins
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