Is Masahide Kobayashi the answer?

After a bit of a lull, there was much activity in major league pens this past week. A return trip to the disabled list for two closers and the final dismissal of another were the clear highlights. We will start in Cleveland with the reign of terror imposed by Joe Borowski on the Cleveland faithful finally ending. Why the disappointing Indians finally decided to pull the plug on JoeBo’s closing career at this point, instead of the other 100% of the time prior to this season that he has pitched as poorly as he had been pitching this year is beyond me. This past week the Indians not only removed Borowski from the closer’s role but also designated him for assignment, effectively ending his Indians career. Borowski was long past his sell-by date and has been a less than desirable closing candidate for the better part of the last five seasons. Even though they have not been generating the save chances, it is important to examine who the likely replacement will be in Cleveland. Manager Eric Wedge has not indicated a clear replacement but the smart money is on Masahide Kobayashi. The Indians bullpen has been short on above-average performers but Kobayashi has undoubtedly been the best of the lot. After a solid run as one of the majors most underrated relievers, Rafael Betancourt has been nothing short of awful this season for the Indians and is no longer a strong candidate for crucial late game work. Rafael Perez has been one of the league’s most consistent lefty relievers since the beginning of 2007 but the Indians would seem unlikely to remove him as their primary lefty killer. A deep sleeper candidate to possible vulture some saves in this bullpen is Jensen Lewis. While Lewis has not performed well in 2008, he was a revelation down the stretch last season and has shown the ability to flash short relief stuff. Kobayashi will likely settle into the mid to lower tier level of closers should he keep the job and maintain his current level of performance.

The stunning Tampa Bay Rays, who can do no wrong as of late, do have one issue: who will be the man to close out all of these victories? Less than three weeks after returning from a disabled list stint due to a strained hamstring, Troy Percival finds himself back on the DL with an aggravation of that same injury. It is not expected that Percival will require more than the minimum time required but there has to be some legitimate concern on the Rays behalf that Percival may not have the stamina/physical ability to hold up as their closer if they intend to make a run deep into October. Fortunately for the Rays, their bullpen has been among the strongest in the American League this season. The likely replacement, as was the case last month, is Dan Wheeler. As we went over in this space last month, Wheeler is a fine replacement and surely could approximate solid production as a proxy closer. The interesting development has been the recent emergence of additional relievers who just may be in line for some save opportunities if Percival’s stint is of the extended variety. The real dark horse that has emerged has been Grant Balfour, who is a few years removed from having a solid amount of prospect shine while a Minnesota Twins farmhand. Following his departure from Minnesota via a non-tender he bounced around the minor leagues for Cincinnati and Milwaukee and suffered from a number of ailments. Balfour returned to the majors with the Rays last year but was disappointing in his 24+ inning stint. While Balfour did strike out over 11 batters per 9 last season, he did disappoint with his overall line (7.66 ERA and 2.03 WHIP). This season he could not be more different for Balfour: 25 strikeouts in his first 16+ innings to the tune of a 1.08 ERA and 0.78 WHIP. There is no guarantee that Balfour can maintain this high a level of performance but the thirty year old does have solid stuff and has shown toughness in pressure spots already this season (he was brought in to close out the Red Sox following Percival’s mid-save opportunity hamstring re-injury). Another likely candidate to steal some opportunities is last season’s closer Al Reyes who figures to return from shoulder tendonitis within the next week or so. Reyes has been solid enough in his appearances this season but is lower on the reliever hierarchy than he was before the season.

The second reliever to head to the disabled list this week was Pittsburgh’s Matt Capps. Following a diagnosis of bursitis in his throwing shoulder, it has been estimated that Capps will miss at least two months and more than likely, the entire season. The likely reliever to close in his stead is Damaso Marte, who again is among the league’s elite lefty relievers and, as usual, the subject of trade rumors. Given the sorry state of the Pirates, there does remain a chance that Marte will be dealt at the deadline regardless of the Pirates pen situation. The only other reliever of note this season has been the solid yet unspectacular John Grabow who would not represent an ideal closer candidate. The overriding fact is that Pirates pen is not going to be a source of fantasy production barring the emergence of a reliever not currently on their major league roster. In the meantime, Marte should be added in all leagues with the chance that he is dealt into a non-closing situation remaining in owner’s minds.

Tier One: The Elite Closers

Mariano Rivera – New York Yankees

Jonathan Papelbon – Boston Red Sox

Joe Nathan – Minnesota Twins

Kerry Wood – Chicago Cubs

Joakim Soria – Kansas City Royals

Billy Wagner – New York Mets

Brad Lidge – Philadelphia Phillies

Francisco Rodriguez – Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Tier Two: Your Average Joes

Jon Rauch – Washington Nationals

Matt Capps – Pittsburgh Pirates

Takashi Saito – Los Angeles Dodgers

Jose Valverde – Houston Astros

Brandon Lyon – Arizona Diamondbacks

Bobby Jenks – Chicago White Sox

Brian Fuentes – Colorado Rockies

Trevor Hoffman – San Diego Padres

Huston Street – Oakland Athletics

B.J. Ryan – Toronto Blue Jays

George Sherrill – Baltimore Orioles

Francisco Cordero – Cincinnati Reds

Tier Three: Looking Over Their Shoulders

Brian Wilson – San Francisco Giants

Kevin Gregg – Florida Marlins

Salomon Torres – Pittsburgh Pirates

C.J. Wilson – Texas Rangers

Todd Jones – Detroit Tigers

Ryan Franklin – St. Louis Cardinals

Mike Gonzalez – Atlanta Braves

Brandon Morrow – Seattle Mariners

Dan Wheeler – Tampa Bay Rays

Masahide Kobayashi – Cleveland Indians

Top Five Middle Relievers

Carlos Marmol – Chicago Cubs

Hong-Chih Kuo – Los Angeles Dodgers

Taylor Buchholz – Colorado Rockies

Heath Bell – San Diego Padres

Scott Linebrink – Chicago White Sox