Among the most significant consequences of the trade deadline each year is the restructuring that occurs in many teams' bullpens. There are always one or two teams, or seven, that opt for a complete restructuring of the closer and/or setup man roles as a result of the trades they made.
This year has been no different, as 10 teams (the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Dodgers, Miami Marlins, Oakland Athletics, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padres and Toronto Blue Jays) have actually made changes over the past week or so that had some sort of bearing on their respective closer roles.
Several new save and/or hold opportunities have presented themselves from primary setup or eighth-inning positions. Today, let's go over the top names available in most ESPN leagues. Keep in mind that while some of these relievers play for non-contending teams and others are far from guaranteed to emerge as their teams' sole ninth-inning options, each could still make a significant impact. After all, remember that our standard game awards two points per hold.
Ben Joyce, RP, Angels (7.7% of staff): The most exciting of the “closer role is his now” types, Joyce has long been considered the Angels' ninth-inning future. His stuff certainly has that “closer” aspect, between his 101.9 mph-average fastball and the slider he uses nearly 20% of the time that generates a strikeout rate of more than 30%.
The Angels will initially rely on a committee to close out games following their trades of Carlos Estevez and Luis Garcia, with Hunter Strickland and Roansy Contreras also having gotten save opportunities over the past week, but Joyce is a better fit and has been one of the most effective relievers in baseball over the past seven weeks. He’s riding a streak of 18 consecutive scoreless appearances spanning 22 2/3 innings, during which time opponents are hitting just .110 against him.
Joyce is a solid speculative option across all formats with the new opportunity looming.
Lucas Erceg (2.4%) and Hunter Harvey (8.6%), RP, Royalty : These two are listed together because it's currently unclear which of them could emerge as the Royals' new closer following their respective acquisitions, but either of them could be a top-half fantasy PR option if they land the job exclusively.
The Royals remain wild-card contenders, with a roster that leans toward a healthy amount of save opportunities (+95 run differential). Erceg is an underrated reliever who can throw 98-99 mph while generating 30% strikeout rates with three pitches (four-seam fastball, slider, changeup), while Harvey is another strong pitcher (average 97.8 mph four-seamer) with a splitter and curveball to generate swings-and-misses. So far, the Royals appear to be opting for an Erceg-in-the-eighth, Harvey-in-the-ninth strategy.
AJ Puk, starting pitcher and starting pitcher, Diamondbacks (20.7%): Friday's announcement that Paul Sewald has been removed from the closer's role (after he blew four of nine save opportunities with a 10.80 ERA in the month of July) gives newly acquired Puk a golden opportunity to soar to the front of what initially figures to be a closer-by-committee role.
Puk has been excellent since the Marlins moved him to the bullpen following a failed rotation experiment, posting a 2.10 ERA, 0.79 WHIP and 30.0% strikeout rate in 33 relief appearances. He closed out Arizona’s 6-5 win on Sunday. While his wildness has been an issue for him in the past, his combination of miss-swinging and an ability to neutralize hard contact give him plenty of upside.
Chad Green, RP, Blue Jays (10.2%): With the trades of Yimi Garcia, Nate Pearson and Trevor Richards, the Blue Jays are left with no ninth-inning options while Jordan Romano continues to recover from elbow surgery, leaving Green as the full-time player. Green's injury history is a bit spotty, but he's riding an active streak of eight scoreless appearances and has successfully converted all six of his save opportunities since the start of July.
How are these still available?!
Jackson Holliday, SS/2B, Baltimore Orioles (47.1% registered): Holliday, called up by the Orioles the day after their trade deadline bonanza, figures to be the team’s go-to second baseman going forward, especially in light of injuries to Jorge Mateo and Jordan Westburg. While Holliday struggled mightily in his first taste of the majors, hitting .059/.111/.059 in 10 April games, he has hit a pair of homers, including a grand slam, and a trio of multi-hit games in the first five games since being called up.
Nothing It's changed for Holliday in terms of his fantasy ceiling after his failed first MLB opportunity, and his combination of contact, speed, power and consistent role make him a universal must-have addition.
Colton Cowser, OF, Orioles (32.1%): As discussed in this very space a week ago, Cowser’s role doesn’t appear to have suffered one bit despite the Orioles’ acquisitions at the deadline. The team added Eloy Jimenez and Austin Slater on Tuesday, and in the five games against right-handed starters since then, Cowser has been Baltimore’s leadoff hitter, with Jimenez serving as the designated hitter at the expense of Ryan Mountcastle (Sunday’s game) and Slater handling leadoff duties in the team’s only game against a left-handed starter (Saturday).
Adding deeper leagues
JP Sears, SP, Athletics (19.4% registered): A bit of a forgotten guy, given his team’s “rebuilding state” as well as his own mediocre career numbers (4.79 ERA, 1.26 WHIP), Sears has certainly had his moments this season, such as his most recent start against the San Francisco Giants (seven scoreless innings, nine strikeouts). Most notably, he’s been an excellent matchup guy, going 6-0 with a 2.16 ERA in seven starts against teams with sub-.500 averages.
Feel free to cut
Pablo Sewald (53.0% on the list), Brice Turang (69.4%), Max Scherzer (47.3%), Luis Rengifo (57.5%).
