Fantasy Fallout: Oh no for Rosenthal - Korean closer should see save chances
Here are the fantasy implications of St. Louis Cardinals reliever Trevor Rosenthal being demoted from the closer role:
Season-long Fantasy Leagues
Rosenthal racked up 45 and 48 saves, respectively, over the past two seasons, but had slumped to a 5.63 ERA thus far in 2016, allowing two or more earned runs in three of his last five appearances. The final straw was giving up a three-run homer to Seattle's Adam Lind on Friday that saw a 3-1 Cardinals lead evaporate.
While St. Louis has 32-year-old ex-Dodgers closer Jonathan Broxton on the roster, it appears that setup man Seung Hwan Oh is the likeliest to inherit the role. While this is the 33-year-old Oh's first MLB season, he's long been a ninth-inning man in the Korean Baseball Organization, with 277 lifetime saves.
He's been nearly flawless in 37 games as a Cardinal, holding a 1.66 ERA and striking out 12.08 batters per nine innings. Oh has been bestowed with the nicknames "The Final Boss" and "Stone Buddha" (for his unflappable demeanor on the mound), both of which bode well for a position that ideally projects an intimidating late-game presence.
Fantasy owners looking for saves on the waiver wire should immediately target the Korea native, as he'll likely begin locking down wins for baseball's third-highest scoring team. Despite that offensive punch, the 38-34 Cardinals have underachieved to date, with Rosenthal's woes among the reasons why.
Waiver Wire Targets
Aside from Oh, other realistically-available closer options include:
- Shawn Kelley, Nationals: Filling in during Jonathan Papelbon's DL stint, Kelly has converted two of three save chances. On the season, he holds a 2.39 ERA and has struck out 37 batters in 26 1/3 innings.
- Carlos Estevez, Rockies: After assuming the closer role in mid-June after Jake McGee's injury, Estevez converted four straight saves, but was then victimized in Thursday and Friday losses to the Diamondbacks. It's hard to say that Estevez's role is secure, as fellow reliever Gonzalez Germen picked up the save in Saturday's win. The Colorado situation is worth keeping an eye on for save-needy owners.