Closer Carousel: Who Earned Saves This Weekend?

Welcome to a new series here at RotoWire. Every Monday and Friday, I'll take a look back at the previous series and wrap up everything you need to know about the rapidly changing closer market.

These articles will contain five parts:

Who Earned Saves This Week/Weekend? A division-by-division look at who picked up saves in the previous series, as well as "true" blown saves and a few quick notes.

Closers I'm Worried About: A breakdown of a handful of closers whose jobs seem the most tenuous, as well as a look at the setup men who could be about to step up.

Bullpen Deep Dive: A closer look at a bullpen where everything is even more up in the air than usual, focusing on key stats and usage trends.

Injury Round-Up: A quick look at any currently injured closers and their progress toward a return to action.

Closer Grid: A snapshot of the RotoWire Closer Grid, which can also be found here.

Who Earned Saves This Weekend?

*A pitcher can earn a blown save if he enters in what is technically a save situation prior to the ninth inning and blows the lead. For fantasy purposes, we don't really care about blown saves where a reliever was clearly being used as a setup man and coughed up the lead. What matters to us is when a reliever was genuinely being given a chance to save the game but blew it. Therefore, for the purposes of this article, I'm only going to report blown saves of that variety.

Closers I'm Worried About

Alex Lange, Royals: Are the Royals finally about to move on from Lange as their closer? It would be an odd time to do it, as Lange's last two appearances have been good, featuring a combined four strikeouts, zero runs and two saves. Yet when a save situation arrived Sunday against the Tigers, it was Steven Cruz, not Lange, who got the opportunity. Lange had just pitched the day before but had only thrown 16 pitches, and he hadn't pitched any of the three days before that.

Maybe Lange was merely unavailable for whatever reason Sunday, but it would make plenty of sense for the Royals to consider moving on. He earned saves in four straight appearances in early June after snatching the closer job from Lucas Erceg, but he followed that up with a stretch in which he allowed 16 runs (15 earned) in 10 innings of work, with as many walks (six) as strikeouts.

On the season as a whole, Lange owns a 6.00 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. For comparison, when Erceg lost the closer role, he had a 5.40 ERA and 1.74 WHIP. Which of those you'd prefer is up to you, but it's obvious that neither are closer material. The Royals are under no pressure to squeeze every win out of their schedule the rest of the season, as they're 17 games under .500 and nine games out of the final wild-card spot, but there's no need for them to continue running out a pitcher as ineffective as Alex Lange in the ninth inning.

Worry-o-meter: 4 out of 5

Setup man to stash: Presumably Steven Cruz, since he was the one to get the save instead of Lange on Sunday. While his 4.62 ERA on the season is poor, he has a much better 3.44 SIERA, and his 28.7 percent strikeout rate should be high enough to offset a 10.8 percent walk rate. He's had a home run problem, allowing 2.43 HR/9, but his HR/9 was 0.99 last year and his groundball rate (41.8 percent) is close to league average, so that shouldn't be a permanent problem. He's also not that likely to be dealt at the deadline, as he's under team control through 2030. 

Note that I've previously recommended stashing Daniel Lynch in this column, but the Royals have been reluctant to give save chances to the lefty, using uninspiring righties like Erceg and Lange instead. Additionally, while Lynch does still own a 2.08 ERA and 0.92 WHIP on the season, his SIERA has jumped to 3.86 as his strikeout rate has plummeted to 19.8 percent. He struck out 29 batters in his first 25.1 innings but has just five strikeouts in his last 18 frames, so now would be an odd time to give him the keys to the ninth inning. 

Raisel Iglesias, Braves: Iglesias' only appearance over the weekend saw him blow a save Sunday against the Orioles. While the run was unearned, it nevertheless continued a troubling trend for the veteran, who's now allowed a run in three of his last four appearances and in eight of his last 16 outings. That stands in stark contrast with the way he started the year, as he allowed a run in just one of his first 20 appearances.

To be fair to Iglesias, his overall numbers this season remain excellent. He owns a 2.43 ERA and 1.08 WHIP, striking out 29.3 percent of opposing batters while walking 5.4 percent. Even during his aforementioned stretch of allowing runs in eight of 16 outings, he owns a 19:4 K:BB. 

Three factors could make Atlanta more quick to make a change than most clubs would be, however. The first is that the Braves are very clearly a playoff team and can't afford to have a struggling pitcher in the ninth inning heading into October. The second is that the organization made the choice to demote Iglesias to a setup role during a slump last year, so it's clearly something they're willing to do. And finally, while the timing doesn't quite line up with when his poor stretch began, Iglesias missed time in late April and early May with shoulder inflammation. It's possible the issue has returned in some form, though there's been no indication from the team that's the case.

Worry-o-meter: 2 out of 5

Setup man to stash: Robert Suarez. He was signed to a three-year, $45 million deal over the winter with the intention of having him available should Iglesias struggle again. He's been very effective, with a 0.56 ERA and 0.84 WHIP in 32 innings of work, and if it weren't for the fact that he's been out for the last month due to elbow inflammation, he might already be earning save chances. While his injury might buy Iglesias a bit more time, he's been playing catch for 10 days now, so his return shouldn't be all that far away.

In the event that the Braves elect to make a move before Suarez returns (or if he returns but is ineffective due to lingering elbow troubles), lefty Dylan Lee (2.27 ERA, 29.2 percent K-BB%) or right-handed rookie Didier Fuentes (2.70 ERA, 21.0 K-BB%) look like they could do a good job in the ninth inning. Atlanta could also add to their bullpen at the deadline, though spending big on a proven closer who could take the job from Iglesias seems unlikely unless Suarez's elbow is in worse shape than the team is letting on. 

Bullpen Deep Dive

Pittsburgh Pirates

*gmLI is the average Leverage Index when a pitcher enters the game. 1.0 is average; closers typically sit north of 1.50. 

Gregory Soto's influence in the ninth inning for the Pirates appears to be slipping along with his performance, but will the man to lead Pittsburgh in saves over the final two months be someone currently on the roster, or do the Pirates need to bring in an outside candidate at the trade deadline?

Soto did pick up a save on Wednesday, but two of the last three Pirates saves have gone to fellow lefty Mason Montgomery, who picked up the save on Sunday despite the fact that Soto was almost certainly available, having pitched Friday but not Thursday or Saturday. That suggests that Montgomery is the team's top option for saves at the moment, but Soto shouldn't be ruled out. He hasn't missed as many bats as Montgomery this season, but his overall numbers have been good, and he's riding a streak of five straight scoreless appearances after running into trouble in June and early July.

The Pirates have been comfortable using a committee at times this season, so Soto is likely still worth holding onto in many fantasy leagues until his save chances completely dry up. Montgomery might be the better pitcher to roster based on recent usage and his overwhelming strikeout numbers, however.

Meanwhile, Dennis Santana was designated for assignment last week, and the rest of the Pirates' high-leverage options don't look good enough to close games for a team which should be trying its best to reach the playoffs this season. With the Pirates currently sitting just outside the playoffs, they'll almost certainly look to add a reliever or two at the deadline, though it might be a right-hander who could form part of a committee with Montgomery and Soto rather than someone who could claim the job outright. 

Injury Round-Up

Ben Joyce, Angels: Joyce has made six rehab appearances as he works his way back from shoulder surgery, a procedure he underwent last May. He owns a modest 5:3 K:BB and has given up three runs on seven hits in five innings of work, but he's at least made it further than he did while on his previous rehab stint, which was shut down after four outings due to a setback in early May. His season debut shouldn't be too far away, and he'll likely have the chance to make his case for save chances if he pitches well, as none of the leading candidates (Kirby Yates, Sam Bachman, Ryan Zeferjahn) have been able to make the Angels' closer job their own. 

Daniel Palencia, Cubs: Palencia has been out since mid-June with a mild right flexor strain, but while progress in his recovery was initially slow, he's now closing in on a rehab assignment. He should be able to reclaim his closer job once healthy, though the Cubs could elect to bring in an alternative or two at the deadline, as Palencia has now made three trips to the injured list with arm injuries (shoulder, lat and elbow) since last September. 

Edwin Diaz, Dodgers: Diaz has been out since late April after undergoing surgery to remove loose bodies from his elbow, but he's set to return from the injured list Wednesday. Tanner Scott has done an outstanding job as his deputy, with a 2.32 ERA and 0.80 WHIP to go with his 16 saves, but the three-year, $69 million contract Diaz signed in December will presumably push Scott back into a setup role. Scott is probably worth holding onto for at least another few weeks in most fantasy leagues, however, as he could still see the occasional save chance with the Dodgers not wanting to overtax Diaz immediately after his return. 

Ryan Helsley, Orioles: Helsley hit the injured list in early May with elbow inflammation, then made it back for five outings in June before heading right back to the IL with renewed elbow troubles. An MRI cleared him of structural damage, but he's yet to resume throwing and has been placed on the 60-day injured list. Tyler Wells and Andrew Kittredge sit atop the Orioles' closer depth chart for now, but this is a bullpen which could be re-made at the deadline. 

Carlos Estevez, Royals: Estevez resumed throwing in mid-July after receiving an injection for his rotator cuff strain and being shut down for over two weeks. He's made just one regular-season appearance this year, first hitting the IL with a bruised foot and then dealing with the rotator cuff strain and subsequent setback. He still seemingly has time to return before the end of the year, however, and with the Royals' fill-in closers continuing to struggle, there's a chance he picks up some saves late in the year. 

Closer Grid

This article will be published every Monday and Friday this season, taking a look back at the previous series' top closer news. For more closer updates, check out the RotoWire Closer Grid, which changes daily.

Here's how the whole thing looks as of Monday evening:

*part of a committee

Questions about any of the closers covered above or any relievers you're considering picking up off the waiver wire? Let me know in the comments below.