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ANALYSIS: Brad Boxberger has been one of the Rays' more dominant relief pitchers in 2014. He's having a breakout season, pitching to a 2.87 ERA with a.93 WHIP and an impressive 48:12 K:BB ratio in just 31.1 IP. His filthy strikeout stuff is well suited to the closer role, but Boxberger, with just 1 career save coming into this year, didn't have an outside shot with veterans like Jake McGee and Grant Balfour ahead of him on the depth charts. He was an afterthought as a potential closer, until Wednesday night when manager Joe Maddon inserted him into the 9th inning, even with Balfour and McGee available and ready to pitch. Balfour has nearly gotten back on track, and McGee has been dominant this year, and even closed out 2 games himself within the past week, so the fact that Maddon inserted Boxberger to slam the door tells us two things: 1) this really is a true closer-by-committee, and 2) none of these guys are worth owning for fantasy purposes just yet unless you play in a 14 team league where vulture saves are at a premium. Bottom line, add Boxberger only in the deepest leagues and only if you're absolutely desperate for saves, and only if McGee and Balfour are already snagged in your league.
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