{"id":129425,"date":"2025-08-08T15:55:16","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T15:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/129425\/"},"modified":"2025-08-08T15:55:16","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T15:55:16","slug":"mlb-bullpens-impacting-fantasy-baseball-kyle-finnegan-gets-two-saves-jojo-romero-steps-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/129425\/","title":{"rendered":"MLB bullpens impacting fantasy baseball. Kyle Finnegan gets two saves, JoJo Romero steps up"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The entire leverage landscape has changed since <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/6530402\/2025\/08\/01\/fantasy-bullpen-report-mlb-trade-deadline-leverage-pathways\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">my column following the trade deadline<\/a>, reinforcing how volatile the closer role can be. Six changes have been made in the American League leverage pathways since then, and two have been made in the National League. Although some team patterns have become clearer, committee or matchup-based approaches persist, causing frustration for those chasing saves.<\/p>\n<p>After suggesting Kyle Finnegan could be involved in the Tigers\u2019 save mix, he recorded the only two saves since his arrival, coinciding with Will Vest\u2019s recent struggles. Devin Williams appears ticketed for another low-leverage reset after consecutive blown saves against Tampa Bay and Texas, plus a loss in his last outing. He has allowed at least a run in his past four appearances and six of his previous eight. Robert Garcia has lost his grip on the preferred save share for Texas, giving up a home run in each of his past three outings while getting tagged with two blown saves and two losses.<\/p>\n<p>In the NL, Seth Halvorsen was placed on the injured list, and he hopes to return by the end of the season, further periling a weak leverage pathway. Kevin Ginkel landed on the 60-day injured list, ending his season. St. Louis has provided more clarity on roles, with JoJo Romero and Riley O\u2019Brien posting saves since Ryan Helsley\u2019s trade.<\/p>\n<p>Considering all of these changes, my leverage pathways have been updated. Here are my high-leverage pathway identifiers. Each team will receive one of the following labels:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Mostly linear:<\/strong> This is a more traditional approach, with a manager preferring one reliever in the seventh inning, another in the eighth, and a closer (when rested) in the ninth. There are shades of gray, but it usually follows a predictable pattern in high-leverage situations.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Primary save share: <\/strong>The team prefers one reliever as the primary option for saves. However, the player may also be used in matchup-based situations, whether dictated by batter-handedness or batting order, especially in the late innings, providing multiple relievers with save chances each series or week throughout the season.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Shared saves:<\/strong> Typically, two relievers share save opportunities, often based on handedness, rest or recent usage patterns that keep pitchers fresh. While these situations typically involve a primary and ancillary option, others may be used. Some teams also prefer a matchup-based option, assigning pitchers a hitter\u2019s pocket for a series, which creates fluid save opportunities.<\/li>\n<li><strong>In flux:<\/strong> The manager has not named a closer, and usage patterns regarding the leverage roles remain unclear.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>American League Leverage Pathways<\/p>\n<tr>TeamLeverage PathwayCloser (Primary)Stopper\/HLRStealth\/Ancillary<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 53.6px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Shared Saves<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Keegan Akin<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Yennier Cano<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Grant Wolfram<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 72.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Primary Save Share<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Aroldis Chapman<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Garrett Whitlock<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Jordan Hicks<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Shared Saves<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Grant Taylor<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Jordan Leasure<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Steven Wilson<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Cade Smith<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Hunter Gaddis<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Nic Enright<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Shared Saves<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Kyle Finnegan<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Will Vest<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Tyler Holton<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Josh Hader<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Bryan Abreu<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Bennett Sousa<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Carlos Est\u00e9vez<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Lucas Erceg<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Hunter Harvey<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Kenley Jansen<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Reid Detmers<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Ryan Zeferjahn<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Shared Saves<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Justin Topa<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Cole Sands<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Kody Funderburk<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>In Flux<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>David Bednar<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Luke Weaver<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Camilo Doval<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Andr\u00e9s Mu\u00f1oz<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Matt Brash<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Gabe Speier<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Pete Fairbanks<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Edwin Uceta<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Griffin Jax<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 72.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Shared Saves<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Phil Maton<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Danny Coulombe<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Shawn Armstrong<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm team\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>In Flux<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Sean Newcomb<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Michael Kelly<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Elvis Alvarado<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 239px; height: 72.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Jeff Hoffman<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Seranthony Dom\u00ednguez<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Louis Varland<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<p>        <strong>Team notes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Baltimore Orioles:<\/strong> Keegan Akin has the only save following the trade deadline. Although he\u2019s volatile in save situations, he may be the most reliable reliever while F\u00e9lix Bautista is on the injured list. It\u2019s been an up-and-down season for Yennier Cano. He\u2019s also in the mix, but could enter a game in the sixth, eighth or ninth inning, making him a deep-league play only.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Detroit Tigers:<\/strong> With two saves for his new team, Finnegan has tweaked his pitch mix, throwing more split-fingered fastballs to generate more whiffs. His arrival has affected the fantasy value of Vest, who has not secured a save since July 20.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Minnesota Twins:<\/strong> So much for Cole Sands emerging as the preferred save share; he has pitched the eighth inning in all three outings since his team gutted the leverage ladder. Justin Topa has posted the only save over the past seven days. The team has been linked to Ryan Pressly, but he\u2019s weighing offers as a free agent following his designation for assignment by the Cubs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>New York Yankees:<\/strong> As highlighted above, Williams has lost his grip on the closer role. David Bednar recorded a five-out save in Texas and could cement his role atop the team\u2019s leverage pecking order with continued strong appearances. Manager Aaron Boone can also continue mixing and matching in the late innings based on matchups, so this must be monitored closely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Texas Rangers:<\/strong> Newly acquired Phil Maton converted his first save chance for the Rangers against the Yankees and could earn the preferred save share based on performance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Athletics:<\/strong> In a tied game with Washington, Sean Newcomb tossed two scoreless frames across the seventh and eighth innings before Michael Kelly suffered a walk-off loss. They remain the primary late-inning options, but wins have been sparse, and with no clear roles, it\u2019s best to avoid situations like this from a fantasy perspective.<\/p>\n<p>National League leverage pathways<\/p>\n<tr>TeamLeverage PathwayCloser (Primary)Stopper\/HLRStealth\/Ancillary<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 53.6px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Shared Saves<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Andrew Saalfrank<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>John Curtiss<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Kyle Backhus<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Raisel Iglesias<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Dylan Lee<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Pierce Johnson<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Daniel Palencia<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Brad Keller<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Andrew Kittredge<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Emilio Pag\u00e1n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Tony Santillan<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Graham Ashcraft<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Primary Save Share<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Victor Vodnik<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Jimmy Herget<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Juan Mejia<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Shared Saves<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Alex Vesia<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Blake Treinen<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Brock Stewart<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 72.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Shared Saves<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Calvin Faucher<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Anthony Bender<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Ronny Henriquez<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Trevor Megill<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Abner Uribe<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Jared Koenig<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Edwin D\u00edaz<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Ryan Helsley<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Tyler Rogers<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Jhoan Dur\u00e1n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Matt Strahm<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Orion Kerkering<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Dennis Santana<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Isaac Mattson<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Ryan Borucki<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Shared Saves<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>JoJo Romero<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Riley O&#8217;Brien<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Kyle Leahy<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Mostly Linear<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Robert Suarez<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Mason Miller<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Jason Adam<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 52.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Primary Save Share<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Randy Rodr\u00edguez<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Ryan Walker<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Joey Lucchesi<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td class=\"ia-hlt team relative freeze-col width-auto-imp-sm height-auto-imp-sm left-0-imp-sm\" style=\"width: 259px; height: 72.8px;\"\/>\n<td>\n<p>Primary Save Share<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Jose A. Ferrer<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Cole Henry<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p>Shinnosuke Ogasawara<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<p>        <strong>Team notes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Arizona Diamondbacks:<\/strong> Manager Torey Lovullo has suggested he does not know who will close games with Kevin Ginkel out for the remainder of the season. Andrew Saalfrank, John Curtiss, and Kyle Backhus are in the mix. It would be wise to leave this headache for your opponent.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Colorado Rockies:<\/strong> Although Halvorsen was not lost for the season, his rehab will determine when he can return to play. Victor Vodnik should be the fill-in, but he has allowed multiple runs in two of his past three games and at least a run in four of his previous five games. Tread lightly here; the risk outweighs the reward.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Los Angeles Dodgers:<\/strong> A noted slow starter, Blake Treinen has struggled since returning from his extended layoff on the injured list, but remains the preferred option for saves until Tanner Scott can return. However, Treinen has not recorded a save since April 9.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pittsburgh Pirates:<\/strong> Although it felt like this would be the coronation of Dennis Santana as the closer, he has struggled in recent outings, allowing multiple runs in two of his past three appearances. He should have some migration toward the mean, but better results during save situations are needed for fantasy relevance. Monitor his next few outings closely.<\/p>\n<p><strong>St. Louis Cardinals:<\/strong> Romero has been the highest-leveraged reliever facing the toughest left-handed hitters while recording two saves and a win over his past three appearances. O\u2019Brien posted his first career save against the Dodgers, and though he lacks swing-and-miss upside, he can provide ancillary saves when Romero appears before the ninth inning. Kyle Leahy logged two innings in his last outing and projects as the bridge reliever for his teammates.<\/p>\n<p><strong>San Francisco Giants:<\/strong> Earning his first All-Star appearance, Randy Rodr\u00edguez had been struggling in the second half but turned in a clean save appearance his last time out against the Pirates, notching his third save. He has converted two of three save opportunities in August.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Washington Nationals:<\/strong> This franchise has not had a reliever record a save since July 28, so it\u2019s not on Jose A. Ferrer. He is the preferred save option based on his elite velocity and ground ball rates. But volume may be a struggle down the stretch.<\/p>\n<p>2025 leaderboards through August 6<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Last 14 days SOLDS leaders through August 6<\/p>\n<p>        <strong>Save stashes\/adds<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Phil Maton (TEX)<\/li>\n<li>David Bednar (NYY) \u2013 if he was dropped in your league<\/li>\n<li>Joe Jim\u00e9nez (ATL)<\/li>\n<li>Tanner Scott (LAD) \u2013 if he was dropped in your league<\/li>\n<li>Shelby Miller (MIL)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ancillary save options<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Hunter Gaddis (CLE)<\/li>\n<li>Garrett Whitlock (BOS)<\/li>\n<li>Alex Vesia (LAD)<\/li>\n<li>Riley O\u2019Brien (STL)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ratio relievers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>*Multi-inning or bridge relievers who can vulture wins and help protect ratios.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Adrian Morejon (SD)<\/li>\n<li>Jeremiah Estrada (SD)<\/li>\n<li>Gabe Speier (SEA)<\/li>\n<li>Garrett Whitlock (BOS)<\/li>\n<li>Edwin Uceta (TB)<\/li>\n<li>Brad Keller (CHC)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Statistical Credits: Fangraphs.com, Baseball-Reference.com, BaseballSavant.com and BrooksBaseball.net. Check out my work at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/relieverrecon\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-index=\"4\" target=\"_blank\">Reliever Recon<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/closermonkey.com\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-index=\"5\" target=\"_blank\">Closer Monkey<\/a>\u00a0for daily updates.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\">(Photo of Kyle Finnegan: Duane Burleson \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The entire leverage landscape has changed since my column following the trade deadline, reinforcing how volatile the closer&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":129426,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[1885,2084,1266,62,3692,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-129425","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mlb","8":"tag-detroit-tigers","9":"tag-fantasy-baseball","10":"tag-mlb","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-st-louis-cardinals","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114993962986603540","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129425","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129425"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129425\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129425"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129425"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129425"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}