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We're here, folks. We made it. We've arrived. Mission accomplished. Other such clichés. It's the fantasy baseball playoffs in most leagues by now. By next week, it'll be the playoffs in almost every league. As football season has its Week 1, baseball season has some of its biggest games. Every save, hold, strikeout, and inning pitched, each and every one can be the difference.
This week, we saw a closer return but learned he'd be limited. We had a changing of the guard in one bullpen that hasn't been all that consistent this season anyway. Finally, we saw two solid holds guys get hurt and two other solid holds guys blow up. Let's check on that and a few other tidbits in this week's Closers and Saves Report!
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
The Cardinals finally got their closer back from the injured list, as Ryan Helsley rejoined the team this week. It came at the expense of one of the guys who has been closing though, with JoJo Romero heading to the injured list to take Helsley's place. Romero and Giovanny Gallegos had been sharing closing duties before Helsley returned.
Helsley's return won't suddenly give the Cardinals a full-time closer, though. The team has already stated that Helsley won't pitch in back-to-back games "at the moment." We can assume he likely won't this season. That leaves plenty of potential save chances for Gallegos, who should retain the fantasy value he's had most of the season. Helsley certainly seems healthy, though. He's already hitting 102 mph with his fastball.
Risers: Ryan Helsley
Fallers: JoJo Romero
Colorado Rockies - Bullpen and Closer News
The Rockies have 27 saves as a team this year. Combined. Among all of their relievers. Pierce Johnson leads the team in saves with 13 and hasn't been on the Rockies since July 24 (he's been really, really good for the Braves after posting a 6.00 ERA in Colorado). The second-most saves in a Rockies uniform belong to Justin Lawrence with 10.
Lawrence has had some impressive stretches. But with a recent run of not-so-impressive outings, it looks like the Rockies will be moving to Tyler Kinley, who has picked up two saves in his last three outings. Those two saves put him in third place among the Rockies this season.
Kinley won't have huge value as this will probably remain some sort of committee. The team might not win much, but managers desperate for a sneaky save could find one here. With Daniel Bard hitting the injured list, Kinley's only likely competition is Jake Bird.
Risers: Tyler Kinley
Fallers: Justin Lawrence
Short Relief - Other Bullpen News
-Tanner Scott continues to have an excellent season out of the Marlins bullpen and looks like he's locked into the closer's role.
-The White Sox committee is as much of one as you can get, with any of Bryan Shaw, Aaron Bummer, and Gregory Santos equally likely to take the mound for a save chance.
-Jose Alvarado earned his seventh save of the year this week after Craig Kimbrel was used as a fireman in the eighth inning. The closer's job is still clearly Kimbrel's, but his usage is a little more fluid.
-Jason Adam landed on the injured list this week, leaving Pete Fairbanks, Robert Stephenson, and Colin Poche more work in the back end of the Tampa Bay bullpen.
-Kirby Yates picked up a save this week in a game where both Raisel Iglesias and A.J. Minter were unavailable.
-Drew Smith earned a save and looked good doing it. The Mets remain in committee mode, but Smith could nab a sneaky save here and there for the rest of the season.
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