February 26, 2020
Atlanta Braves — The Braves picked up a trio of veteran relievers late in 2019, and those three righties — Mark Melancon, Shane Greene, and Chris Martin — will make up the core of their bullpen in 2020, along with offseason signing Will Smith. There’s pretty good depth here, too, with Darren O’Day and Luke Jackson likely to make the team; the latter closed for a spell last season. And they’ve still got two promising youngsters who have both logged some impressive major league innings (albeit not in 2019) in AJ Minter and Chad Sobotka. Right now it seems that Brian Snitker is leaning toward Melancon to start out in the closer role rather than Smith, who was one of the best relievers in baseball last year. But Snitker has suggested that things could be fluid and matchup-based, so both are likely worth drafting.
Starting 2020 Hierarchy: Melancon | Smith | Greene.
Holds candidates: Smith, Greene, Martin.
Miami Marlins — The Marlins picked up Brandon Kintzler shortly before the start of spring training, and Don Mattingly quickly anointed him the likely closer, which is understandable given the other options the Marlins have on the roster. Ryne Stanek, who they acquired midseason last year, converted just 1 of his 5 save chances; Drew Steckenrider was injured for most of the season and pitching to a 6+ ERA when he was healthy; and Adam Conley was similarly ineffective. Look for Kintzler and another offseason acquisition, Yimi Garcia, to be the high-leverage guys here, with some mix of the other three also factoring in.
Starting 2020 Hierarchy: Kintzler | Garcia | Stanek.
Holds candidates: Garcia, Stanek, Steckenrider.
New York Mets — The Mets’ worst three bullpen ERAs in history have come in 2019, 2018, and 2017, but there’s again reason for cautious optimism in Flushing, as various projection systems are projecting bounce-back campaigns from Edwin Diaz and Jeurys Familia, along with a healthy (or healthier) contribution from Dellin Betances. Seth Lugo was one of the NL’s top relievers last year, and he figures to factor in to the late-inning mix as well, with veterans Justin Wilson and Brad Brach bridging the gap to the late innings. The Mets will give Diaz a chance to close to start the year, but it’s likely he’ll be on a short leash due to his 2020 struggles, so Betances and/or Lugo might be worth stashing if you’ve got the roster space.
Starting 2020 Hierarchy: Diaz | Betances | Lugo.
Holds candidates: Betances, Lugo, Familia.
Philadelphia Phillies — Gabe Kapler is gone, replaced by Joe Girardi, so the Phillies bullpen might make a little more sense this season than in years past. The situation remains fluid at the moment, but our best guess is Hector Neris gets the first chance to close, with Seranthony Dominguez setting up. Adam Morgan, Jose Alvarez, and Tommy Hunter will be contributors, and we figure at least one of the handful of veterans (Blake Parker, Francisco Liriano, Anthony Swarzak) who have gotten spring training invites will make a difference at some point. Monitor this bullpen in spring training to make sure Neris is on track.
Starting 2020 Hierarchy: Neris | Dominguez| Morgan.
Holds candidates: Dominguez, Morgan, Alvarez.
Washington Nationals – The Nationals bullpen was largely terrible in 2019, but they patched their way through the playoffs and won a World Series. That success led them to probably be less aggressive than they could have been in free agency, as the only acquisition they made was former Astro Will Harris; instead, they’re hoping that Sean Doolittle and Daniel Hudson can tag-team the late innings the way they did in the playoffs last year. Tanner Rainey and Wander Suero are likely to make the roster, as will Hunter Strickland and Roenis Elias, but we’d only consider drafting the top three guys here, even in deep leagues.
Starting 2020 Hierarchy: Doolittle | Hudson | Harris.
Holds candidates: Hudson, Harris, Rainey.
