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Another week of baseball and we inch ever closer to being able to correctly call these guys the "boys of summer". This week saw two big news injuries in a pair of bullpens, along with a possible return to an earlier pattern in another. A committee got a little more complicated, and a group of guys earned their first big league saves on the same day.
As we get into the summer, the trade deadline seems to always wait around the corner. There are a few rebuilding teams with some nice trade chips, and a few contending teams with some noticeable holes. Several bullpens will start to look very different in the next month and a half, but for now let's take a look at how they look today.
Be sure to also keep an eye on our Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Charts for saves, holds, and bullpens. They will be updated daily or sometimes even more often throughout the 2023 baseball season.
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St. Louis Cardinals - Bullpen and Closer News
It's been a rough season for the Cardinals already. Unprecedently rough for a franchise that seemingly hasn't been bad in decades. They sit at 27-42, the worst team in the National League, and 8.5 games out of a playoff spot. The issues have been essentially team-wide, and the bullpen was certainly a part of that.
The Cardinals' closer role has been split between Ryan Helsley and Giovanny Gallegos, who have combined for all 15 St. Louis saves this season. Helsley has seven with four blown saves, and Gallegos has eight with three blown saves. This week, Helsley landed on the injured list due to a strained right forearm. Presumably, Gallegos will step into the role on his own instead of splitting the work, but guys like Drew VerHagen and Jordan Hicks could potentially mix in as well.
Risers: Giovanny Gallegos
Fallers: Ryan Helsley
Chicago White Sox - Bullpen and Closer News
The baseball world came together to root for White Sox closer Liam Hendriks as he returned to the mound sooner than anyone expected. Unfortunately, he's now had to leave the mound sooner than anyone expected, but luckily it's due to an elbow injury and nothing related to his previous recovery.
Hendriks was only able to squeeze five innings of work in between his IL trips, but he did earn a save and had three scoreless outings. It's unclear how long he'll miss this time, but Kendall Graveman will likely lead the Chicago bullpen with help from Joe Kelly and Reynaldo Lopez until Hendriks can return.
Risers: Kendall Graveman
Fallers: Liam Hendriks
New York Yankees - Bullpen and Closer News
It looks like Clay Holmes has worked his way all the way back to the leader of the Yankee's committee. He has saves in three of his last six outings and was warming up for a fourth before he had to come in early to put out a fire, leading to Michael King's first save in almost a month.
Holmes has allowed just one earned run since May 6, so it certainly seems like he's "figured it out" and is back to being an elite relief pitcher. The Yankees are unlikely to stick him exclusively in the ninth inning as we already saw him used in a fireman role this week, but Holmes is back to being the leader of this committee and absolutely worth a roster spot in all formats.
Risers: Clay Holmes
Fallers: Wandy Peralta, Michael King
Short Relief - Other Bullpen News
-Griffin Jax earned a save this week and has thrown 10 scoreless appearances with an uptick in his strikeout rate. He's the latest addition to an unpredictable Twins bullpen committee.
-Pete Fairbanks is back from the IL, this time recovered from a hip injury. He's already earned a save and will be back in the Rays committee alongside Jason Adam.
-Jose Alvarado is back, but it looks like he'll be a fireman and Craig Kimbrel will hang onto his role as closer, at least for now.
-Four guys earned their first big league saves this week: Keaton Winn for the Giants, Matt Carasiti for the Rockies, Ricky Karcher for the Reds, and Ken Waldichuk for the A's. Winn's and Waldichuk's were four and three-inning saves, respectively, and Carasiti and Karcher were "our top arms have a rest day" saves. So while none of these four saves make much of a difference in bullpen hierarchies, it was still kind of cool to see them all happen on back-to-back days.
-James Karinchak got sent down to Triple-A this week. Emmanuel Clase remains the closer in Cleveland, and he'll be set up by Trevor Stephan and Sam Hentges.
-Ben Joyce joined Matt Moore on the IL this week, so Chris Devenski and Jose Soriano will be Carlos Estevez's main setup guys for a bit.
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