March 13, 2023
Chicago White Sox — All-Star closer Liam Hendriks is expected to begin the season on the IL after announcing in January that he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The White Sox have a number of options to close games while Hendriks is out, but it looks like they will not have a set closer in his absence. Kendall Graveman was the primary set-up man for Hendriks last year and should start the year at the head of the committee. Righties Joe Kelly and Reynaldo Lopez, as well as lefties Aaron Bummer and Jake Diekman, could also be in the mix.
Starting 2023 hierarchy: *Graveman | Kelly | Bummer.
* = closer-by-committee
Holds candidates: Kelly, Bummer, Lopez, Diekman, Garrett Crochet.
Cleveland Guardians – The back-end of the Guardians’ bullpen was very strong last year and they bring back all the key members. Closer Emmanuel Clase led the league with 42 saves last season and also had the best WHIP among qualified relievers at 0.73. James Karinchak missed the first part of the season but pitched well after returning and had a 23-game scoreless streak at one point. Trevor Stephan emerged as another dominant late-inning reliever last season and led the Guardians with 20 holds.
Starting 2023 hierarchy: Clase | Karinchak | Stephan.
Holds candidates: Karinchak, Stephan, Sam Hentges, Eli Morgan, Nick Sandlin.
Detroit Tigers – The Tigers traded closer Gregory Soto in January, and two other key members of their bullpen last year, Andrew Chafin and Joe Jimenez, are not on the roster. That leaves a pretty open bullpen and the Tigers will probably add another piece before the season starts. Alex Lange seems like the most logical candidate to close out games as he posted some elite numbers last year, including a whiff rate of 44.1 percent and an exit velocity that ranked in the top ten percent of the league. However, he also led the league in wild pitches, so control is definitely an issue. Veteran Jose Cisnero could be in the mix if Lange struggles with walks, and Jason Foley is another candidate to round out the back end of the Tigers’ bullpen. Another guy to watch is Trevor Rosenthal; the Tigers signed him to a minor league deal, and there is certainly an opportunity here if he can regain his past form.
Starting 2023 hierarchy: Lange | Cisnero | Foley.
Holds candidates: Cisnero, Foley, Will Vest, Tyler Alexander.
Kansas City Royals – Scott Barlow had a strong 2022 season as he led the Royals with 24 saves and had a solid ERA of 2.18 and a WHIP of 1.00. Barlow should start the season as the closer, but there are question marks behind him. Josh Staumont has looked dominant at times, but he battled injuries and serious control issues last season. Speaking of control issues, the Royals went out and signed veteran flamethrower Aroldis Chapman. Chapman walked 28 batters in just over 36 innings last year, but the Royals will hope he can regain the form that saw him strike out 97 batters just a couple seasons ago.
Starting 2023 hierarchy: Barlow | Staumont | Chapman.
Holds candidates: Staumont, Chapman, Amir Garrett, Taylor Clarke.
Minnesota Twins – Jhoan Duran was electric out of the Twins’ bullpen last year as he recorded 89 strikeouts in just 67.2 innings. However, he was often needed before the 9th inning, limiting him to just eight saves. Duran has all the makings of a dominant closer, but with Jorge Lopez returning, the Twins could prefer to use Duran in a more flexible role instead of as a traditional closer. We still think Duran is the best option, but we think he will share save chances with Lopez, especially at the beginning of the season.
Starting 2023 hierarchy: *Duran | Lopez | Thielbar.
* = closer-by-committee
Holds candidates: Lopez, Caleb Thielbar, Griffin Jax.
