Closer Carousel: How will the trade deadline impact closers?
Chasing saves is one of the most aggressive pursuits in fantasy baseball. With more teams opting to use their closers in high-leverage situations as opposed to traditional, ninth-inning usage, a common strategy has been to avoid paying for saves. This has made it important to attack the waiver wire or overbid opponents for newly-appointed closers. But what about closers thriving for rebuilding teams, at risk to be moved at the trade deadline for a package of prospects? Fantasy owners must decide whether their closers might become setup relievers when traded to a new team with a deeper bullpen, or if they will receive more save opportunities closing for a contender. Let’s examine the closers that are likely to be moved and assess the benefits for their fantasy value, categorizing each of them as “upgrade” or “downgrade.”
