Meet your new Mariners' closer.

The ‘never pay for saves’ adage gets overplayed in fantasy circles and with good reason: it is time-honored wisdom with merit and there exists factual evidence as to its validity. When perusing the closer rankings following this article, you will see that roughly ^1/3 of those listed did not begin this season with a stranglehold on the closer’s job yet here they are in the catbird’s seat. I have been a believer in eschewing the top closers and making due with lower profile closers and putting in the waiver wire work and it has proved successful. Which brings me to the point of this opening: I began this season as a proud owner of J.J. Putz. While that statement flies in the face of my previous comment, I (like many other owners) believed Putz’ superb 2007 season was a precursor to a mini-run as the elite closer in baseball. There was debate in the preseason as to which closer was the top closer: J.J. Putz or Jonathan Papelbon. I didn’t believe there was a debate: Putz outperformed Papelbon in every measurable category and did so in nearly 20% more innings. So the question is: What Happened?

While Putz has not been officially disabled as of yet, we are hearing the familiar words associated with a lengthy DL stint: hyperextension…inflammation…irritation. This injury (combined with his previous intercostal strain) goes a long way towards explaining his severe decline in performance year over year. While nothing has been confirmed as of this writing, it is clear that Putz owners should be searching for alternatives. The most obvious alternative comes in the form of Seattle’s Brandon Morrow. After a rocky rookie season, Morrow was quickly establishing himself as one of the better setup men in the AL this season. Taken with the fifth pick of the first round in the 2006 amateur draft, Morrow has been a relatively controversial selection for a number of reasons. The first strike against Morrow (or rather say the Mariners) is his selection over hometown product, Tim Lincecum (who attended the University of Washington) who was selected by San Francisco five picks later. The second has been the Mariners insistence that a top-five arm be immediately remanded to the major league bullpen, which is highly unusual and is seen my some as a misallocation of resources. Regardless, Morrow is a pitcher who has closer “stuff” and should be added immediately in all leagues. It is likely that Morrow may have some volatility (he had major control problems in the majors last season), but he has the upside to be a respectable closing option for however long Putz is out.

After weeks of howling about the disastrous situation in Milwaukee (which of course has been stabilized by that stalwart of solidity, Salomon Torres), we turn our attention this week to the newest bullpen quagmire: the Atlanta Braves. With nominal closer Rafael Soriano unavailable for the last week, the Braves bullpen blew yet another save and lost an extra inning contest to the Cubs on Thursday. There doesn’t appear to be a competent closer proxy among the whole lot of current major league bullpen arms. Where does the solution to this problem lie? I say it IS currently pitching in Richmond, Virginia. Through his nine rehab innings following Tommy John surgery, former Pittsburgh Pirate closer Mike Gonzalez has a 10 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio and has allowed only a single run. After arriving in Atlanta in exchange for first baseman Adam LaRoche, Gonzalez lasted only 18 appearances in 2007 before going down with surgery. Prior to that injury, Gonzalez had firmly established himself as an elite lefty reliever from 2003-2007 with his final season with Pittsburgh including his assumption of the primary closer role. Needless to say, Gonzalez represents, to quote Lincoln completely out of context, the “last best hope” of the Braves and their bullpen. With the return of John Smoltz thwarted and Rafael Soriano perpetually injured, the possibility of searching outside the organization for a closer remains a possibility for the Braves if Gonzalez is unable to assume the role and the Braves intend to remain in contention. While there is currently no solid indication that the call-up of Gonzalez is imminent, it behooves owners to get ahead of the curve and add him if he is available. The likelihood of Soriano’s injury woes continuing are likely and Gonzalez brings as good a track record as any “replacement” closer we will see this season going forward

A few quick closer notes from around the league:

• Troy Percival will be activated on Friday from the disabled list and will immediately reclaim the closer’s role from Dan Wheeler. While the Rays closer, Wheeler did record a few saves and will return to a setup role
• A decision will be made whether to activate Jason Isringhausen in the near future (perhaps as early as this weekend or early next week). His replacement, Ryan Franklin, has been very solid in his stead, converting six of seven save opportunities. The situation in St. Louis is not as clear as that in Tampa as Isringhausen was essentially removed from the closer’s role for ineffectiveness and not for injury.
• Even though he has blown his last three save opportunities and increased his ERA by nearly two full runs, Mets closer Billy Wagner’s job is under no immediate threat. Besides the fact that the bullpen does not contain an adequate replacement, it would take a sustained stretch of futility by Wagner for the Mets to even consider a change in roles. God help the faithful in Flushing if it ever gets to that point.

Tier One: The Elite Closers

Mariano Rivera – New York Yankees

Jonathan Papelbon – Boston Red Sox

Francisco Rodriguez – Los Angeles Angels

Brad Lidge – Philadelphia Phillies

Kerry Wood – Chicago Cubs

Joe Nathan – Minnesota Twins

Joakim Soria – Kansas City Royals

Tier Two: Your Average Joes

Billy Wagner – New York Mets

George Sherrill – Baltimore Orioles

Bobby Jenks – Chicago White Sox

Takashi Saito – Los Angeles Dodgers

Francisco Cordero – Cincinnati Reds

Brandon Lyon – Arizona Diamondbacks

Matt Capps – Pittsburgh Pirates

Huston Street – Oakland Athletics

B.J. Ryan – Toronto Blue Jays

Jon Rauch – Washington Nationals

Jose Valverde – Houston Astros

Kevin Gregg – Florida Marlins

Trevor Hoffman – San Diego Padres

Troy Percival – Tampa Bay Rays

Brian Wilson – San Francisco Giants

Tier Three: Looking Over Their Shoulders

Todd Jones – Detroit Tigers

Brian Fuentes – Colorado Rockies

Salomon Torres – Milwaukee Brewers

C.J. Wilson – Texas Rangers

Ryan Franklin – St. Louis Cardinals

Joe Borowski –Cleveland Indians

Brandon Morrow – Seattle Mariners

Rafael Soriano – Atlanta Braves

Top 5 Middle Relievers

Carlos Marmol – Chicago Cubs

Hong-Chih Kuo – Los Angeles Dodgers

Taylor Buchholz – Colorado Rockies

Heath Bell – San Diego Padres

Max Scherzer – Arizona Diamondbacks