Injury season is upon us and we were dealt our first massive reliever loss with Brewers closer Devin Williams being diagnosed with two stress fractures in his back that will keep him sidelined likely through the All-Star break. In his absence, I’ve bumped Trevor Megill up to the closer role (hence why he is not on this list) although that is purely speculative and we will likely see a committee between Megill, Abner Uribe, and Joel Payamps (maybe even Hoby Milner) to begin the season. Megill was the best reliever of the three over the past two months of the season last year, has had the better spring, and I think his stuff is better suited for the closer role than Uribe’s. That’s not me being down on Uribe, that’s just how high I am on Megill. My only concern with Uribe is the command, as his 15.7% walk rate puts him in Alex Lange territory. Both Lange and Uribe have the pure stuff to succeed even with the walk issues, but it’s still not what you want from your closer. Payamps may have been the most trusted reliever of the three for the bulk of last season, but hitters caught up to him in the second half of last season, where he posted a 4.19 ERA (4.81 xFIP), 1.55 WHIP, and 10% strikeout-minus-walk rate over his last 20 games (and has struggled mightily this spring).
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