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After a relatively quiet few weeks in bullpens across the league, this past week brought us more than enough noise. Injuries, both with closers heading to the disabled list and closers coming back, have shaken up a few pens. A closer who was filling in for an injured closer got injured. One of the best relievers in recent years got demoted. One of the best young closers in the game was placed on leave from his role after he was arrested for domestic violence.
So, yeah: plenty happened. Darren O'Day, who was closing after Brad Brach proved ineffective (who was closing after Zach Britton got hurt) got hurt and went on the disabled list. Josh Hader, who consistently puts up video game numbers, was demoted to the setup role when Brewers closer Corey Knebel returned. Roberto Osuna was arrested for domestic violence, and the Blue Jays immediately placed him on administrative leave. That's the CliffsNotes, there are plenty of other details to cover.
So let's take a look at the news, the best performers, and any suggested moves for your fantasy team in this week's MLB Closers and Saves Report:
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Bullpen News for Week 7
Baltimore Orioles
With Zach Britton on the disabled list to start the year, Brad Brach was enshrined as the Baltimore closer. He'd done a good job in the role in previous seasons when Britton missed time, so it made sense he'd do well in 2018. He didn't. Much like the Orioles as a team, Brach has struggled this season. The closer role which belonged to him to start the year turned into a committee for a few games, but Darren O'Day seemed to take over the lead and eventually the inning. O'Day was doing well, until he got hurt. O'Day landed on the DL with a hyperextended elbow. So, back to a committee it goes, with Brach back on top by default. Lefty Richard Bleier will likely mix in when the matchups call for it, and Mychal Givens, who has been the best Orioles reliever this season, might get some chances too. None of Brach, Bleier, or Givens are immediate adds, but fantasy owners desperately looking for saves could take the chance on either Brach or Givens. Don't expect much from either reliever, but Givens would be the better choice for ratios.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers and their fans were concerned when their elite closer, Corey Knebel, landed on the disabled list earlier this season. Josh Hader, Jeremy Jeffress, and other relievers in the Milwaukee bullpen made it an extremely easy few weeks though. Even without Knebel, the Brewers bullpen remained one of the best in baseball. Hader dominated, Jeffress was unhittable, and now the Brewers get to add an elite closer to that mix. It immediately enters the conversation for "best bullpen in baseball" and shortens the game significantly for Milwaukee's opponents. In fantasy, it's a hit for Hader's value, but he'll still be worth owning in almost all formats. Of course, he'll retain all of his value in save+hold leagues, but his stock does take a hit in standard leagues. With everyone else moving down a rung in the bullpen ladder, there's a slight hit to the value of the Brewers setup men.
Toronto Blue Jays
The Blue Jays took a quiet but honorable stand this week, placing closer Roberto Osuna on administrative leave after he was arrested for a domestic violence incident. Baseball matters a lot less in incidents like this, but that's still what we're here to talk about. The Jays went to Tyler Clippard with their first save chance, but it doesn't seem like he's a direct replacement for Osuna. They'll likely go with a committee of Clippard, Ryan Tepera, John Axford, and Seung Hwan Oh. All four have pitched well this season, and three of the four (excluding Tepera) have been full time closers for at least two full seasons in the past. It'll be interesting to see if anyone pulls ahead of the committee and claims the job as their own, but for now it's essentially a roll of the dice when deciding which Toronto reliever will have the most fantasy value going forward.
Chicago White Sox
The White Sox are bad. The White Sox "closers" have been really bad. The two main arms in the ninth inning for the White Sox have been Nate Jones and Joakim Soria. Jones imploded this week, blowing a three run lead in the blink of an eye. For the season, White Sox pitchers have a disgusting 5.68 ERA in the ninth inning. Jones provides a stunning 8.44 ninth inning ERA and Soria comes in with a brutal 6.14 ninth inning ERA. Lucky for them, the White Sox don't come up with too many save chances.
Roster Moves of the Week
Adds
Mychal Givens, Baltimore Orioles- There aren't any immediate pick ups this week, so Mychal Givens makes the list even though he's more of a wait-and-see-and-even-then-still-maybe-not kind of guy. With Darren O'Day, who had taken over closer duties in Baltimore, heading to the disabled list, Brad Brach is back on top of the committee for the Orioles. Brach, however, has been bad this year. Richard Bleier will get some save chances if the opposing team has lefties coming up, but Givens is the guy who may emerge. The Orioles won't provide too many save chances, and Givens is currently looking like he's third in line, so he's only an add in the deepest of leagues or for owners who like to speculate with their final bench spots.
Josh Hader, Milwaukee Brewers- Hey, why not check if someone in your league made a huge mistake and let go of Hader just because he won't be getting saves anymore? Even in standard leagues, Hader provides strong enough ratios to be worth owning when he's not collecting saves. In holds leagues? He's one of the best.
Drops
Chicago White Sox Relief Pitchers- See above. They're all bad.
Best of the Week
Brad Hand, San Diego Padres- 3 IP, 8 K, 3 SV, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP
Padres closer Brad Hand had a strong week, tossing three scoreless innings on his way to three saves and striking out eight of the nine batters he retired. He only gave up two hits in the meantime.
Aroldis Chapman, New York Yankees- 4 IP, 10 K, 3 SV, 2.25 ERA, 0.75 WHIP
Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman wasn't as untouchable as Hand this week, as he did allow a run on three hits, but he induced plenty of swings and misses along the way. Ten of his 12 outs came via the strikeout this week and he saved three games.
