RADIO
In the wild 2020 season, it made sense that we had a somewhat wild 2020 trade deadline. The trade deadline is a legitimate baseball holiday, and without an All-Star Game this year, it became the most exciting day in the regular season. The Padres went wild and made all the headlines, acquiring basically a whole new team. But plenty of smaller trades were made before the deadline as well, changing things around in bullpens throughout the league.
Some trades that weren't made changed things around for bullpens too. Guys who were almost 100% sure to get traded just...didn't. Bullpens that needed improvement ended up just...not improving. With no non-waiver/waiver trade deadline to think about now, what teams have today is what they'll have for the rest of the season and the playoffs. There will still be injuries and unexpected (or maybe somewhat expected) struggles, but there won't be any more trades, so we can look more confidently at what bullpens will look like for the last month of the regular season.
Take a look at our Closer Depth Chart, which is updated daily. Let's jump in and take a look at what's been going on in the bullpens around baseball.
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Bullpen News for Week 7
Seattle Mariners
The Mariners bullpen was quite a mess before the trade deadline. They went ahead and traded a bunch of relievers without really acquiring any and...made it less of a mess? Taylor Williams, Austin Adams, and Dan Altavilla all went to the Padres at the deadline, leaving the Seattle bullpen with Yoshihisa Hirano at the closer's role. It's the first time all year the Mariners bullpen has been Solid instead of Questionable or occasionally even volatile. So Hirano sits atop the hierarchy, with Yohan Ramirez next in line and Anthony Misiewicz behind him. Matt Magill could return from a shoulder strain at some point and work some late innings, but he won't be much of a threat to Hirano's role. Hirano isn't the high-upside closer fantasy managers want, but he should provide consistency and will have some mixed league value.
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Diamondbacks made a few trades at the deadline, with news of the one that changed their bullpen around coming a bit after the deadline had passed. Archie Bradley, who had been pitching well as the closer in Arizona, was sent to Cincinnati. Someone still needs to close for the Diamondbacks though, and for right now it looks like we'll see a committee made up of Junior Guerra and Hector Rondon. Guerra has a decent 3.14 ERA but he's walked almost as many batters as he's struck out. Rondon is missing way more bats, but also walking a ton of hitters and pitching to an ugly 9.00 (mostly backed up by his 7.21 FIP). Neither reliever looks like a great fantasy asset right now, but if one of them manages to start pitching well and take over the role, that would make him worth rostering in deeper mixed leagues.
San Diego Padres
The Padres went wild at the trade deadline, re-shaping most of their team and adding several arms to their bullpen. Besides all that, Drew Pomeranz came off the IL too. The Padres picked up Trevor Rosenthal from the Royals, and then seemingly half of the Mariners bullpen as well. "Rosie" will continue in his ninth inning role for his new team, and Pomeranz should be the main setup man, occasionally earning saves if Rosenthal needs some rest. Emilio Pagan landed on the injured list, so newly acquired Taylor Williams may slide into the third spot in the Padres bullpen hierarchy.
Kansas City Royals
The rebuilding Royals traded closer Trevor Rosenthal, as expected. They were also widely expected to trade some other relievers, but ended up keeping everyone else around. Rosenthal's departure did leave an opening for the closer's role, however. Manager Mike Matheny loves his veterans, so Greg Holland is the head of what is a committee for now, but may end up being just Holland's job as long as he pitches well. Josh Staumont, Jesse Hahn, and Scott Barlow should all pitch late game situations and could be considered part of the committee for now as well. Holland is the one to pick up right now, but only in deeper leagues and for fantasy players struggling with saves.
Baltimore Orioles
Cole Sulser was doing a pretty good job as closer in Baltimore, but he had a few rough outings in a row and manager Brandon Hyde decided to take Sulser out of the ninth and give him some lower-leverage outings to try to get him right. In the meantime, Mychal Givens was traded to the Rockies and Miguel Castro went to the Mets, which cleared some room in the Orioles bullpen for exciting young arm Hunter Harvey to come off the injured list. Harvey hasn't pitched much this year, but he has the upside to be one of the better closers in the league. For now, he seems set to head the committee in Baltimore at worst. He'll compete with Tanner Scott and Evan Phillips, but Harvey is the best arm by far in the Baltimore pen.
Short Relief
- The Reds picked up Archie Bradley, but it looks like he'll work behind closer Raisel Iglesias for now. Iglesias will have much less room for error with a proven guy like Bradley in the bullpen with him, though.
- Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman was suspended for three games, so players in daily leagues may want to check on when he will serve that suspension so they don't include him in their lineups on those days.
- Gregory Soto continues to solidify himself as the head of the committee in Detroit, but it's still a committee for now, with Buck Farmer and Jose Cisnero involved.
- The Cubs bullpen keeps trying to get Craig Kimbrel to work, but it's not working. Rowan Wick and Jeremy Jeffress have been much more effective, with Jeffress taking over as head of the committee at this point.
- The Rockies picked up Mychal Givens at the trade deadline and he should factor into their late inning situations, but Daniel Bard seems to remain atop the committee with Carlos Estevez around as well. Jairo Diaz has quickly fallen out of favor and won't likely see significant innings for a bit.
- The Giants bullpen is a revolving door in a windstorm, but for now it looks like Tyler Rogers sits atop the committee, with Sam Coonrod and Tony Watson helping out.
Roster Moves of the Week
Adds
Yoshihisa Hirano, Seattle Mariners - Hirano sort of fell backwards into the closer's role in Seattle, as essentially everyone else is either injured or got traded away. Hirano won't put up elite closer numbers, but he seems to have the ninth inning to himself and that will always bring some fantasy value.
Greg Holland, Kansas City Royals - Holland looks like the favorite for saves on Mike Matheny's Royals. He's the head of the committee for now, but it shouldn't be long until he takes over full time as long as he pitches well.
Someone on the Diamondbacks, Arizona Diamondbacks - There don't seem to be too many good options left in the Diamondbacks bullpen, but someone will need to be on the mound if they have a lead in the ninth inning. Keep an eye on Junior Guerra and Hector Rondon, both have been pretty bad this year but pretty good in the past. One of them could take the ninth and run with it if they start throwing more strikes.
Drops
Archie Bradley, Cincinnati Reds - There's a decent chance Bradley will take over the closer's role in Cincinnati before the end of the season, but at least for now, he's working in a setup role which will severely limit his fantasy value in standard leagues.
Any Ex-Mariners Relievers, San Diego Padres - All of the former Mariners now pitching out of the San Diego bullpen will be pitching in more of a middle relief role, leaving them with very little value in the vast majority of fantasy formats.
Best of the Week
Kenley Jansen, Los Angeles Dodgers
3 1/3 IP, 3 SV, 7 K, 0.00 ERA
Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen appeared in four games this week, saving three of them while striking out seven and allowing just an unearned run.
Ryan Pressly, Houston Astros
4 IP, 3 SV, 7 K, 2.25 ERA
Astros closer Ryan Pressly got off to a rough start this season, but he was strong this week, saving three games and striking out seven while allowing just a solo home run and one other hit.
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