Relief pitcher is always the most volatile position in Fantasy Baseball. Injuries, ineffectiveness and deadline trades mean plenty of movement and fluidity at the position.
Closer is an even more perilous position now that many teams are moving towards committees. Most teams do this to use their best reliever in a number of different situations. With the change in bullpen philosophy, there may be fewer “elite” closers in the coming years. So far this season, things have stabilized and clear closers have been named, making things pretty easy for owners.
Whether you paid for saves or plan to scour the wire, it’s a good idea to keep up on bullpen changes throughout the year. This chart will list the closer, set-up man as well as relative job security for every team.
Job security legend:
- Strong: Closer is in no danger of losing his job. Would need a string of bad performances to be in question.
- Medium: Pitcher is firmly established as the closer, but the job could come into question with a couple bad performances or the emergence of someone behind him.
- Shaky: The situation is unclear. The bullpen could be a committee or the closer at the top of the chart is in danger of losing his job with one or two poor outings.
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Fantasy Baseball Closer Chart
| Team | Stability | Current Closer | Next Up | Other Handcuffs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Diamondbacks | Strong | Brad Boxberger | Archie Bradley | Yoshihiso Hirano | The back end of the D'Backs bullpen has been great, with Boxberger having a bounce back season. |
| Atlanta Braves | Shaky | Arodys Vizcaino | A.J. Minter | Dan Winkler | Vizcaino is back, so Minter and Winkler return to their set-up roles. |
| Baltimore Orioles | Medium | Zach Britton | Brad Brach | Mychal Givens Darren O'Day (DL) Richard Bleier (DL) | Britton is going to be the guy going forward until he is traded. |
| Boston Red Sox | Strong | Craig Kimbrel | Joe Kelly | Matt Barnes | Kimbrel just became the youngest closer to ever record 300 carer saves. |
| Chicago Cubs | Medium | Brandon Morrow | Pedro Strop | Carl Edwards Jr. | Brandon Morrow has returned and will step right back into the role of closer. |
| Cincinnati Reds | Strong | Raisel Iglesias | Jared Hughes | Amir Garrett | Steady as she goes for Iglesias. |
| Cleveland Indians | Strong | Cody Allen | Neil Ramirez | Oliver Perez Andrew Miller (DL) | Allen became Cleveland's all-time save leader last week. |
| Colorado Rockies | Medium | Wade Davis | Adam Ottavino | Jake McGee | After some June struggles, Davis has rattled off three scoreless appearances in July. |
| Chicago White Sox | Shaky | Joakim Soria | Jace Fry | Bruce Rondon Nate Jones(DL) | With Nate Jones headed to the DL this job is no doubt Soria's now. |
| Detroit Tigers | Strong | Joe Jimenez | Alex Wilson | Louis Coleman Shane Greene (DL) | Greene has been placed on the DL with a shoulder injury, so Jimenez will be the interim closer. |
| Houston Astros | Shaky | Hector Rondon | Ken Giles | Chris Devinski | Hector Rondon has pitched well and is at the head of the committee in Houston. |
| Kansas City Royals | Shaky | Wily Peralta | Kevin McCarthy | Brandon Maurer | Wily Peralta heads up the makeshift committee in KC. |
| Los Angeles Angels | Shaky | Blake Parker | Justin Anderson | Cam Bedrosian | Blake Parker has made a come-back and is at the head of the committee. |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Strong | Kenley Jansen | Erik Goeddel | Scott Alexander | Jansen is looking like himself more every time he goes out there. Not expecting a change anytime soon. |
| Miami Marlins | Medium | Kyle Barraclough | Drew Steckrenrider | Adam Conley | It took Ziegler way too long to be removed from the ninth, but now Kyle Barraclough is a solid saves option. |
| Milwaukee Brewers | Strong | Corey Knebel | Josh Hader | Jeremy Jeffress | Knebel is firmly in the closer role and this bullpen is looking like one of the best in baseball. |
| Minnesota Twins | Shaky | Fernando Rodney | Trevor Hildenberger | Addison Reed | Rodney hasn't given up the job yet, so the arrows will continue to fly. |
| New York Mets | Strong | Jeurys Familia | Anthony Swarzak | Robert Gsellman | Swarzak has taken over the eighth and will be a good option if anything were to happen to Familia. |
| New York Yankees | Strong | Aroldis Chapman | Dellin Betances | David Robertson | Chapman has been the very effective this season, despite slightly lower velocity than we're used to seeing from him. |
| Oakland Athletics | Medium | Blake Treinen | Lou Trivino | Ryan Buchter | Treinen has been very steady all season. |
| Philadelphia Phillies | Shaky | Seranthony Dominguez | Edubray Ramos | Victor Arano | Victor Arano has gotten the last two save chances, and this is looking like a full-blown committee. |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Strong | Felipe Vazquez | Michael Feliz | Richard Rodriguez | Vazquez has calmed down, but it still feels like he could blow up every time he goes out there. |
| San Diego Padres | Strong | Brad Hand | Kirby Yates | Craig Stammen | There are never any updates for these guys. I guess it'll stay like this until hand gets traded. |
| Seattle Mariners | Strong | Edwin Diaz | Alex Colome | James Pazos | Diaz has 34 saves before the All-Star break. He's ridiculous. |
| San Francisco Giants | Shaky | Will Smith | Tony Watson | Sam Dyson | Will Smith leads the committee thanks to Dyson's struggles. |
| St. Louis Cardinals | Medium | Bud Norris | Jordan Hicks | Sam Tuivailala | Greg Holland was placed on the DL, putting a temporary halt on his disappointing season. |
| Tampa Bay Rays | Shaky | Sergio Romo | Jose Alvarado | Chaz Roe | It appears that Romo is the guy when he is not starting. However both him and Alvarado are going see chances. |
| Texas Rangers | Strong | Keone Kela | Jake Diekman | Jose Leclerc | Martin has gone back on the DL for a strained groin. |
| Toronto Blue Jays | Shaky | Seung Hwan Oh | Tyler Clippard | John Axford Roberto Osuna (Arrest) | The Final Boss has made his way into the ninth. |
| Washington Nationals | Strong | Sean Doolittle | Kelvin Herrera | Ryan Madson | Kelvin Herrera will not close for the Nats, but should become the immediate set up guy for a dominate Doolittle |
