Just when you thought committees were ruining the closer position, last year brought us the "opener", further throwing our closer depth chart into flux. It's bad enough fantasy baseball owners have to deal with constant trade rumors, injuries, and demotions concerning relief pitchers, but committees and openers could completely change the way RPs are valued. That's not necessarily a bad thing if every team has the same philosophy concerning saves, but when you can't figure out what a manager is thinking it makes it tough to draft and/or pick up the best closers, handcuffs, and middle reliever sleepers.
Nevertheless, we do our best to sort through it all and help you keep up to date on each ninth-inning situation throughout the year. We'll list the current closer (or committee) and next-in-line, as well as any injury, trade notes, or cold streaks you should be aware of. Several of these situations are up in the air in spring training, and those are marked below. We'll continue to update this chart all season long, so bookmark this page and check back for all the changes throughout the spring and season.
MORE: SN Fantasy | DFS Lineup Builder
Even if we don't know exactly what's going happen in every bullpen, we do know there will be upheaval. We also know that as long as saves are a stat in fantasy leagues, staying ahead of your competition and picking up the "next-the-line" behind a struggling closer just might be the difference between a weak showing in saves and winning the category.
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Fantasy Baseball Closer Depth Chart
* - Injured | ^ - Trade bait | Hot seat
Arizona Diamondbacks (Closer Battle)
Closer: Archie Bradley | Handcuff: Greg Holland
Atlanta Braves (Closer Battle)
Closer: Arodys Vizcaino | Handcuff: A.J. Minter
Baltimore Orioles (Closer Battle)
Closer: Mychal Givens | Handcuff: Richard Bleier
Boston Red Sox (Closer Battle)
Closer: Matt Barnes | Handcuff: Ryan Brasier
Chicago Cubs
Closer: Brandon Morrow* (biceps, late-April return) | Short-term: Pedro Strop | Handcuff: Steve Cishek
Chicago White Sox
Closer: Alex Colome | Handcuff: Kelvin Herrera
Cincinnati Reds
Closer: Raisel Iglesias | Handcuff: Jared Hughes
Cleveland Indians
Closer: Brad Hand | Handcuff: Tyler Clippard
Colorado Rockies
Closer: Wade Davis | Handcuff: Seung Hwan Oh
Detroit Tigers
Closer: Shane Greene | Handcuff: Joe Jimenez
Houston Astros
Closer: Roberto Osuna | Handcuff: Ryan Pressly
Kansas City Royals (Closer Battle)
Closer: Brad Boxberger | Handcuff: Wily Peralta
Los Angeles Angels
Closer: Cody Allen | Handcuff: Ty Buttrey
Los Angeles Dodgers
Closer: Kenley Jansen | Handcuff: Joe Kelly
Miami Marlins (Closer Battle)
Closer: Drew Steckenrider | Handcuff: Adam Conley
Milwaukee Brewers
Closer: Corey Knebel | Handcuff: Josh Hader
Minnesota Twins (Closer Battle)
Closer: Trevor May | Handcuff: Blake Parker
New York Mets
Closer: Edwin Diaz | Handcuff: Jeurys Familia
New York Yankees
Closer: Aroldis Chapman | Handcuff: Dellin Betances
Oakland Athletics
Closer: Blake Treinen | Handcuff: Joakim Soria
Philadelphia Phillies
Closer: David Robertson | Handcuff: Seranthony Dominguez
Pittsburgh Pirates
Closer: Felipe Vazquez | Handcuff: Keone Kela
San Diego Padres
Closer: Kirby Yates | Handcuff: Craig Stammen
San Francisco Giants (Closer Battle)
Closer: Mark Melancon | Handcuff: Will Smith
Seattle Mariners (Closer Battle)
Closer: Hunter Strickland | Handcuff: Anthony Swarzak
St. Louis Cardinals (Closer Battle)
Closer: Jordan Hicks | Handcuff: Andrew Miller
Tampa Bay Rays (Closer Battle)
Closer: Jose Alvarado | Handcuff: Diego Castillo
Texas Rangers
Closer: Jose LeClerc l Handcuff: Jesse Chavez
Toronto Blue Jays
Closer: Ken Giles | Handcuff: Ryan Tepera
Washington Nationals
Closer: Sean Doolittle | Handcuff: Kyle Barraclough