We’re back with another look at some closing situations around the league. All stats are through Monday, July 24th.
Kansas City Royals
As I mentioned last week, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kansas City GM Dayton Moore trade Mike MacDougal before the trade deadline. Well, Moore didn’t waste any time in moving MacDougal, sending him to the White Sox for a couple of pitching prospects on Monday. It’s the right move for Kansas City as MacDougal, if he can remain effective, would have been pricing himself out of KC by the time the team is ready to dream about contending.
In Chicago, MacDougal will take on a setup role in front of closer Bobby Jenks - a move that effectively kills all his value. That being said, AL-only leaguers should hang on to him as White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen has shown in the past he isn’t afraid to change closers in the middle of a pennant race. All MacDougal would need is a rough stretch from Jenks to get an opportunity to close games.
As for the Royals, Ambiorix Burgos will get an opportunity to reestablish himself as the team’s closer of the present and future. Burgos appears to have pitched better over the past month by just looking at his ERA for July (1.69) but a closer look reveals the same problem that has plagued him all season, command. Burgos sports a terrible 4.88 BB/9 ratio this season and an even worse 5.29 ratio in July. How has he managed to keep his ERA so low for July with all those runners on base? An obscenely low 19% hit rate has helped him keep the ERA in check. Once the hit rate stabilizes closer to the league average of around 30%, you can expect to see Burgos start looking like the shaky closer he’s been all season.
Lucky for Burgos, the Royals have no other decent closing options right now but Moore indicated the team could give Triple-A closer Ryan Braun a look in the majors soon or the team could consider converting starter Denny Bautista to a relief role. Braun, who turns 26 this week, has a 96-99 mph fastball and posted a 58/16 K/BB ratio in 40.2 innings at Double-A this season before a promotion to Triple-A on July 13th. Bautista is a power arm that has struggled with his command in the majors and minors. He could be more effective out of the pen but right now that is only speculation. Regardless, opportunity is the more important than skills sometimes when dealing with closers. Keep an eye on both of these guys.
Cleveland Indians
The Indians, as expected, traded closer Bob Wickman last week to the Braves and will give Fausto Carmona an opportunity to take over the closing duties in Cleveland. Carmona has been excellent since moving to the pen, posting a 0.99 ERA and a 25/7 K/BB ratio in 27.1 innings pitched. I fully expect the young right-hander to hold on to the role the rest of the season but if he does struggle the Indians don’t have a shortage of suitable replacements. Rafael Betancourt and Jason Davis have the stuff to close if needed. Fernando Cabrera does as well but he’s struggled with his control this year and would be at least third in line at this point.
Milwaukee Brewers
The Brewers finally had to remove Derrick Turnbow from the closers role after his terrible outings last week. He was making improvements in June but things blew up in his face this month. The biggest problem for Turnbow this season has been his lack of control. His 5.75 BB/9 is much higher than the 3.22 BB/9 from last season. Closers just can’t be successful long term by putting that many people on base with free passes. I don’t hold out a lot of hope for his control to improve remarkably as he’s never shown a great BB/9 ratio even in the minors. That doesn’t mean he can’t close in the majors as team’s have used sub-par options for years. Turnbow just needs to throw together a string of solid outings and manager Ned Yost will be quick to reinstall him as the team’s closer. Don’t cut him.
In the mean time, one-time Milwaukee closer Dan Kolb gets his old job back while Turnbow works on his problems in middle relief. Kolb is far from a sure thing to hold on to the role for any significant length of time as he lacks the stuff and the control needed to be a successful reliever. Again, opportunity is some times more important than talent, so grab Kolb if he’s still floating around on your waiver wire. If Kolb melts down before Turnbow is ready to resume closing, the Brewers could choose to give Matt Wise or Jose Capellan a look. Both should be owned in NL-only leagues.
Injuries
There are no injuries to report this week as all current injured closers are out for the season.
Pen Names is your guide to bullpen situations around the majors. Questions for inclusion in future columns can be emailed to Pelowski@CREATiVESPORTS.com.