Welcome to the first regular season installment of Pen Names.  This week I’ll take a look at the closing situations in Pittsburgh, Atlanta and Boston and I’ll provide an update on the closers that have hit the disabled list early this season. 

Pittsburgh Pirates

Mike Gonzalez owners suffered a bit of a scare this week when manager Jim Tracy turned to Roberto Hernandez to close out the Pirates’ first save opportunity of the year on Sunday.  It turns out Tracy felt Gonzalez was better used in the eighth inning on Sunday against lefties Tony Womack, Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn, since he had no other left-handed relievers available.  Tracy confirmed after the game that Gonzalez is still his closer and the lefty picked up his first save of the season on Tuesday against the Dodgers. 

Gonzalez owners should feel confident that he will see the vast majority of the saves in Pittsburgh this year. NL-only leaguers should grab Hernandez as he could earn a few more saves over the course of the season when Gonzalez needs a day off or when match-ups bring Gonzalez into a game earlier than the ninth inning.

Atlanta Braves

Chris Reitsma has gotten off to a solid start to the season racking up three saves while blowing one opportunity.  Reitsma is not going to rack up a lot of strikeouts but, because he doesn’t issue a lot of free passes, he should remain fairly effective provided the defense behind him remains solid. 

Joey Devine, who was very impressive this spring, struggled in two appearances in the majors and was promptly returned to the minors.  It’s too soon to consider him a bust but the Braves will probably let him pitch in the minors for a few months before giving him another shot.  Oscar Villarreal and minor-league-journeyman Ken Ray might be the favorites for saves if Reitsma starts to struggle or if he re-injures the hamstring that bothered him at the end of spring training, but you can’t rule out rookie Chuck James either.

Boston Red Sox

Jonathan Papelbon has unofficially taken over as Boston’s closer and should be picked up in any leagues where available.  He’s racked up four saves already and has allowed only one hit in five innings with a 5/0 K/BB ratio.   Keith Foulke has been regulated to a setup role but is pitching better than last season and could still find himself with some save opportunities.  Don’t cut him yet in AL leagues.

Injuries

Todd Jones, DET (strained right hamstring) – Jones is expected to return next week, possibly as soon as the 16th or 18th.  Fernando Rodney will continue to close out games until Jones returns.  Rodney should be held on to in AL leagues once that happens, but should be safe to drop in mixed leagues if Jones collects a couple of saves with no problems soon after returning.

Mike MacDougal, KC (strained upper right arm) – MacDougal isn’t expected back until mid-May.  Ambiorix Burgos has taken over as the Kansas City closer and has picked up one save this season and had been solid until giving up a game winning home run to Derek Jeter on Tuesday.  Expect Burgos to experience some ups and downs and few save opportunities for a terrible Royals team. 

Eric Gagne, LAD (right elbow) – Gagne is out until mid-June or early-July after having surgery on his right elbow last Friday to remove a nerve had been causing him pain.  Danys Baez has taken over as the Dodger closer and has already collected two saves.  Hong-Chih Kuo got off to a rough start to the season but has rebounded nicely in his past two appearances and would likely be next in line for saves should something happen to Baez.  Kuo has huge strikeout ability as evidenced by his 44 strikeouts in 28.2 innings at Double-A last season.  He’s worth owning in NL leagues and worth watching in mixed leagues.

Armando Benitez, SF (left knee inflammation) – Benitez has indicated he expects to return from the disabled list on April 17th but the Giants are being more cautious and may send him on a rehab assignment before activating him next week.  Peter Gammons mentioned on Baseball Tonight Tuesday that the Giants have some concerns that Benitez isn’t getting his legs into his pitches and is just throwing with his arm.  If that is the case he’s not going to be very effective.  Benitez owners need to take a wait-and-see approach and should avoid activating him from their disabled list right away.  Tim Worrell would move right back into the closers role if Benitez struggles upon his return. 

Pen Names is your guide to bullpen situations around the majors.  Questions for inclusion in future columns can be emailed to Pelowski@CREATiVESPORTS.com.