Fantasy Baseball Closer Chart 2/5/23: Free Agency is shaking up every bullpen in MLB! Aroldis Chapman signed with the Royals. The Marlins signed Matt Barnes.
Be sure to check out all the new info below and adjust your lineups/rosters accordingly!
As witnessed year-in and year-out, Relief Pitcher exemplifies the term "volatility" more than any other position in baseball. Injuries, repeated blown saves/ineffective outings, and deadline trades are just a few reasons for player movement at the position.
The Closer role is an even more-fluid position due to the influx of "Closer Committees" present throughout the league. Numerous MLB teams have adopted this philosophy, allowing for more flexibility in deploying their best pitchers during the later innings.
Last season we altered the Job Security Legend in an effort to stay true to our site's namesake. This year, we are keeping a similar format, but we have updated the BAC Levels slightly. Here is the breakdown of updated levels of confidence from high to low:
- Sober: Who got the keys to the Jeep? This guy does, and he is the clear Designated Driver of his team's ninth-inning duties.
- Buzzed: This player has a clear case of the hiccups, but he's still the best choice for late-night excitement.
- Hammered: Sloppy and stumbling are continually used to describe this player's performance. His seat at the center field bar is ripe for the taking.
- Drunk Tank: Our new Closer Committee classification (noted with an *) for teams with two-plus relievers trying to seal the deal.
Pick-up a Sixer, and come drink-in all the frothy goodness of our 2023 Closer Chart. Stay tuned weekly for any, and all, relief pitching changes throughout the fantasy season.
Be sure to check out the rest of our Fantasy Baseball content for the latest news and notes to help you win your league. Stay frosty!
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Fantasy Baseball Closer Chart
| TEAMS | BAC LEVEL | LEAD CLOSER | SETUP MAN | NEXT MAN UP | IL/COVID LIST | TEAM NEWS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AL EAST | ||||||
| BAL | Sober | Felix Bautista | Dillion Tate | Cionel Perez | Bautista racked up 15 saves and had a great 12.06 K/9 rate last season. He could be a sneaky Top 5 closer in 2023 if his strikeout rate increases. | |
| BOS | Sober | Kenley Jansen | Chris Martin | John Schreiber | The Red Sox hope that Kenley Jansen will fill the huge gap that they had in their bullpen. Chris Martin should also help anchor the Sox's bullpen. | |
| NYY | Sober | Clay Holmes | Jonathan Loaisiga | Tommy Kahnle | Michael King | Clay Holmes was a force as the Yankees' closer, and right now he is looking like the main guy for the Yankees. No one behind him is a real for his role right now. |
| TB* | Drunk Tank* | Pete Fairbanks | Jason Adams | Jalen Beeks | Andrew Kittredge | The Rays will continue to use every arm in their bullpen for saves. Fairbanks and Adams should led the way. |
| TOR | Sober | Jordan Romano | Erik Swanson | Yimi Garcia | The Blue Jays have brought in Erik Swanson to be a tremendous setup man for Romano. | |
| AL CENTRAL | ||||||
| CHW | Buzzed | Kendall Graveman | Aaron Bummer | Joe Kelly | Liam Hendriks | Liam Hendriks is out for the season to fight cancer (prayers and thoughts with him). Kendall Graveman will get the first shot at closer and could secure the role early since he did a great job last season when Hendriks missed time. Graveman will be a great middle tier closer in drafts in 2023. |
| CLE | Sober | Emmanuel Clase | James Karnichak | Trevor Stephan | Clase racked up 42 saves last year, and will lock down his role again and have another shot at 30-plus saves again. | |
| DET | Buzzed | Alex Lange | Jose Cisnero | Jason Foley | The Tigers traded Gregory Soto, their leader in saves last season. Alex Lange will get the first opportunities and his strikeout ability makes him an interesting option on draft day. Hopefully, Spring Training will provided some insight if the Tigers will use the committee approach. | |
| KC | Sober | Scott Barlow | Dylan Coleman | Aroldis Chapman | Barlow had 24 saves last season, but his K/9 rate drop quite a bit. Maybe this season Barlow will get his K/9 rate to pair nicely with 25-plus saves. The Royals signed Chapman; he will be a great setup man for Barlow and nothing else. | |
| MIN* | Drunk Tank | Jorge Lopez | Jhoan Duran | Griffin Jax | The Twins Cities will likely deploy a two-man committee between Lopez and Duran. Lopez led between the two in saves once he joined the Twins. So Lopez will be given the first opportunities early in the season. | |
| AL WEST | ||||||
| HOU | Sober | Ryan Pressly | Rafael Montero | Bryan Abreu | Houston might have one of the best bullpens in baseball which is lead by the always consistent, Ryan Pressly. He racked up 33 saves with an impressive 12.10 K/9 rate which is an increase for him. If Pressly stays healthy, he'll be one of the safest bet to finish in the top 5 in 2023. | |
| LAA* | Drunk Tank | Carlos Estevez | Jimmy Herget | Ryan Tepera | The Angels will have to test everyone in their bullpen to see if they have any closing ability. The newly acquired Estevez will get the first crack but has struggled to hold on to closer roles in the past. | |
| OAK* | Drunk Tank | Trevor May | Zach Jackson | A.J. Puk | The As' brought in Trevor May to be the closer, but Jackson and Puk are too good, not get some opportunities as well. Say hello to the new Rays. | |
| SEA* | Drunk Tank | Paul Sewald | Andres Munoz | Diego Castillo | Seattle will have a devastating one-two punch with Sewald and Munoz. Both will get plenty of saves and have tremendous strikeout numbers to pair with them. | |
| TEX | Sober | Jose Leclerc | Jonathan Hernandez | Joe Barlow | Welcome back, Jose Leclerc! It was great seeing him return to form after missing so much time. Now that the Rangers are pushing to be a more competitive team, maybe, Leclerc can crack 20-plus saves for the first time in his career. | |
| NL EAST | ||||||
| ATL | Sober | Raisel Iglesias | A.J. Minter | Joe Jimenez | Kenley Jansen is gone which means Raisel Iglesias can return as a trusted option for saves for fantasy managers. | |
| MIA | Buzzed | Dylan Floro | Tanner Scott | Matt Barnes | The Marlins singed Matt Barnes. Now, Barnes presence somewhat indicates that they might take the committee approach. But for right now he going keep the committee tag off. Hopefully, Spring Training will provided some insight. | |
| NYM | Sober | Edwin Diaz | Adam Ottavino | David Robertson | Diaz strikeout numbers were unbelievable last season and even with regression coming this season, Diaz will be the first closer off the board, rightfully, so. | |
| PHL* | Drunk Tank | Seranthony Dominguez | Jose Alvarado | Craig Kimbrel Gregory Soto | The Phillies could suffer from too many cooks in the kitchen. They have so many good arms to close, especially, now with the Soto trade. Fantasy managers are going to pull out their hair trying to figure out who will lead this committee. I know I did. | |
| WAS | Buzzed | Kyle Finnegan | Carl Edwards Jr. | Hunter Harvey | Tanner Rainey | Kyle Finnegan has to wait to be the closer, but once he got the job he was great. He racked up 11 saves with a good amount of strikeouts, but more importantly he lowered his walk rate. Finnegan will lead this bullpen again with Rainey being out of the whole 2023 season. |
| NL CENTRAL | ||||||
| CHC* | Drunk Tank | Brandon Hughes | Manuel Rodriguez | Brad Boxberger | The Cubs will likely bounce between Hughes and Rodriguez as their closers, but if they struggle early, Boxberger could sneakily snag the role. Hopefully, Spring Training will provide more insight in the Cubs' bullpen. | |
| CIN | Buzzed | Alexis Diaz | Lucas Sims | Tejay Antone | The Reds spent most of last season moving Diaz all over, but once they put him strictly in late innings, he was fantastic. From June 12 to the end of season, Diaz had a 1.77 ERA, 49 strikeouts, and 9 saves and 5 holds. If the Reds decide against the committee approach then Diaz could vault himself as a top 10 closer. We will have to wait till Spring Training to get more clarity on the Reds' approach. | |
| MIL | Sober | Devin Williams | Matt Bush | Peter Strzelecki | The Josh Hader era is over. Now it is the Devin Williams era. William's strikeout numbers are mind boggling if he can get the same amounts of save chances as Hader the Williams could easily be the number one closer. | |
| PIT | Sober | David Bednar | Robert Stephenson | Wil Crowe | Wash and repeat for the Pirates. David Bednar will lead this bullpen with his great stuff. Hopefully, he'll get the 20-plus saves this year that we were hoping for last year. | |
| STL* | Drunk Tank | Ryan Helsley | Giovanny Gallegos | Jordan Hicks | The Cardinals are another team blessed with a great one-two punch. I see the split between Helsley and Gallegos going 60/40 in favor of Helsley. But Gallegos is going to be a savior for many fantasy managers in 2023. | |
| NL WEST | ||||||
| ARI* | Drunk Tank | Kevin Ginkel | Joe Mantiply | Mark Melancon | The D-backs are the opposite of the Phillies; they have too many bus boys trying to cook. Ginkel will likely get the first shot since he is the most consistent hurler in their bullpen. | |
| COL | Sober | Daniel Bard | Pierce Johnson | Dinelson Lamet | The Rockies have brought in Pierce Johnson, but Daniel Bard is the main guy. Bard is Tom-Brady like, he keeps getting better as he gets older. Bard had 20 saves in 2021 and 34 saves in 2022. There is no real contender role behind him so he could easily rack up 20-plus saves in 2023. | |
| LAD | Buzzed | Daniel Hudson | Evan Phillips | Aelx Vesia | Blake Treinen | Hudson is expected to be recovered from his knee injury by Spring Training. As of right now, I'm going to say Hudson is the main closer, but I wouldn't be surprised if someone else takes over the job, or the Dodgers could take the committee approach. |
| SD | Sober | Josh Hader | Robert Suarez | Luis Garcia | Hader struggled in San Diego. He had a 7.31 ERA, allowed 14 runs in 16 inning pitched, and his K/9 rate dropped 15.6 to 12.4. Hader has been fantastic pitcher for most of his career; I think it's safe to say last year was a fluke and should return to form in 2023. | |
| SF | Sober | Camilo Doval | Taylor Rogers | Tyler Rogers | Doval lived up to the hype last year and now it's time to see if he continues to build on his success to be the number one closer in baseball. Hopefully, Gabe Kapler doesn't get any ideas of shaking things up with the Taylor Rogers being there. |
