Aroldis Chapman and Cam Bedrosian made their returns this week, and while Chapman knows his exact role going forward, it still seems to be up in the air for Bedrosian. Bud Norris landing on the DL yesterday makes Bedrosian seem like the logical choice as his replacement, but with the Angels protecting a 3 run lead last night, Mike Scioscia decided to bring him in to work the 7th inning. Ir could be that he is being eased in to higher leverage situations, but then again, the Angels next best reliever, Blake Parker, was used before him in the 6th inning. David Hernandez pitched the 9th, and probably would have regardless of the score. I still believe Bedrosian carries the most upside and is the guy to own here. Then again, Huston Street will probably be the “closer” a week from now and this will be all for nothing.

TIER 1: Nothing Compares 2 U

1. Kenley Jansen (Los Angeles Dodgers)—Pedro Baez, Josh Fields

2. Craig Kimbrel (Boston Red Sox)—Matt Barnes, Joe Kelly

3. Aroldis Chapman (New York Yankees)—Dellin Betances, Tyler Clippard

Aroldis Chapman returned from the DL on Sunday, pitching a clean inning against the A’s while striking out 1 in a non-save situation. He was sitting 100+ with his fastball most of the outing so there doesn’t appear to be any lingering effects from the rotator cuff problem that landed him on the DL. He should be one of if not the best RP option’s going forward, although I doubt he could K 50 batters in a row without walking anyone…

TIER 2: Save Tonight

4. Roberto Osuna (Toronto Blue Jays)—Ryan Tepera, Danny Barnes

5. Greg Holland (Colorado Rockies)—Jake McGee,Adam Ottavino

6. Wade Davis (Chicago Cubs)—Carl Edwards Jr., Koji Uehara

7. Ken Giles (Houston Astros)—Will Harris, Chris Devenski

8. Edwin Diaz (Seattle Mariners)—Nick Vincent, Tony Zych

9. Corey Knebel (Milwaukee Brewers)—Jacob Barnes, Carlos Torres

10. Cody Allen (Cleveland Indians)—Andrew Miller, Bryan Shaw

11. Raisel Iglesias (Cincinnati Reds)—Drew Storen, Michael Lorenzen

12. Felipe Rivero (Pittsburgh Pirates)—Juan Nicasio, Daniel Hudson

13. Alex Colome (Tampa Bay Rays)—Danny Farquhar, Tommy Hunter

14. Mark Melancon (San Francisco Giants)—Hunter Strickland, George Kontos

Cody Allen and Andrew Miller have switched roles, which caused a bit of panic amongst Allen owners, but it is nothing more than a temporary switch to allow Miller some rest. I’d expect Allen to start seeing save chances again within a week or so. If owners are willing to sell low on Allen right now, closer needy teams should take advantage.

and have switched roles, which caused a bit of panic amongst Allen owners, but it is nothing more than a temporary switch to allow Miller some rest. I’d expect Allen to start seeing save chances again within a week or so. If owners are willing to sell low on Allen right now, closer needy teams should take advantage. Mark Melancon may be the most frustrating closer to own right now. 21 days into the month of May, and he has only seen action in 3 games. To make matters worse, he has not pitched well in his past 2 outings, which came 10 days apart. The fact he hadn’t pitched in so long could have something to do with his 4th blown save Sunday, when he allowed a walk off HR to Nolan Arenado. It’s concerning, both his usage and performance recently and if it wasn’t for the fact his job is as safe as anyone else’s, he would be down a few more spots.

TIER 3: Bound for the Floor

15. Kelvin Herrera (Kansas City Royals)—Joakim Soria, Mike Minor

16. Addison Reed (New York Mets)—Fernando Salas, Paul Sewald

17. Matt Bush (Texas Rangers)—Keone Kela, Jose Leclerc

18. Justin Wilson (Detroit Tigers)—Alex Wilson, Shane Green

19. Seung Hwan Oh (St. Louis Cardinals)—Trevor Rosenthal, Brett Cecil

20. David Robertson (Chicago White Sox)—Tommy Kahnle, Anthony Swarzak

21. Jim Johnson (Atlanta Braves)—Arodys Vizcaino, Jose Ramirez

22. Fernando Rodney (Arizona Diamondbacks)—Archie Bradley, Andrew Chafin

23. Brad Brach (Baltimore Orioles)—Mychal Givens, Richard Bleier

24. A.J. Ramos (Miami Marlins)—Kyle Barraclough, David Phelps

25. Cam Bedrosian (Los Angeles Angels)—Blake Parker, David Hernandez

I was originally planning on waiting out the month before endorsing and putting some trust into Fernando Rodney, but then he went ahead and managed to be the best RP in baseball last week (4 SV’s, 8 K’s, 0 baserunners). He is 40 years old and has always been a rollercoaster ride throughout his career, but he still somehow has 98 in his arm with a devastating changeup. He is pitching on one of the best teams in baseball right now, so ride him while he is hot. I’m still not sold that these good times will last forever for Rodney.

but then he went ahead and managed to be the best RP in baseball last week (4 SV’s, 8 K’s, 0 baserunners). He is 40 years old and has always been a rollercoaster ride throughout his career, but he still somehow has 98 in his arm with a devastating changeup. He is pitching on one of the best teams in baseball right now, so ride him while he is hot. I’m still not sold that these good times will last forever for Rodney. As Cam Bedrosian makes his way back to the Angels bullpen, the team loses Bud Norris to a knee injury. It means Bedrosian will be closing out games in the near future for sure. But what does it mean when Huston Street gets back (possibly this weekend)? Or when Norris returns, as he is only expected to be out for the minimum 10 days. There is still no clarity in this situation, but the job should be Bedrosians to lose here on out, regardless of when he was used last night.

TIER 4: Better Days (and the Bottom Drops Out)

26. Brandon Kintzler (Minnesota Twins)—Taylor Rogers, Matt Belisle

28. Hector Neris (Philadelphia Phillies)—Pat Neshek, Joaquin Benoit

27. Santiago Casilla/Sean Doolittle (Oakland Athletics)—Ryan Madson

29. Brandon Maurer (San Diego Padres)—Brad Hand, Ryan Buchter

30. Enny Romero? (Washington Nationals)—Matt Albers, Blake Treinen

Sean Doolittle has done a great job filling in for Santiago Casilla while he dealt with some soreness in his non-throwing shoulder. I still see this situation reverting back to how it was prior to Doolittle ending up on the DL, with the 2 splitting the role based on matchups. It makes neither particularly appealing in most leagues, but I still feel Doolittle has more upside and is the better option for the A’s.

Disabled List

Zach Britton (Baltimore Orioles)

Jeurys Familia (New York Mets)

Bud Norris (Los Angeles Angels)

Koda Glover (Washington Nationals)

Carter Capps (San Diego Padres)

Nate Jones (Chicago White Sox)

Darren O’Day (Baltimore Orioles)

Joe Smith (Toronto Blue Jays)

Huston Street (Los Angeles Angels)

Glen Perkins (Minnesota Twins)

Shawn Kelley (Washington Nationals)

Carson Smith (Boston Red Sox)

Jake Diekman (Texas Rangers)

Brad Boxberger (Tampa Bay Rays)

Ryan Dull (Oakland Athletics)

Sammy Solis (Washington Nationals)