February 27, 2017
Houston Astros – Ken Giles will certainly hope for a better start to 2017 than he had last year. After losing the closer’s job in spring training, Giles yielded 10 earned runs over 10 innings in April. By mid-August, Giles reclaimed the closer job and never looked back, gathering 14 saves over the final two months of the year. The always reliable Luke Gregerson and Will Harris round out the Stros’ late-inning hierarchy.
Starting 2017 hierarchy: Giles | Gregerson | Harris.
Holds candidates: Gregerson, Harris.
Los Angeles Angels – It seems like Huston Street has been around forever, but the longtime closer is still only 33. Still, despite his history, Street is not guaranteed the closer’s job out of camp, especially after registering a 6.45 ERA during an injury-plagued 2016. Injuries are still on the table for 2017, as the righty will look to bounce back from a knee injury. Youngster Cam Bedrosian and former A’s closer Andrew Bailey could also get cracks at the full-time gig.
Starting 2017 hierarchy: Street | Bedrosian | Bailey.
Holds candidates: Bedrosian, Bailey.
Oakland A’s — Like Street, Ryan Madson is not guaranteed the closer’s job despite 30 saves in 2016. Manager Bob Melvin essentially told reporters he has four or five guys vying for the gig. Madson, to his credit, is impressed with the bullpen depth. The closing candidates include Madson, Sean Doolittle, Santiago Casilla and John Axford, with the former three likely rounding out the back end deep A’s bullpen.
Starting 2017 hierarchy: Madson | Doolittle | Casilla.
Holds candidates: Doolittle, Casilla, Axford.
Seattle Mariners – Edwin Diaz, the 22-year-old fireballer, starts the season as the Mariners’ closer. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Diaz was the quickest rookie to 50 strikeouts since 1893 — and now, he will be introducing a new pitch in 2017. Watch out. Last year’s opening day closer, Steve Cishek, should get the bulk of the holds as the team’s setup man. He’s returning from surgery to repair a torn left hip labrum, so if he’s not ready to go at the start of the year, Nick Vincent, among others, will slide up the hierarchy.
Starting 2017 hierarchy: Diaz | Cishek | Vincent.
Holds candidates: Cishek, Vincent.
Texas Rangers — There has been a lot of turnover at the closer position the last few years for the Rangers, but Sam Dyson, who turns 29 in May, figures to be the team’s closer for all of 2017. Dyson picked up 38 saves last year — all after May 10 — and should be in line for even more opportunities this year. Matt Bush and Jeremy Jeffress — who have each had their issues off the field — should be in line for holds, along with Jake Diekman, with Bush likely stepping into the closer’s role should Dyson falter or get injured.
Starting 2016 hierarchy: Dyson | Bush | Jeffress.
Holds candidates: Bush, Jeffress, Diekman.