BLUE JAYS CLOSER SITUATION

Roberto Osuna will stay in the bullpen in 2017. A former starter, Osuna has let it be known that he wants to remain in the bullpen. He will have his wish granted. Osuna, who is just 21 years old, has had a remarkable start to his career. Looks at his remarkable work through two seasons.

 

Games

IP

ERA

WHIP

K/9

BB/9

Saves

GB/FB

2015

68

69.2

2.58

0.92

9.69

2.07

20

0.74

2016

72

74.0

2.68

0.93

9.97

1.70

36

0.70


His skills impress, though we have to admit that his GB/FB ratio leaves him prone to the homer, he’s allowed 16 in 143.2 innings, and that is part of the reason he’s also suffered nine blown saves. Kinda gotta say though that I’m a bit concerned about the workload. Remember, he dealt with some shoulder woes later in the year, before being used seven times this postseason over nine innings. I’ll probably drop him a spot or two next year because of those concerns.

Sounds like the Jays want to resign veteran Jason Grilli to serve as the setup man next season. Grilli has to keep the ball in the yard as he allowed 10 homers, the highest mark he’s permitted since way back in 2004 when he was a starting pitcher. Expect that 14.7 percent HR/F ratio to recede significantly (his career rate is 8.4 percent).

A FORMER GREAT CLOSER…

Greg Holland injured his arm and required Tommy John surgery (he rather heroically pitched the majority of the 2015 season with a torn ACL). He missed all of the 2016 season as a result after having surgery in October of 2015. Greg returned to the bump in August and it sounds like he should be fully recovered by next season and ready to start firing bullets. Where will he pitch? Sounds like he could return to the Royals.

Surgery will likely return Holland’s arm to full health, and we’re talking about a guy who, his last two full healthy seasons (2013-14) saved 47 and 46 games with ERAs of 1.21 and 1.44. Holland also owns an impressive 12.11 K/9 mark for his career, though last time we say him that mark dipped to 9.87. Keep an eye on where he ends up as a guy with his history could easily end up as the setup man for someone with an eye toward assuming the closers role in-season.

THE SANDERS CASE

Michael Saunders may or may not be back with the Blue Jays in 2017 as the team doesn’t know if they will extend him a qualifying offer or not (one year, $17.2 million). Saunders had a solid season in 2016, or did he? The prevailing wisdom was that he was a star. I warned everyone to give it time. Remarkably he appeared in a career-high 149 games and I didn’t expect that. However, I completely expected his performance to suffer as the at-bats piled up, and it did. Saunders hit .253 with 57 RBI and one steal. Are those really good numbers? No they aren’t. Stop. He hit 24 homers and scored 70 times. OK, solid there, but not no more than that. But overall he doesn’t run anymore and is a drain on batting average. Moreover, look at his catastrophic failure in the second half that included a .178 batting average, a .282 OBP and a .357 SLG. He was abysmal in the second half.

My take? He’s not worth that type of money Jays. You offer him the deal he’s taking it and you will regret it.

WHO IS THE CATCHER IN CINCY?

Apparently it’s Devin Mesoraco and not Tucker Barnhart that the Reds want/expect to be their starting catcher next year. "Obviously Devin in the lineup gives us the best chance to win, without question," Barnhart said. "Whether that means I catch 20 games or end up catching 120 games next year, first and foremost I want Devin back and healthy and in our lineup."

Is that true?

Who is Mesoraco at this point? Does anyone know? After appearing in just 23 games in 2015 because of a hip injury, Devin was wildly overdrafted despite my protestations. Things were even worse in 2016 as he appeared just 16 times before he had shoulder surgery ending his season. The Reds are saying that Mesoraco should be back to catching drills no later than late January and they believe he will be fine. Really? Can his body handle catching at this point? I’m not gonna take that risk this coming season.

As for Barnhart, he was one of the better fieldling catchers in baseball, though he hit .257 with a .323 OBP and .379 SLG with 51 RBI over 115 games thanks to a robust .355 batting average with runners in scoring position (99 at-bats). He was a passable second catcher in mixed leagues in 2016. Undeniable that Mesoraco is way more exciting, but oh that health.

Speaking of catchers, Salvador Perez hit a career best 22 homers in 2016 and for the 4th straight season he posted at least 64 runs batted in (he hit 70 each year from 2013-15). However, he continued a troubling trend of hitting failure in the second half. Here are Salvy’s second half OPS mark the last three seasons: .595, .680 and .605. For his career the mark is .703, a number he has only seen in his dreams the last three seasons. By the way, his first half career number is .768 and he posted a strong .818 mark in the first half of 2016 before his second half collapse.

WORLD SERIES NOTES

I’ll break down the World Series matchups Tuesday, but two quick notes. (1) Danny Salazar has been told by the Indians pitching coach that he will make the roster. (2) Kyle Schwarber might make the roster for the Cubs. A final decision will not be made until Tuesday.

 

Ray Flowers can be heard Monday/Tuesday and Thursday/Friday, 8 PM EDT, Wednesday 7 PM EDT on SiriusXM Fantasy Sports Radio (Sirius 210, XM 87). You can also hear Ray Sunday nights at 9 PM EDT PM on the channel talking fantasy sports. Follow Ray’s work at Fantasy Alarm and on Twitter (@baseballguys).