March 16, 2023

Arizona Diamondbacks – Folks probably aren’t going to be coveting any Arizona relievers in any fantasy drafts this spring, especially when manager Torey Lovullo made it clear that he won’t be naming a closer. Lefty Andrew Chafin signed a one-year deal and has the ability to close. Mark Melancon is still around, and he’s certainly got plenty of ninth-inning experience, though he’s currently nursing an injury. 2022 All-Star Joe Mantiply is also back. One other name to watch is Scott McGough, who saved 38 games for the Yakult Swallows in Japan last year.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: *Chafin | Melancon | Mantiply.
* = closer-by-committee 
Holds candidates: Melancon, Mantiply, McGough.

Colorado Rockies – Daniel Bard remains as the Rockies’ closer, but the rest of the bullpen is intriguing with newcomers Pierce Johnson and Brad Hand expected to be in the late-innings mix. Justin Lawrence is also someone that has a good chance to pitch in high-leverage spots. One name to keep an eye on is Tyler Kinley, who was having a terrific season in 2022 before suffering a season-ending injury. He is expected to return midseason.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: Bard | Johnson | Hand.
Holds candidates: Johnson, Hand, Lawrence, Brent Suter.

Los Angeles Dodgers – The Dodgers head into 2023 without a designated closer, with Blake Treinen not expected to pitch this year and Daniel Hudson set to miss the early part of the season. Expect folks like Evan Phillips, Alex Vesia, Brusdar Graterol and Caleb Ferguson to be in the mix for saves, with Phillips likely having the slight edge on the group.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: *Phillips | Vesia | Graterol.
* = closer-by-committee
Holds candidates: Vesia, Graterol, Ferguson.

San Diego Padres – The Padres will begin the year with a stable corps of high-leverage relievers, led by closer Josh Hader and setup man Robert Suarez. Luis Garcia and Tim Hill will compete for the seventh-inning role, with Drew Pomeranz potentially factoring into late-inning plans one he returns from injury.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: Hader | Suarez | Garcia.
Holds candidates: Suarez, Garcia, Hill.

San Francisco Giants – The Giants enter 2023 with Camilo Doval as their closer after he recorded 27 saves a year ago. Behind him are the Rogers twins, Taylor and Tyler, as well as John Brebbia. Of note is that the Giants signed former Atlanta closer Luke Jackson, who will miss at least the first month while he finishes his recovery from Tommy John surgery, Jackson will likely compete for holds once he is healthy.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: Doval | Taylor Rogers | Brebbia.
Holds candidates: Taylor/Tyler Rogers, Brebbia.

March 16, 2023

Chicago Cubs – The Cubs enter 2023 without a top option at closer, and manager David Ross has said that while he expects someone to establish themselves as the leader in the bullpen, the competition is wide open this spring. The Cubs signed two free agents with closing experience in Brad Boxberger and Michael Fulmer in the offseason, and they will have the inside track to saves right out of the gate. Also in the mix will be Brandon Hughes, who provides a left-handed option, and was the head of the Cubs committee to end the year. We think that Boxberger will get the first look at saves as the slightly more established option, but Michael Fulmer is younger with more upside and is probably the longer-term option. Rowan Wick and Adbert Alzoley provide some depth in what should be a solid bullpen. Another name to watch is Codi Heuer, who missed all of 2022 after Tommy John surgery, but is ahead of his recovery schedule and might be a decent holds option when he returns.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: Boxberger* | Fulmer | Hughes.
Holds candidates: Fulmer, Hughes, Wick, Alzoley.

Cincinnati Reds – The Reds had arguably the worst bullpen in the majors last year, but one bright spot was Alexis Diaz, who ended the year firmly in control of the closer role in the Queen City. Manager David Bell has already said he will be the closer to start 2023, but he may get used before the 9^th in high leverage spots. Behind Diaz is a bit of a mess with Lucas Sims handling the primary set up duties, while Buck Farmer and Reiver Sanmartin handling the middle innings. Tejay Antone and Tony Santillian will likely find themselves in the middle reliever mix as well, but both will likely begin the year on the IL, with Santillian a bit closer to returning. We expect Diaz to be the top choice at closer for the Reds all year, and while they may not win many games, Diaz should rack up most of the saves when they do.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: Diaz | Sims | Farmer.
Holds candidates: Sims, Farmer, Sanmartin, Antone (IL), Santillian.

Milwaukee Brewers – After spending years as the closer in the most reliable bullpen in baseball, Josh Hader was traded out of Milwaukee, leaving Devin Williams at the helm. Williams picked up where Hader left off, recording 9 saves in August-September and turning in a K/9 over 14. The Brewers have been a model of consistency in their bullpen rolls, and 2023 looks like it will be no different, with Williams as the clear closer for the Brewers, trade acquisition Matt Bush as the primary set up man, Peter Strzelecki in the 7^th inning and Hoby Milner as the lefty specialist. Williams is as safe a closer as anybody, and should be one of the top options league wide.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: Williams | Bush | Strzelecki.
Holds candidates: Bush, Strzelecki, Milner.

Pittsburgh Pirates – If the Reds weren’t the worst bullpen in 2023, it was probably the Pirates, who are now on year 8 of the 5 year rebuilding plan. Like the Reds, the Pirates also saw the emergence of a top closing option in David Bednar, who fought off an early committee to take the reins of the bullpen and never really looked back. Bednar is joined by Wil Crowe, who had an excellent season going before falling apart in August and September, and Yerry De Los Santos, who has showed flashes of being a top flight reliever, but has struggled with consistency. Another option is Duane Underwood Jr. who has excelled at keeping the ball in the park, but is otherwise unspectacular. A pair of Colins, Holderman and Selby, have a chance of making the roster out of spring training, and look like solid relief prospects, but they are better left until they have secured a major league role. Overall, Bednar is a solid choice as the clear closer on a bad team, but he also has a high risk of being traded as he enters his arbitration years, which means the Pirates bullpen is a good one to steer clear of.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: Bednar | Crowe | De Los Santos.
Holds candidates: Crowe, De Los Santos, Underwood.

St. Louis Cardinals – Ryan Helsley emerged as one of the best relievers in baseball last year and finished the season with a sparkling 1.25 ERA with a 13.09 K/9. Helsley’s job is safe, but he does have a pretty large assembly of talent behind him. Giovanny Gallegos spent a large chunk of the year as the closer in St. Louis, despite eventually yielding the job to Helsley. Gallegos will return as the primary set up man and the Cardinals have shown they trust him in high leverage spots. Jordan Hicks and Genesis Cabrera were solid options for the Cardinals in 2022 and they return this year, likely to similar roles. Another option is Andre Pallante has shown a lot of flexibility with the Cardinals as well, but we hope we get to see if Guillermo Zuniga can bring his 102 MPH heat from the WBC to the majors.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: Helsley | Gallegos | Cabrera.
Holds candidates: Gallegos, Cabrera, Hicks, Pallante.

March 16, 2023

Atlanta Braves – The defending NL East champs lost Kenley Jansen, but Raisel Iglesias proved to be one of 2022’s the best deadline acquisitions at any position and figures to get a chance to turn his extend his absurd stretch run (0.34 ERA after the trade to Atlanta) into 2023. Joe Jimenez (20 career saves) is in town now, too, fresh off his best season, and lefties AJ Minter and Tyler Matzek have both had runs of brilliance in recent years, and Dylan Lee and Collin McHugh were rock solid last year as well. So the Braves have lots of options should Iglesias falter.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: Iglesias | Jimenez | Minter.
Holds candidates: Jimenez, Minter, Matzek, Lee, McHugh.

Miami Marlins – Manager Skip Schumaker said earlier this year that he was going to play matchups in the late innings, with “Our best guys are going… against their best hitters.” The ‘best guys’ in Miami are likely to be new acquisitions Matt Barnes and AJ Puk, along with holdovers Tanner Scott, Dylan Floro, and JT Chargois. Barnes has had a slightly shaky start to his spring, but we’d expect that he and Puk would likely be the go-to guys in the late innings. Scott proved last year that he could be effective across multiple innings, so he could also be in the mix if they’re looking for someone to get more than 3 outs.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: *Barnes | Puk | Scott.
* = closer-by-committee
Holds candidates: Barnes, Puk, Scott, Floro, Chargois.

New York Mets – With Edwin Diaz out for the sesaon, so look for Adam Ottavino and David Robertson to get the save opps, at least in the early going. (We’d rank them in that order, though things could change quickly.) Brooks Raley and Drew Smith are also likely to get some key innings, and while he’s currently nursing an injury, keep an eye on 6’7″ Bryce Montes de Oca, who can do things like this.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: *Ottavino | Robertson | Raley.
* = closer-by-committee
Holds candidates: Robertson, Raley, Smith.

Philadelphia Phillies – Rob Thomson said early in 2023 that he preferred a “floating closer, if you will” and the Phillies appear headed for a closer-by-committee to start the season. There’s no shortage of options with offseason acquisitions Craig Kimbrel and Gregory Soto having both closed last season. Jose Alvarado will join Soto in matching up with tough lefties, while Seranthony Dominguez has had stretches where he’s looked unhittable — though he’s never really put together a full season of dominance. It’s hard to pick a favorite here, and Spring Training has offered few clues thus far, as the Philadelphia saves have been scattered amongst players who are all unlikely to make the team. Stay tuned for updates as the preseason slate rolls on; we’ll put Kimbrel in the lead for now given his solid preseason so far.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: *Kimbrel | Dominguez | Alvarado.
* = closer-by-committee
Holds candidates: Dominguez, Alvarado, Soto, Bellatti.

Washington Nationals – Kyle Finnegan is the guy this year in Washington… except that Davey Martinez has already told him that sometimes he’ll be used as a fireman rather than traditional closer. So while he’s definitely the best National reliever to own, that could mean a handful of save chances for Hunter Harvey, CJ Edwards, and perhaps even Sean Doolittle. We’ll keep an eye on this early on to see if Martinez keeps his word, or whether he just defaults to Finnegan as his regular 9th inning guy.

Starting 2023 hierarchy: *Finnegan | Harvey | Edwards.
* = closer-by-committee
Holds candidates: Harvey, Edwards, Doolittle.