Closer Report: May 21st
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 |