The Minnesota Twins placed closer Matt Capps on the disabled list Monday with right shoulder tendinitis. Capps’ role will be split between Glen Perkins and Jared Burton, as each of them picked up two saves last week in place of Capps. Since manager Ron Gardenhire seems to be determining the ninth inning role based on matchups, Burton as the right-handed pitcher figures to see more of the save chances over Perkins. Burton has been unscored upon in his last seven outings and has a 2.90 ERA and .90 WHIP for the season in 31 innings.
Also hitting the disabled list last week was closer Frank Francisco of the New York Mets with an oblique strain. Bobby Parnell is the leading candidate to close while Francisco is out of action. Parnell has a 3.19 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in the season with 31 strikeouts in 31 innings but he struggled last year when thrust into the closer role, converting only 6-of-12 opportunities.
Although Drew Storen has not returned to action yet for the Washington Nationals, manager Davey Johnson announced late last week that Tyler Clippard will remain in the closer role even when Storen returns. Clippard has been successful on 12-of-13 save chances this season and has a 1.95 ERA and .90 WHIP. He has thrown 10 1/3 scoreless innings so far in June with 12 strikeouts. This news ups Clippard’s trade value and makes him a target in smaller mixed league formats if you had been holding off on claiming him for fear he may not have the closer gig long-term.
Aroldis Chapman suddenly became human over the course of the last three weeks, allowing runs in five of his last seven outings and blowing three saves. He still has stellar numbers for the season with a 2.04 ERA, a 0.76 WHIP and with 61 strikeouts in 35 1/3 innings. However, it might not be a bad idea to grab Sean Marshall as a backup on reserve just in case. Marhsall has turned things around in June with a 0.79 ERA and a 0.62 WHIP and one save.
