If you’ve recently moved to the moon and just got your Internet connection working, then you surely haven’t been able to keep up with all the rumors and speculation relating to current closers potentially on the move. For those who have not made the questionable decision to move far, far away, and have read so many articles on this topic that your head hurts (like apparently sabermetrics do to some people), then consider this the definitive guide. You should expect nothing less from the Generals of course.

AL:

BAL- The latest news is that the Cardinals are interested in George Sherrill, but it seems like the O’s asking price might be too high for any trade to occur. Though as an extreme flyball pitcher who walks far too many hitters, he really just isn’t that good of a pitcher. And looking at his career K/BB splits, he’s posted a 121/26 ratio in 89.2 innings against lefties, but a putrid 61/58 ratio in 80.1 innings against righties, so he should really be used as a lefty specialist. That said, if he does end up being traded, the question becomes who would close for the O’s. Assuming they don’t go with a committee, it really will come down to the lesser of evils. It would appear on the surface that Jim Johnson could take the job and run with it, given his sparkling 1.95 ERA and 1.01 WHIP, but that comes with a .211 BABIP, 0% HR/F (that’s not a typo, he’s allowed 0 HRs this season), and a poor 4.7 K/9. His nearly 58% GB rate is certainly a positive, but the poor strikeout rate combined with a walk rate in the mid 3’s means major regression is sure to come sooner rather than later. There’s no chance Dennis Sarfate keeps the job if given it, as he’s allowed a quite hilarious 7.33 walks per 9, and is also allowing almost 42% flyballs. And last are the pair of old vets Chad Bradford and Jamie Walker. Both have OK enough skills that they’d probably be able to hold the job the rest of the season, but it appears they are on the block as well. So the verdict if Sherrill is traded is that Johnson will probably be given the first crack given his ERA, but his luck could run out at any moment, so depending on how desperate you are for saves, it’s up to you whether to risk your ERA and WHIP.

OAK- With his velocity and strikeout rate down, walk rate up and recent groin injury, Huston Street is doing the A’s no favors in their possible quest to trade him. Anyhow, if he were to go, the easy answer for his replacement would have been Santiago Casilla early in the season. However, since returning from an always scary strained elbow ligament, he’s allowed 8 runs in 10 innings along with 16 hits. Now normally I’d just brush off the high hit total to bad luck, but coming off an elbow injury could mean he’s just not at 100%. This likely takes him out of the running to replace Street. Joey Devine and Keith Foulke could be thrown out as they are both on the DL with elbow and shoulder soreness, respectively. That leaves old, reliable Alan Embree, who saved 17 games for the A’s last year when Street was injured. His skills are solid enough to hold the job the rest of the way. Of course, complicated matters is that he himself could be traded, in which case it’s anyone’s guess what the A’s do in the closer’s role. Maybe fairytale pitcher Brad Ziegler would get a shot, although with a 3.8 K/9, he’s relying way too much on his D to convert all his grounders (72% so far this year) into outs.  

NL:

ATL- Suddenly there are rumors that Mike Gonzalez could be traded, perhaps to the Rangers for one of their crappy OFers. Despite an early return from TJ Surgery, he’s been surprisingly dominant, and amazingly (for him) hasn’t walked a batter in 12.2 innings, while striking out 16. It will be interesting to see whether he takes over for C.J. Wilson as the Rangers closer if he’s traded there. I say he doesn’t and Wilson remains the closer until he has another run- giving-up streak. Back to the Braves, if Rafael Soriano could ever return and stay healthy, the job would clearly be his until his next stint on the DL. If not Soriano, Blaine Boyer has shown excellent skills and would likely succeed in the role if given the opportunity. I could see Will Ohman also getting the occasional save if there are a couple of lefties due up.

COL- It sounds like the Rockies are asking for a bounty for Brian Fuentes, even having the nerve to ask for Wade Davis of the Rays and more comical, the Red Sox’ Clay Buchholz.  I would think that with the deadline still a week away, there’s no reason for the Rockies to lower their demands just yet, and are just hoping they could pull off the type of trade that would cause keeper leaguers to flood their message boards with posts complaining about the trade. Since Fuentes has been rumored to be traded seemingly all season, it’s been covered enough around the Internet, and even by me in this article, where I confirm it will be Manny Corpas, so I went say any more.

PIT- After Matt Capps went down for the year, Damaso Marte looked like an excellent free agent grab, as a replacement closer who actually has good skills and wouldn’t kill your ERA and WHIP in the process of racking up the saves. Unfortunately for those owners who were fortunate enough to add him, he’s on the trading block and it seems is very likely to be traded. John Grabow probably had the next best skill set (although still just mediocre) in the Pirates’ pen, but he’s also most likely gone. The expectation has generally been that Tyler Yates would assume the closer role, probably more due to the lack of any decent alternatives whatsoever than any pitching skills Yates possesses. He’s walking nearly 6 batters per 9, and only has a 6.3 K/9, so this is clearly not a good pitcher. He has been better since June 1st in a small sample size, for whatever that’s worth. Other names John Russell has mentioned since Capps went down are Denny Bautista, he of the 19/20 K/BB ratio in 33 innings and 6.17 career ERA, and Romulo Sanchez, who’s thrown a total of 21 innings at the MLB level. So, like the O’s pen, the Pirates’ pen is a mess and the guy most likely to be given the first shot (Yates) is someone you shouldn’t count on helping your ERA or WHIP or even holding the job.

Questions, comments, criticisms, praise, expert league invitations? Email me at FBGeneralsMike@gmail.com.