Here’s the Matt Capps(notes) story in a nutshell: New uniform (pictured), same horrible pitching ratios.
Capps has made six appearances for the Nats so far this spring, and he’s allowed at least one run in five of them. This was his stat line entering Monday’s action: 6.0 IP, 9 H, 7 ER, 5 BB, 3 K. His spring ERA is 10.50, up slightly from last year’s 5.80.
Brian Bruney(notes) and Tyler Clippard(notes) are the appropriate speculative adds. Drew Storen(notes), the Nats’ closer in waiting, will be sent to Double-A Harrisburg for reprogramming; you’ll likely see him at mid-season.
Capps is arguably the scariest option you’ll find on the closing grid below. Kevin Gregg(notes) pitching in the A.L. East is a nightmare, too, but he doesn’t have the ninth inning for the Jays just yet. After the minty-fresh spreadsheet, please stick around for a few stray notes…
• Matt Lindstrom(notes) still hasn’t allowed a run this spring, although he allowed a million last season. He has six Ks and has only walked one batter thus far in spring. Brandon Lyon(notes) clearly has some catching up to do. Meanwhile, Sammy Gervacio(notes) has been fantastic. He struck out three batters in two innings against the Cardinals on Monday, allowing one hit and no walks. That’s 11 Ks and three hits in 9.0 innings for Gervacio this spring.
• According to the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser, Andrew Bailey(notes) (tennis elbow) made 35 throws at a distance of 120 feet today. We’ve heard nothing that indicates he won’t be ready for Opening Day, but it’s an elbow issue related to overuse, so he’s not in the clear just yet.
• In case you somehow missed the Kerry Wood(notes) news, here’s a link. Here’s another. Chris Perez(notes) is the add. He’s buried in the Yahoo! ranks (No. 361), so drafters will need to dig a little.
• Baltimore’s Mike Gonzalez(notes) (back) has declared that he’s
about 95 percent right now, which means you can think of him as either John Grabow(notes) or Pedro Feliciano(notes). Your call.
• The Twins haven’t made anything official yet, and all the in-house closing candidates – Jon Rauch(notes), Matt Guerrier(notes), Francisco Liriano(notes) – are having solid springs. (Liriano is actually having a ridiculous spring, with 16 Ks and just one walk in 10 innings). Minnesota has also reportedly kicked the tires on Jason Frasor(notes) and Heath Bell(notes).
We can offer only a weak Rauch endorsement. Liriano is the most interesting play for fantasy purposes, since he’s SP-eligible and the K-rate will be excellent. Here’s some hype via the team’s Website:
…Gardenhire continued to hint on Sunday that it’s a possibility the team could look to the left-hander as an option for the ninth inning.
"[There is] one guy that we all know that probably can be a closer," Gardenhire said in reference to Liriano. "He’s got all the closing stuff – punchout pitches, the whole package. If it’s the right thing and he wants to do it, we have to see. Let everybody stretch out and go from there."
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Photo via US Presswire