Reds closer???????????

[Dawgpound 1613]

Who knows at this point. Wagner pitching the 7th yesterday doesn't bode well for the short term. Long term, he's likely the man.

[nuggets]

here's what one "expert" has to say

The Reds made quite a bold move in dumping Danny Graves, who had been with the team since 1997. Of course, there is a lot to consider here, with Graves being designated for assignment in part because he was pitching horribly, but also because of a questionable interaction with a Cincy fan Sunday. For the record, Graves was terrible on the mound; his WHIP read like a normal closer's ERA (2.29), which is nearly impossible to do. He had only blown two save chances and converted 10, but his ERA was 7.36. Actually, we thought Graves had figured things out. His ERA was 3.45 on May 12, after a stretch with five straight outings without giving up a run. Then, in mop-up duty, the Mets hit two home runs off him and scored four. On Sunday, the Indians got five runs off him and Graves had to be removed before escaping the inning. What happens to Graves now? The Reds have 10 days to trade or release him. There are rumors that teams will be interested in him after the 10 days are up, when they don't have to assume his contract and can get him cheap (Mets, Cubs, Phils, etc.). Go ahead and drop Graves in fantasy; the chances that Graves figures things out and becomes someone's closer again are slim. Graves did have 33 saves at the break last year, easily on pace to break Bobby Thigpen's record, but his post-break ERA was 7.23. There's a trend here.

Who replaces Graves? Well, David Weathers got the first save Monday and got the save opportunity (but blew it) Tuesday. Is he the guy, or is it still going to be Ryan Wagner? We thought Monday's save went to Weathers because Wagner had pitched three straight games just before. But on Tuesday, Wagner entered the game in the seventh inning. There's no doubting Wagner's ability, but he is young. He has 21 strikeouts in 23 innings, and he's having a nice season. He'll be a fine closer someday, but don't assume his time is now. He's up to 91.4 percent ownership in ML leagues, but that might be too high. Weathers might really be the Cincy closer, and everyone can still get him.