2017 Fantasy Baseball Bullpen Report: Trades

Closers in Flux

The Cardinals. This situation has progressively gotten worse as the season has gone on. Seung-Hwan Oh looked like a top-shelf closer after a fantastic 2016 season, but has faltered all season. His 4.17 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and 8.34 K/9 are all ugly and fall well short of the 2016 version of him when those numbers were 1.92, 0.92, and 11.64. Trevor Rosenthal got the next chance at the gig but hasn’t been spectacular himself with ratios of 3.72 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. Now Brett Cecil has received the latest two save opportunities, converting on one of them. His numbers are also far from dominant with a 3.55 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, and 8.29 K/9. For the time being it appears it will be Cecil or Rosenthal getting the call for save chances depending on matchups. Oh will work in lower leverage situations to try and find a groove.

Closers Who Could Be Traded

With the trade deadline looming it is worth monitoring who could be on the move. All of the closers listed could be moved before the deadline. It is very likely that none of them would be closers on their new contending team, so the focus will be on who would take their place as the closer for their current team. The guys listed below are players you might want to look into trading before they lose their value as non-closers.

Marlins - A.J. Ramos. David Phelps or Kyle Barraclough would be the clear choices for taking over the closing gig depending on who is left standing. Phelps and Ramos are both rumored to being traded, so at this time Barraclough is probably the best stash option for the Marlins. Barraclough is pitching to ratios of a 3.53 ERA, 1.55 WHIP, and 9.76 K/9.

Royals - Kelvin Herrera. If/when Herrera is moved, it is likely that veteran Joakim Soria would take over the closing gig. Soria has done a nice job for the Royals pitching to ratios of a 3.46 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 11.77 K/9. He has 204 career saves and would have no problem returning to bright lights of the ninth inning.

Angels - Bud Norris. With the Angels being far from playoff contention it would only make sense to trade a veteran breakout performer like Norris. Cam Bedrosian would be the obvious candidate to step back into the closer role, having started the year there, and pitching well. His ratios are a crisp 2.50 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, with a 11.50 K/9. He would be the best pickup of the options on this list.

Mets - Addison Reed. With the Mets falling further and further out of contention, the likeliness of them becoming sellers grows. It is hard to predict who would take over the closing gig until Familia returns from the DL. Fernando Salas is currently listed as next in line, but he is pitching to the tune of a 6.46 ERA. This would likely be closer-by-committee approach based on matchups.

Tigers - Justin Wilson. He has done a great job for the Tigers since taking over the closing job, and will be hard to replace. Alex Wilson or Shane Greene would be the next closer for the club if Wilson is in fact traded. Both have pitched well with sub-4 ERAs. Wilson has a more extensive history of success over Greene, but Greene has been the more dominant of the two this season. Fantasy owners would prefer for the job to go to Greene with a K/9 of 9.84 compared to Wilson’s 5.49.

Giants - Sam Dyson. The Giants have the worst record in baseball, and the speculation is that Dyson was handed the closing job to try and raise his trade value. The move has turned out to be a smart one as Dyson has a 2.76 ERA with five saves in five tries since joining the Giants. Hunter Strickland would likely take over the job until Mark Melancon returns from the DL.

Blown Saves

*Top 10

*Note: I track blown saves that happened by guys who were brought into finish the game. Such as guys in the closer role, or other pitchers who were brought in late in the game. A guy who picks up a “blown save,” for example, in the 6^th inning is very irrelevant in my opinion, when tracking fantasy assets.

Who’s Hot?

Edwin Diaz (92% owned) pitched five times this week and converted all five of his save chances. The first five save week of the year. He had ten strikeouts across five shutout innings, in what was the best week for a closer this season. He appears to be back on track after some rough times earlier in the season. His K/9 sits at 12.84 and he is now up to 18 saves as he climbs back up the closing ranks closer to where he started prior to the season starting. Opposing hitters are swinging at just a .192 clip against him and he seems to have put his early control issues behind him with just four walks in his last thirteen innings. He can be counted on going forward. YTD stats: 40.2 innings, 18 saves, 58 K, 3.10 ERA.

Kenley Jansen (99% owned) put together another strong week, in what has been a truly dominant season to this point for the big right-hander. He pitched 3.1 shutout innings and converted on all three of his save chances. Jansen also picked up five strikeouts and allowed just one hitter to reach base against him. He is now up to 24 saves which is good for fourth in the MLB. His stellar 13.61 K/9 is good for third among all pitchers with 7+ saves. His ratios now sit at a videogame-like 0.88 ERA and 0.59 WHIP. He has just two walks in 41 innings pitched, a 4-0 record, and zero blown saves. It is hard to find anything negative when looking at the season Jansen has put together. He currently tops the closing ranks. YTD stats: 41 innings, 24 saves, 62 K, 0.88 ERA.

Felipe Rivero (78% owned) has had little problem taking over the closer role for the Pirates and continuing to dominate. This week he pitched three times, picked up two saves, and a win. He had five strikeouts across 3.1 shutout innings. His ratios are now sitting at a beautiful 0.71 ERA, 0.71 WHIP, and 10.66 K/9. He now has eight saves and has yet to blow a save opportunity since taking over the job. Rivero has been a breakout performer this season, and if you had seen him pitch prior to this season, it comes at little surprise. He has stellar stuff, and will be one of the top closers for the remaining season. Opposing hitters are managing just a .136 BA against the flame throwing lefty. YTD stats: 50.2 innings, 8 saves, 60 K, 0.71 ERA.

Who’s Cold?

Cody Allen (92% owned) had a rough week as he coughed up three earned runs across 2.2 innings. He had just one strikeout, and his WHIP was an ugly 2.63 as he was knocked around for six hits. His BA is the highest it’s been since his rookie season now sitting at .259. He is three hits allowed from matching his 2016 total of 41 and has 31 fewer innings pitched. He is still an upper-tier closer and has a nice 12.16 K/9 but he is not pitching as dominant as he has the last four seasons. Fantasy owners don’t need to panic, but if the opportunity to move Allen for nearly full value arises, it would be wise to consider. YTD stats: 37 innings, 17 saves, 50 K, 3.16 ERA.

Justin Wilson (71% owned) blew his lone save chance this week. He gave up two earned runs in just 1.2 innings pitched and retired just one batter via the strikeout. Wilson had been pitching well prior to this week, and it is likely just a small blip in an overall strong season. It was just his second blown save since taking over the closing gig early in the season. The Tigers have struggled for much of the season and it has kept Wilson from racking up saves, as he still sits at just ten. He is still pitching to impressive ratios, but a trade at the deadline will likely end his reign as a closer. He will likely become a setup man on a contending team. It would be wise to trade him for a closer with a firm grip on the gig. YTD stats: 36 innings, 10 saves, 50 K, 2.75 ERA.

Who’s Hot, Who’s Cold Season Leader Board

This table shows who has made the most appearances in these sections.

Middle Relievers of Note

This week we will focus on some names that were recently traded and what their value looks like with their new team.

Blake Treinen (6% owned) has been far from spectacular this season, but the move to the A’s could be a good one. With only a pitiful Santiago Casilla in front of him for save chances there is a chance at some save chances later down the line for Treinen if he can find the successful 2016 version of himself. His first two appearances with his new club have been impressive, and Casilla picked up his fifth blown save of the season this week. He is not worth adding at this time, but the situation is one worth monitoring going forward. YTD stats: 39.2 innings, 6 holds, 33 K, 5.45 ERA.

David Robertson (80% owned) being traded likely hurts the majority of fantasy teams he was owned on. He goes from having a lock on the White Sox closing gig to being the 7^th inning man for the Yankees. There is strong chance that Robertson won’t see another save for the rest of the season. He is still worth owning, especially in holds leagues. His ratios are rock solid and will likely pick up holds at a nice clip going forward. Robertson was the speculation of trade talks the entire season, and fantasy owners should have prepared themselves for this outcome. Tyler Clippard was named the new closer for the White Sox. YTD stats: 33.1 innings, 0 holds, 47 K, 2.70 ERA.

Holds

*Top 10              

Team Bullpen ERA

A new category to the Bullpen Report, this section will look into the best and worst bullpens in the league, which can be helpful for DFS. If a team has a weak starting pitcher throwing that day and also a poor bullpen it can make for big days for hitters. A bad bullpen ERA also has an effect on how likely a starting pitcher is to pick up a win.

Recently Overworked

Another new category, much like Team Bullpen ERA, this information is useful for DFS playing. Each week I will highlight the bullpens that have been seeing both heavy usage and struggling over the last 7 days.

*Ownership percentages are based off Yahoo

Be sure to check out the Closer Grid which has regularly updated rankings. Also feel free to shoot me any questions on Twitter @JustinVreeland