July 31, 2017
Minnesota Twins – The Twins have shipped Brandon Kintzler off, leaving the cupboard pretty bare when it comes to 9th inning options. Veteran Matt Belisle has been pitching best as of late, while Trevor Hildenberger had a strong outing Sunday. Taylor Rogers seemed the best option as recently as a week ago, but he’s been hit around as of late and is probably in third place at the moment. We’ll slap a committee tag on here until the team makes something official.
Updated hierarchy: *Belisle | Hildenberger | Rogers.
* = closer-by-committee
Washington Nationals – Brandon Kintzler adds to a cadre of veterans the Nationals have assembled over the last few weeks. Sean Doolittle has done a good job so far, but GM Mike Rizzo wouldn’t name a full-time closer after the trade. Our best guess is Doolittle keeps the job and Kintzler is first in line for chances if the lefty falters.
Updated hierarchy: *Doolittle | Kintzler | Madson.
* = closer-by-committee
