You must be a member to view this Article.

Closer Report: May 21st

jonathan papelbon
Another week that comes with one official closer change and one change that seems less than official. In the big news, Aroldis Chapman has been handed the keys to close. He is one of the most exciting pitchers in baseball and has HUGE strikeout potential. He will be a good play on most nights closing out for the Reds. The other ‘change’ is a confirmation that Scott Downs will continue to close out games for the Angels despite the concerns surrounding his ability to finish out games. For awhile, the Angels had even listed Ernesto Frieri as the closer after Jordan Walden failed to lock down the job, but it appears that Scott Downs has proved he deserves to keep getting the final chance for Los Angeles.

TEAM CLOSER JOB SECURITY SECOND OPTION CHANGE/INJURY
Arizona JJ Putz Extremely High David Hernandez NA
Atlanta Craig Kimbrel Extremely High Jonny Venters NA
Baltimore Jim Johnson High Pedro Strop NA
Boston Alfredo Aceves Low Vicente Padilla Andrew Bailey DL
Chicago Cubs Rafael Dolis Low James Russell Carlos Marmol)
Chicago White Sox Addison Reed Extremely Low Hector Santiago Hector Santiago)
Cincinatti Aroldis Chapman Average Jose Arredondo Ryan Madson DL
Cleveland Chris Perez High Vinnie Pestano NA
Colorado Rafael Betancourt High Rex Brothers NA
Detroit Jose Valverde Extremely High Joaquin Benoit NA
Houston Brett Myers High Wilton Lopez NA
Kansas City Jonathan Broxton High Greg Holland Joakim Soria DL
Los Angeles Angels Scott Downs Low Jordan Walden NA
Los Angeles Dodgers Kenley Jansen Low Javy Guerra Javy Guerra P
Miami Heath Bell Extremely Low Steve Cishek NA
Milwaukee John Axford Extremely High Francisco Rodriguez NA
Minnesota Matt Capps High Jared Burton NA
New York Mets Frank Francisco Average Jon Rauch NA
New York Yankees David Robertson Average Rafael Soriano Mariano Rivera DL
Oakland Brian Fuentes Average Grant Balfour NA
Philadelphia Jonathan Papelbon Extremely High Antonio Bastardo NA
Pittsburgh Joel Hanrahan Extremely High Juan Cruz NA
St. Louis Jason Motte High Mitchell Boggs NA
San Diego Dale Thayer Low Luke Gregerson Huston Street DL
San Francisco Santiago Casilla Extremely Low Sergio Romo Brian Wilson DL
Seattle Brandon League Extremely High Tom Wilhelmsen NA
Tampa Bay Fernando Rodney High Joel Peralta Kyle Farnsworth DL
Texas Joe Nathan High Mike Adams NA
Toronto Casey Janssen Low Jason Frasor Sergio Santos DL
Washington Henry Rodriguez Low Tyler Clippard Drew Storen DL

About the Author