Who Closes for Texas Now That Gagne is Gone?

August 1, 2007 @ 16:00:00

By Whit Benson
Edited by Ryan Dodson

The Texas Rangers (47-59, last place, American League West) had no choice but to become sellers at the July 31 trading deadline earlier this week, as an underachieving campaign finds them trailing the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim by an insurmountable 15 1/2 games. As a result, they traded outfielder Kenny Lofton to the Cleveland Indians, first baseman Mark Teixeira to the Atlanta Braves and closer Eric Gagne to the Boston Red Sox. The Rangers were still looked at as successful at the deadline, however, as all players were unlikely to re-sign after the season, or after 2008 in Teixeira's case, and they were able to acquire excellent prospects in return for them. 

When asked about the team's closer situation following the trade, manager Ron Washington said he would use several arms at first, but ultimately expected someone to "step up and earn the spot." Fantasy owners in need of relief help may interpret that to mean that Texas will currently employ the dreaded "closer-by-committee approach," which is normally cause to look somewhere else for assistance. However, with so few relievers changing teams at the trade deadline, an owner may have no choice but to predict which Ranger will be the one that "steps up," as closers-in-waiting just aren't sitting on the waiver wire. The table below shows the likely replacements for Gagne's job:

Table: Rangers Potential Closers

Players	IP	Record	ERA	WHIP	K
Akinori Otsuka*	32	2-1	2.51	1.09	23
Joaquin Benoit	55	4-3	3.11	1.20	56
C.J. Wilson	47	2-1	2.45	1.11	46
Frank Francisco	41.2	1-0	4.10	1.46	28

*Disabled list

As far the candidates mentioned above are concerned, Otsuka is certainly the most preferred and accomplished, having converted 32 of his 36 save opportunities last year as the Rangers closer. With the signing of the more dominant Gagne this past offseason, Otsuka was relegated to a setup role in 2007, and was thriving in it until he went on the disabled list July 7 with inflammation of his right elbow. The Rangers medical staff has had a hard time getting a handle on Otsuka's injury, and after a couple setbacks, now project him to be activated sometime in mid-to-late August, at which point his role and effectiveness figure to be a question mark. 

Each of the three guys on the depth chart behind Otsuka are certainly available and owned in less than 10 percent of leagues polled. Of the three, Francisco has been the least impressive this season, and as a result, the least likely to inherit the role. While blessed with a high-90s fastball, Francisco still lacks the maturity or control at this point to be a reliable closer. He is also 0-for-3 in save chances in his career. 

For now, most fantasy prognosticators sense the job will be Benoit's, who has pitched well enough in 2007 to earn it and has certainly paid his dues by being a member of the woeful Rangers for the past six seasons. Being right-handed with a power arm, he fits the demographics that all managers want their closers to possess; however, he does have a career 4.90 ERA and only has two saves in 204 career games.

In the first save situation of the post-Gagne era, Washington decided to give the ball to Wilson, who answered the bell and threw 1 2/3 perfect innings to register his first save of the season in the Rangers 3-1 victory over the Cleveland Indians. Washington said he was going to give it to Benoit, but Wilson came in and got two quick outs. While considered somewhat of a junk-balling, lefty specialist (lefties are hitting .095 and slugging .125 against him in 74 at-bats) in his tenure with the Rangers, Wilson has been flat-out dominant of late. Over his last 9 1/3 innings, Wilson has allowed no runs on three hits with 11 strikeouts. The fact he got the call last night is a good sign, and if Washington opts to use him in the ninth inning against a righty-laden lineup (unlike Cleveland), he could continue to do so. 

As of now, Wilson and Benoit should be picked up and monitored for the next week or so, until one of them takes the reins on the job. If the multiple-closer approach is prevalent the rest of the year in Texas, then neither pitcher has any real fantasy upside. 

While the Rangers rank 25th in Major League Baseball with 32 save opportunities, they were 14-12 in July, and play 32 of their last 56 games against teams with a .500 winning percentage or worse. As a result, more save chances than usual could be in store. Fantasy owners should monitor Otsuka's progress as well, as he is almost certain to regain the closer's role all to himself if, and when, he returns to 100 percent. 

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Whit Benson
Whit has been with KFFL since 2007.

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