Closer

Written by Worm on July 08, 2005

The 2005 baseball season has seen a lot of change at the closer position. Closers have come and gone, long-time closers have gotten injured or been ineffective, and new closers have emerged. This is the story just about every year, but the amount of change at this position can be surprising, nonetheless. Closers have a singular role in fantasy baseball, being the only players that can contribute significantly in the saves category. Being prepared for and dealing with the closer flux during the season is an important strategic part of the game.

I myself began the year with high hopes for Eric Gagne, and was forced to grab at potential closers at the start of the season when he injured his elbow. By the time he came back, I had traded him for a solid replacement in Keith Foulke. And now, with Foulke’s future for this season highly uncertain, I have to pray that my pickup of Mike Timlin pays off, and dread any talk I hear about Curt Schilling coming back as Boston’s closer.

Depending on your league’s setup, there are a few different things to think about when fitting closers onto your roster. In a typical 12-team league, every team can potentially own at least two of the 30 closers in baseball, and, unless you’re a proponent of the punting strategy, (which I wouldn’t recommend to start the season,) every owner should make sure they have at least two. Personally, I try to go after two closers who can put up good pitching numbers besides just saves. Not only does this mean the closer will have greater job security, but it also means that they will be contributing more to your overall team performance than if you’re pitching risky players like Mike MacDougal or Jose Mesa.

It’s a good strategy, even if your Gagne breaks down and your Foulke blows up.

Two closers per team in a 12-team league still leaves six closers, theoretically, except in the case of closerless teams, (the infamous closer-by-committee). If your league setup allows you to play more than two closers, it makes sense to have one more closer on your team than anybody else in the league. This gives you the best chance to win the saves category, not to mention it’s good insurance in case one of your closers breaks down or loses his job.

If your league only allows you to play two closers at a time, this raises an interesting strategic question. Is it worthwhile to spend a roster spot on a player who will be almost exclusively on your bench most of the time? Would you be better served instead to get another hitter to mix into your lineup, or a starting pitcher who has a chance of actually contributing to your team? After all, except in leagues with huge rosters, every roster spot is valuable, or at least it should be.

I felt this keenly at the beginning of this season, when Gagne’s injury forced me to spend multiple roster spots on speculative closers like Mike Adams, Yhancy Brazoban, and Mike MacDougal, hoping that at least one of them would stick. Not only did I have an injured Gagne taking up space on my roster, here were three more spots that I couldn’t use to farm up some power, speed, or wins. Landing Foulke for Gagne got me some of the roster flexibility that I desired, at least temporarily.

Still, I would highly recommend keeping a third closer on your roster if possible, even if you’re never going to use him. There are two strong reasons that give make that roster spot worth spending on a backup closer. The first is, naturally, as an insurance policy. You won’t be sorry to have a backup option when one of your other closers becomes unavailable for some reason, and you don’t have to trade away another important part of your team to fill the void. By the midpoint of the season, closers can become very valuable commodities, and you might not like what you’ll have to pay to protect your saves category.

Which brings up the second reason it’s worth having an extra closer on your roster: trade value. If, at some point, it becomes obvious that your team has a specific need that can only be fulfilled through a trade, a proven closer can be a very useful trading chip in negotiations with Foulke or Gagne owners. You should absolutely trade that third closer if it means giving yourself a chance to win the league. Just pray neither of your other closers trips while walking down the bullpen stairs.

One final point to make in this discussion is how to get that third closer onto your roster in the first place. I try to get three closers out of the draft, generally, but at the beginning of the season the closer role sees a lot more change than it does the rest of the way. There’s a high likelihood that one of your closers may lose their jobs, and that another less valuable reliever will suddenly become fantasy gold. As a fantasy baseball owner, it behooves you to be on your toes and alert to the closer situation around baseball, throughout the whole season, but particularly in the first couple of months. Junky, one of the premier players in our Rotogods league, is almost always the first to jump on a free agent pitcher who suddenly figures into the closing situation. I cannot stress enough how important it is to be alert and ready to act quickly. Picking up an available closer is essentially adding enormous value to your team for free.

Now watch Mike Timlin get blown up tonight. Oh well, these things happen.

-- Written by Worm on July 08, 2005