With trade rumors swirling, particularly in the back end of the bullpen, we are going to chase saves this week. Many closers and even top set-up men—way to go Chicago—are going to get traded, which creates voids for many teams when it comes to the ninth inning. Let’s take a stab and pinpoint which future closers are going to emerge as viable fantasy assets.

Tyler Clippard, RP CHW – Sure, Anthony Swarzak is there, but Clippard is going to be the guy for the White Sox, at least for now. He has some experience in the role, as seen by his 57 saves. Of course, 32 of those saves came in one season (2012). On the other hand, Clippard has been far from lights out this season. A 1-5 record with a 4.95 ERA over 40 appearances isn’t exactly reassuring when the game is on the line. He’s allowed four earned runs over his last six appearances, however, all four of those runs came in one bad outing against the Brewers on July 7. Save that outing, he’s punched out six batters over five shutout innings. Swarzak has been better in 2017, but manager Rick Renteria has confirmed that Clippard will be given the keys to drive the car first in the post-David Robertson and post-Tommy Kahnle era in Chi-Town. As long as his changeup is working, Clippard has the ability to succeed the rest of the season, assuming Chicago can get a lead.

Sean Doolittle, RP WAS – Doolittle and fellow Oakland Athletic Ryan Madson were dealt to Washington and it was Doolittle that got the first save opportunity in his new digs. From a pure viewpoint of who’s stuff is better, Doolittle gets the tip of the cap there. The lefty has had a nice career, when healthy, while Madson is just “meh.” This season, Doolittle has limited left-handed hitters to a .038 OBP, not to mention that he hasn’t walked a lefty since April 22 of last year. He has missed some time due to injuries during that stretch, but still, an impressive feat nonetheless.

Mychal Givens, RP BAL – For Givens to gain any sort of fantasy value in a non-holds league, other teams around the league need to offer up the necessary pieces for Zach Britton, Brad Brach and Darren O’Day. The way I see it, that is what it will take for Givens to be given the closer’s role. Perhaps he jumps O’Day if the first two guys were to be dealt, but he would be a safer acquisition knowing he would be granted the job. Over the last two weeks, he’s allowed just one hit and one walk in 7.1 innings, while punching out 10 batters. Over the last month, his 14:2 K/BB ratio with a 0.68 ERA is absolutely dazzling. He clearly has the stuff to be the closer, but he’s just been blocked by other guys. Many teams would love the services of Britton, but he’s going to be rather expensive. Brach and O’Day come at a cost, too, although significantly lower than Britton. Over the last 30 days, Givens has allowed an OBP of .038 with two strikes. Baltimore has an excellent option to close game in Givens, so they should just go ahead and trade the other guys…

Alex Wilson, RP DET – I know he was in here last week, but with Justin Wilson more than likely getting traded, Wilson steps into the ninth-inning role with Detroit. Trading J.D. Martinez hurts the offense, but Wilson will still get some saves the rest of the way. I just talked about him last week, so I’ll just put some of the key numbers right in front of you. Well, some of the numbers are pretty bad, but when it comes to acquiring saves from the waiver wire in the middle of the season, you might have to look past some unfavorable numbers. The strikeouts aren’t ideal and that ERA is rather high for a could-be closer, but, since the calendar turned July, he’s been exquisite. His ERA is below 2.00 and opponents are sporting a mediocre .227/.261/.364 slash line against the 30-year-old right hander.

Kyle Barraclough, RP MIA – With David Phelps being traded to the Seattle Mariners, Barraclough is the clear-cut No. 2 closing option in Miami. A.J. Ramos’ name is sstill on the block, as is Barraclough’s, but if Ramos were to leave the Marlins, Barraclough would become the team’s ninth-inning guy. He’s been a big strikeout guy for most of his career, although that mark has dipped thus far in 2017. In 2016, he posted a 14.00 K/9 and 5.45 BB/9 in 72.2 innings, however, those marks sit at 9.76 and 6.23 respectively in 2017. So, strikeouts are down and walks are up, and even a less than casual baseball fan can tell you that isn’t a recipe for success. Batters are having more success against him this year and in fact, the most alarming statistic might be the jump in his HR/9 mark from 2016 to 2017. His 0.62 HR/9 mark in 2017 is much, much, much worse than his 0.12 in 2016. Fly balls are up, as is his HR/FB ratio. With all that in mind, there is room for optimism. Thirteen punchouts over his last 12 innings isn’t great, but opponents do have a miss rate of 44.4 percent against him over the last 30 days. If he can continue to put himself in advantageous situations, he could be poised for a big, valuable second half. Of course, a trade of Ramos would boost his value tenfold as well.