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Another week of exciting baseball is another week of exciting bullpen news! Some committees are normalizing while others are forming anew, and maybe one is dissolving into a more traditional bullpen? Meanwhile, some managers are doing some weird things with how to choose their relievers.
Quite a few closers or committee leaders struggled this week, but none seemingly enough to make immediate changes. Still always something to keep an eye on though, especially with our still-small sample sizes.
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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Colorado Rockies - Bullpen and Closers News
Rockies closer Daniel Bard (anxiety) is still on the injured list, so Pierce Johnson has stepped in and done well outside of Tuesday night's awful outing where he allowed three runs and took a loss. One bad outing isn't going to knock him out of his role though, and he's shown plenty of swing-and-miss stuff despite maybe some control concerns.
There's no sign his ninth-inning role is in any danger, at least until Bard is ready to return. Bard has been working on his mechanics and throwing in side sessions but still hasn't made his way back to any game action. The Rockies bullpen has three saves this season, and Johnson has all three of those. He should be rostered in most formats at this point.
Risers: Pierce Johnson
Fallers: none
Los Angeles Dodgers - Bullpen and Closer News
Another "committee leader" who certainly seems more like a traditional closer is Evan Phillips. While manager Dave Roberts stopped short of naming him the closer outright, he did admit that he will usually save Phillips for the ninth. The Dodgers have three saves this season, and Phillips has two of them.
Phillips had a rough outing this week, allowing two home runs and three runs total in one inning, but he did get all three outs on strikeouts. He has seven Ks and still hasn't walked a batter in his five innings of work. If he can hold onto the job in LA, which it seems like he will, he could be one of the better closers in fantasy baseball.
Risers: Evan Phillips
Fallers: none
New York Mets - Bullpen and Closer News
The Mets lost the best closer in baseball before the season even started and...their bullpen is still really, really good. David Robertson has worked his way into a fireman/relief ace role. He's been outstanding so far this season, saving two games without allowing any runs or walks in over six innings of work.
Adam Ottavino has the other save of the Mets' three for the year. Manager Buck Showalter and his two top relievers all agree that both will see plenty of save chances this year. Robertson will take on the toughest inning late in the game, but won't always be kept on the shelf for the ninth. For holds leagues, both guys should be excellent options. In saves only, the slight advantage goes to Robertson.
Risers: David Robertson, Adam Ottavino
Fallers: none
Arizona Diamondbacks - Bullpen and Closers News
The Diamondbacks came into the season with a full committee approach for their bullpen. Scott McGough was labeled as the early favorite, but he struggled quite a bit in his first couple of outings, leaving the door open for Andrew Chafin to step right through.
Chafin now has two saves to McGough's one, and McGough has pitched ahead of Chafin recently. It's still likely a total committee in the desert, but Chafin would seem to have the upper hand over McGough or Kevin Ginkel. Chafin hasn't allowed a run yet and has strong peripherals, while McGough's ERA sits at 6.23 and could be even worse (15.35 xERA) before long.
Risers: Andrew Chafin
Fallers: Scott McGough
Short Relief - Other Bullpen News
-The Marlins look like they've settled on A.J. Puk as their closer. Dylan Floro has been pitching well in the 8th inning, ahead of Puk.
-Kyle Finnegan has been decent for the Nationals after getting through a really rough first few outings.
-Bryan Abreu is really, really good. He's not going to take the ninth away from Ryan Pressly, but he should be rostered in every holds league.
-No one knows what the Tigers are doing with their bullpen, and that apparently includes manager A.J. Hinch himself, but preseason saves favorite Alex Lange did get his first save of the year on Thursday.
-Jorge Lopez looks settled into a setup role, so Jhoan Duran is either the clear head of the Twins committee or the outright closer by now. Either way, he needs to be rostered everywhere.
-Michael King has made his way back into a setup role for the Yankees. With Jonathan Loaisiga on the IL now, King could be the primary guy ahead of Clay Holmes.
-Andres Munoz landed on the IL for the Mariners, and while the injury doesn't seem like a long-term thing, it does mean Paul Sewald should see most of Seattle's save chances for a bit.
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