That would be something, wouldn't it? Trading the best closer in the game? I doubt we see that, and think the Braves will attempt to buy out some of his arbitration years before 2015. Papelbon was not himself in 2013, as he saved just 29 games, had 7 blown saves, and saw his strikeouts per nine crater from 11.83 K/9 to just 8.32 K/9.Īdd to that the suggestion by Buster Olney that the Braves could look to deal closer Craig Kimbrel before his salary becomes too exorbitant once he reaches arbitration in 2015. On top of all that, the Phillies are trying very hard this offseason to deal closer Jonathan Papelbon. Some of the changes are due to free agency ( Joe Nathan, Grant Balfour, Fernando Rodney), one is due to retirement (Mo Rivera), and others are due to trades ( Jim Johnson and Addison Reed).

That is not a small number, and it shows that major league front offices are starting to devalue the closer role in a big way. There are several teams with question marks, and they are identified in the Current Closer column below:Īs it currently stands, there have been 13 changes in the closer role since the end of the 2013 season. This offseason has seen more than it's fair share of changes in the closer role for many teams, and here is a comparison listing the 2013 closer vs the current closer for each major league team. One of points he made in the article was that there were only three closers who were with the same team for each of the past three seasons. I remember reading an article written by ESPN's Buster Olney where he was discussing teams looking for closers at the trade deadline. It is a well known fact that the closer role is one of the more volatile jobs in baseball, as the turnover continues to repeat itself year in and year out.

It seems like I write about this topic every offseason at some point, but it is worth repeating.

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