The Plight of Closers

By Ray Kuhn

If this comes across with a certain level of anger, frustration, or complaining, I don’t apologize. It is very much intentional.

I also don’t feel bad about it. Not even close in fact.

Aside from the fact that the sentiments I’m going to share are completely true and accurate, there I strength in numbers. I know I am far from alone here. With that being said though, we can’t make excuses. These are the rules of engagement and everyone is competing on a level playing field.

But there has to be a better way, right?

Fantasy baseball is fun. It is designed as a hobby to enhance our enjoyment of the game as well as for camaraderie among friends and fellow fans. But man, can it be stressful.

The problem, is that closers don’t help our case. In fact, they add a large amount of craziness to our game. Injuries and ineffectiveness are a common issue that we have to continuously deal with it. For as much as we try to prepare, plan for, and mitigate it, that is not simply possible at all times.

In the case of closers and dealing with saves, it a necessary evil and these are the rules of engagement. While sometimes it feels as if the fantasy spirits are conspiring against you and you are alone on an island, that is not the case. As the events of the last few months have proven, no one is immune.

Last season was relatively calm when it came to closers. However, I do need to qualify that though in a large way. If you were a fantasy manager counting on Edwin Diaz last season, you likely are going to have a different viewpoint. Aside from Diaz though, things did seem more stable than usual.

Edwin Diaz blew out his knee while celebrating on the mound during the 2023 World Baseball Classic and missed the entire regular season.Photo byDan Schlossberg

Considering there is such a finite number of closers, and more specifically saves, there is a scrutiny like non other placed on them. Then, depending on the contest you are participating in, the pressure takes on an even larger role as you simply can’t win without saves.

But then when happens when they are all injured? And then things become even more difficult when we don’t have a clear line of sight as to who the replacement will be. What happens next is clear anarchy.

Devin Williams.

Jordan Romano.

Paul Sewald.

Jhoan Duran.

All elite closers and drafted at considerable investment, but now injured and sidelined for at least a month or two. The only way to explain what happens next is clear anarchy. Speculation runs rampant and it truly becomes a bidding war to secure any saves that are potentially available. The problem though, is that major league teams don’t care about our problems. All they want to do is maximize efficiency, win games, and save money while doing so.

Each one of those items runs completely against what we are trying to accomplish from a fantasy perspective. The time we spend attempting to navigate the pecking order in each team’s bullpen is simply insane. However, we don’t have a choice.

Of course there is skill involved. Following the waiver wire requires precision and it certainly is a balancing act. The problem though, is that we simply don’t know what we don’t know. There is informed speculation for sure, but we are simply doing the best we can.

A lot of leagues, however not the high stakes contests, have made the transition to giving equal value to both saves and holds. This allows us to focus more on bullpen skills than actual role as that follows suit towards reality. At the same time though, it also devalues the position.

The amount of time we spend from a fantasy perspective focusing on saves speculation is simply insane. We can say the same about waiver priority and our free agent dollars. Managing these situations, and potentially enjoying some good luck, makes a big difference.

To add more fuel to the fire, Jason Foley got the save for Detroit to begin the season even though Alex Lange appeared to be the closer. And then we had Jose Alvarado enter in the eighth inning of a tied game when he was thought to be the Philadelphia closer.

So, what are we supposed to do? Well, other than complain that is.

The only option we really have, is to deal with it. And have fun.

But make sure to pick the right closer.

Ray Kuhn can be found covering Fantasy Sports on Fantrax and Fantasy Alarm after previously covering the Houston Astros as part of the FanSided network at Climbing Tal’s Hill. Reach him on X/Twitter at @ray_kuhn_28 or raykuhn57@gmail.com as he is always interested in talking or writing about our great game.