Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: A change in Seattle?

Seattle
Fantasy Baseball Closer Report: A change in Seattle?

Every weekend we will examine the closing situations for each of the 30 MLB teams and profile certain players whose arrows are pointing up or down for the ninth inning of fantasy baseball.

There has been a closer change in Seattle this week as Toronto grapples with key bullpen injuries and the likes of Lou Trivino and Emmanuel Clase getting a better grip on the ninth inning tasks.

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Lou Trivino, Oakland Athletics

About a week ago, A manager Bob Melvin stated that Trivino could be “an option” to secure opportunities after Trevor Rosenthal’s thorax outlet surgery. However, the left Jake Diekman also saw some opportunities that arose depending on the matchup.

Today we can say that Trivino has cemented its position with two uneventful parades on as many occasions over the past week. Diekman was put in more of a setup role, and Sergio Romo was put on mop-up duty with the A-Six, allowing a couple of runs to make it an 8-4 game on Thursday.

The job appears to be Trivinos and it’s up to him to keep it for the rest of the season. Congratulations if you got it in the past week and if it happens to be still floating on your waiver wire, change that.

Rafael Dolis, Toronto Blue Jays

Toronto has been terribly lucky this season with injuries to important aides. First, Kirby Yates, who is closer to the free agent, went down with surgery on Tommy John, and then the formidable right-hand Julian Merryweather suffered a left oblique strain this week.

Jordan Romano, next to parry in Toronto, was added to the list of 10-day injuries with right ulnar neuritis on April 15. So yeah, it was tough for the Blue Jays.

On Tuesday night against the Yankees, Merryweather scored in the eighth inning and would have come out for the ninth time without the injury. Tim Mayza finished the last frame in a 7-3 game.

However, Rafael Dolis should be the name to own until Merryweather or Romano are healthy again. He threw the last inning of a 5-1 game on Saturday, and while he’s not exactly a top reliever, there may be short-term value here.

Emmanuel Class, Cleveland

Emmanuel Clase appears to be Cleveland’s preferred option in the ninth inning despite missing the chance on Saturday. He hasn’t given up a well-deserved run this season and while taking three hits last night, Clase would have gotten out of the jam if first baseman Josh Naylor had caught an easy grounder.

Clase has three saves this season, and James Karinchak is more likely to be deployed as a firefighter to get past the fat portion of lineups in high leverage situations. If you want to save, Clase is the guy you need to own. Don’t you dare drop it.

Yimi Garcia, Miami Marlins

The Anthony Bass era, when the Marlins approached, didn’t last long. Signed as the primary ninth inning option in the off-season, the right-hander has taken multiple rescue opportunities and Miami has made a change in the past week and a half.

Yimi Garcia has amassed three successful rescue chances since April 10th and looks like the man one must have to move forward. He also has nice ratios with an ERA of 0.96 and a whip of 0.86. He won’t be this dominant all the time, but is good enough to keep the job.

It is noteworthy, however, that Bass, who currently has a 9:00 ERA for the season, has not been rated in his last four appearances. It is a situation that needs to be monitored.

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Rafael Montero, Seattle Mariners

Rafael Montero hasn’t been all that bad this season, with an ERA of 3.86 and a good whip of 0.95. But he’s got three blown saves and manager Scott Servais has given Kendall Graveman the last two saves.

Chances are that Montero’s next opportunity will come, or that Servais will return to him in about a week. However, for now, usage patterns suggest Graveman will take care of the narrower role for the foreseeable future. He has an ERA of 0.00 and a whip of 0.50 so he’s well placed and could run away with the gig.

Daniel Bard, Colorado Rockies

As of now, Bard is in no danger of losing the turnkey job in Colorado. But after a breakdown against the Mets on Saturday, his ERA is 4.76 and his whip is an even worse 1.94.

If there was another arm that could endanger Bard’s role, it could be a worrying development. He should be safe for now, but he won’t collect too many saves while allowing almost two base runners per inning.

More detailed diagram

  • New York Yankees: Aroldis Chapman (sure)

  • Baltimore Orioles: Cesar Valdez (sure)

  • Tampa Bay Rays: Diego Castillo (Sure)

  • Toronto Blue Jays: Rafael Dolis (first fill-in option)

  • Boston Red Sox: Matt Barnes (first option), Adam Ottavino

  • Chicago White Sox: Liam Hendriks (safe)

  • Minnesota Twins: Alex Colome (first option), Taylor Rogers

  • Cleveland: Emmanuel Clase (first option), Nick Wittgren, James Karinchak

  • Detroit Tigers: Possible committee between Gregory Soto and Bryan Garcia

  • Kansas City Royals: Closer Committee with Greg Holland as First Option; Wade Davis, Scott Barlow

  • Houston Astros: Ryan Pressly (safe)

  • Oakland Athletics: Lou Trivino (first option), Jake Diekman

  • Los Angeles Angels: Raisel Iglesias (safe)

  • Seattle Mariners: Kendall Graveman (first option), Rafael Montero

  • Texas Rangers: Ian Kennedy (sure)

  • Atlanta Braves: Will Smith (Sure)

  • New York Mets: Edwin Diaz (sure)

  • Philadelphia Phillies: Hector Neris (sure)

  • Washington Nationals: Brad Hand (sure)

  • Miami Marlins: Yimi Garcia (first option), Anthony Bass

  • Cincinnati Reds: Amir Garrett (first option), Lucas Sims, Sean Doolittle

  • St. Louis Cardinals: Alex Reyes (first option), Jordan Hicks

  • Milwaukee Brewers: Josh Hader (sure)

  • Chicago Cubs: Craig Kimbrel (Sure)

  • Pittsburgh Pirates: Richard Rodriguez (first option), Kyle Crick, David Bednar

  • Los Angeles Dodgers: Kenley Jansen (sure)

  • San Diego Padres: Mark Melancon (Sure)

  • Colorado Rockies: Daniel Bard (sure)

  • San Francisco Giants: Jake McGee (Sure)

  • Arizona Diamondbacks: Stefan Crichton (first option)

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