March 5, 2021
Arizona Diamondbacks – Arizona acquired Joakim Soria in early February, but Torey Lovullo said he was “not going down that road” when asked about Soria’s chances of winning the closer’s job. The good news is you won’t have to worry about Stefan Crichton crying about it if he doesn’t earn the role this spring. Soria seems like the logical choice for the ninth inning, leaving setup roles for guys like Crichton, Tyler Clippard, Ryan Buchter and Chris Devenski.
Starting 2021 hierarchy: Soria | Crichton | Clippard.
Holds candidates: Crichton, Clippard, Buchter, Devenski.
Colorado Rockies – Scott Oberg is healthy again, which is good news for a bullpen that posted a 6.77 ERA last year. Oberg and Daniel Bard are the two guys competing for the ninth inning. Mychal Givens closed in Baltimore but struggled when he arrived in Denver via trade last year. Yency Almonte wasn’t bad last year and may see some more high-leverage looks.
Starting 2021 hierarchy: Oberg | Bard | Givens.
Holds candidates: Bard, Givens, Almonte.
Los Angeles Dodgers – For better or worse, the Dodgers seem determined on having Kenley Jansen start the year as their closer. Jansen wasn’t exactly a beacon of reliability in 2020, and it was Julio Urias, not Jansen, to record the final outs of the Dodgers’ NLCS and World Series clinchers. With Urias pegged for a spot in the rotation, the job seems like Jansen’s to lose. Blake Treinen will be lurking behind Jansen, as will Corey Knebel. If Brusdar Graterol isn’t put in the rotation, he could see some high-leverage spots as well.
Starting 2021 hierarchy: Jansen | Treinen | Knebel.
Holds candidates: Treinen, Knebel, Graterol, Joe Kelly.
San Francisco Giants – Gabe Kapler remains the Giants’ manager, so don’t hold Closer Monkey responsible if anything we say below doesn’t end up happening. San Francisco signed Jake McGee to a two-year deal in the offseason and it looks as if the lefty is the likely closer to start the year. Reyes Moronta will be back after missing all of last season and should be in the late-inning mix if his velocity remains high. After that, guys like Matt Wisler and Tyler Rogers should pick up some holds.
Starting 2021 hierarchy: McGee | Moronta | Wisler.
Holds candidates: Moronta, Wisler, Rogers, Jarlin Garcia.
San Diego Padres – The Padres may not be in on Josh Hader right now but they do have several options to pitch the ninth inning. San Diego signed both Mark Melancon and Keone Kela in February, and Melancon seems more likely than Kela to end up as the closer. Don’t forget about Drew Pomeranz and Emilio Pagan, both of whom closed at one time or another last year.
Starting 2021 hierarchy: Melancon | Kela | Pomeranz.
Holds candidates: Kela, Pomeranz, Pagan.
