Now that the National League East and all their moves have been covered, it's time to look at the NL Central and discuss the lack of movement in that division.Several teams in the NL Central could benefit from strengthening their relief corps, yet only one team has made any noise in free agency or the trade market so far. There are still several talented late-inning pitchers available as free agents though, so with still about a month until spring training begins, the NL Central bullpens are cer[...]

A tough position to evaluate is that of relief pitchers, as a lot of success for closers comes from success from teams. There are also a lot of bullpens by committee these days, further stifling the value of closers.That being said, only four of the pitchers that ranked in the top-10 in saves in 2017 followed up in 2018. One of those pitchers had a huge jump in saves, but [...]

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Congrats on (probably) making it through the first week or two of the playoffs! I got knocked out in the first round because almost all of my hitters decided to pretty much take a week off from being on base. My closers did great though, so I'm still qualified to create this week's Closers and Saves Report, I guess don't bother asking me about hitters though (unless you want to know how to get your hitters to combine for a .162 batting average and one home run throughout a whole week!) Aroldi[...]

While holds are even tougher to predict than saves, the players we'll highlight today include some elite setup men to target off the waiver wire in Week 26. One-inning middle relievers are the constant sources for holds and specialists can manage to secure a hold even with one out. However, while specialists can get many holds, their fantasy value is limited to how effective they are in their specific role. Long relievers are not a strong source of holds, they are often used in emergency or m[...]

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Steve Cishek converted his fourth save of the season on Saturday. Cishek got the call with Pedro Strop (hamstring) and Brandon Morrow (elbow) both sidelined. Morrow is expected back soon, but is likely to be eased back into the closer role. Cishek has closer experience and could see more save chances, but manager Joe Maddon likes to play the matchups and Jesse Chavez and Carl Edwards Jr. could also see save chances.

BALLER MOVE: Add in All Leagues OWNED IN: 28% of leagues ANALYSIS: Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Pedro Strop has taken the opportunity to grab the closer's role in Chicago with Brandon Morrow going on the disabled list with a biceps injury. Those that were hoping that Morrow would be off of the disabled list on Saturday were disappointed to hear that he needs more time to get healthy. With that being the case, there needs to be another man to close out games for the Cubbies and that appear[...]

The stove is warming up! Just when we were all being entertained by the All-Star Game being the most 2018 baseball game of the year, the Dodgers and Indians were busy making their teams better for the playoff push. While we're far from done with trade rumors and actual trades, two big dominoes did indeed fall during the break. The Los Angeles Dodgers got Manny Machado from Baltimore, of course. More relevant to bullpens, the Cleveland Indians picked up both Brad Hand and Adam Cimber from San [...]

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Steve Cishek picked up the save on Tuesday versus the Giants. It was his third save of the season. Cubs closer Brandon Morrow was unavailable and remains the Cubs closer. Cishek can help owners with holds, but doesn't offer much value outside of that category.

Chicago Cubs relief pitcher Steve Cishek picked up his first save of the season Monday evening versus the Colorado Rockies. Cishek came in with one out and pitched around a walk to secure the save. Brandon Morrow pitched in three of the last four games and was unavailable Monday, but has a firm grip as the Cubs closer.