Nationals' Shawn Kelley: May not be favorite for closer spot

Kelley will compete for the Nationals' closer job in spring training, but manager Dusty Baker expressed concern about his ability to stay healthy all season, The Washington Post reports. "He seems a likely candidate, but we have to see", Baker said. If not, "we'll be looking for somebody else, and be without [Kelley], too. That's the thing you don't want. Then you got to replace two people."

Analysis:

On the surface, Kelley's experience and strikeout stuff would seem to make him the favorite to win the job, but with two Tommy John surgeries on his chart and coming off a season in which he made a career-high 67 appearances, the Nats may not want to put too much pressure on the 32-year-old. Given the uncertainty over his role, at the moment Kelley is a safer pick in fantasy league that use saves plus holds as a category, rather than just saves.