We are officially less than one week till Opening Day for the 2022 MLB season. A few weeks ago, in the middle of the lockout, I wasn’t sure if we could get to this point, especially this soon, but I’m all for it!

One of the more volatile situations in fantasy baseball every year revolves around closer situations with each team. Here I will look at the closer situation revolving around each team entering the season. Keep in mind that a lot of these situations are either up in the air or committee situations, so the overall closer situation across the league will likely look a lot different come July compared to today.

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AL East:

Baltimore Orioles – Cole Sulser (RP – BAL)

Boston Red Sox – Matt Barnes (RP – BOS)

New York Yankees – Aroldis Chapman (RP – NYY)

Tampa Bay Rays – Andrew Kittredge (RP – TB)

Toronto Blue Jays – Jordan Romano (RP – TOR)

Overview:

Chapman is the safest closer in this division heading into the season. We have seen him have his struggles, though, so we will have to see if he can maintain his consistency in the Yankees bullpen this season. Sulser appears to be the favorite in the Orioles bullpen heading into the season. Barnes was solid for part of last season for the Red Sox and appears to be getting the nod to open the season in the Boston bullpen. Romano suffered a left ankle sprain while walking his dog, but all reports as of late suggest he will be healthy for Opening Day to open as the Blue Jays’ closer. Kittredge appears to be the Rays’ closer to open the season, but this is a bit of a volatile situation. Kittredge might not have a super long leash if he struggles early, but hopefully, that won’t be an issue.

AL Central:

Chicago White Sox – Liam Hendriks (RP – CWS)

Cleveland Guardians – Emmanuel Clase (RP – CLE)

Detroit Tigers – Gregory Soto (RP – DET)

Kansas City Royals – Scott Barlow (RP – KC)

Minnesota Twins – Taylor Rogers (RP – MIN)

Overview:

This division appears to have several relatively safe closers heading into the 2022 season for the most part. Hendricks is the safest one out of the group, especially with the recent trade of Craig Kimbrel (RP – CWS). The White Sox signed Kendall Graveman (RP – CWS) before the lockout, who will be a closer to keep an eye on if Liam Hendriks were to miss time. Last season, Clase was dominant for Cleveland, so his job should be safe. The Tigers probably have the most significant question mark at closer entering Opening Day between Soto and Michael Fulmer (RP – DET). If possible, it might be best to roster them both to open the season. Barlow was solid for the Royals last season, as was Rogers in Minnesota.

AL West:

Houston Astros – Ryan Pressly (RP – HOU)

Los Angeles Angels – Raisel Iglesias (RP – LAA)

Oakland Athletics – Lou Trivino (RP – OAK)

Seattle Mariners – Paul Sewald (RP – SEA)

Texas Rangers – Spencer Patton (RP – TEX)

Overview:

This division has a mix of some safer situations and some situations up in the air. The biggest question mark comes from the Rangers bullpen, where it will be between Patton and Joe Barlow (RP – TEX). The Mariners have many reliable options. Following the trade deadline acquisition of Diego Castillo (RP – SEA) last season, it was a committee approach mostly between him and Sewald. Seattle also has Ken Giles (RP – SEA) returning from injury who has closer experience in the past. He likely won’t mix into these late-inning situations early in the season but could find himself in that mix as he gets back into rhythm. Iglesias, Trivino, and Pressly’s roles as the closer should be pretty safe heading into the season in the rest of the division.

NL East:

Atlanta Braves – Kenley Jansen (RP – ATL)

Miami Marlins – Anthony Bender (RP – MIA)

New York Mets – Edwin Diaz (RP – NYM)

Philadelphia Phillies – Corey Knebel (RP – PHI)

Washington Nationals – Kyle Finnegan (RP – WSH)

Overview:

Jansen was the big acquisition for the Braves this offseason and is the safest closer in this division heading into the season. Despite some struggles last season, Diaz’s role should be pretty safe in the Mets bullpen as he hopes to get back into his old form. Knebel landed with the Phillies right before the lockout and figures to be their closer to open this season. The Marlins are the most significant question mark heading into this season. With Dylan Floro (RP – MIA) expected to miss the start of the season, it will be between Bender and Anthony Bass (RP – MIA) to open the year in the Marlins’ closer role. Finnegan’s role in the Nationals bullpen is not extremely safe either, but he finished last season as the Nationals closer and figures to open this year in the same role.

NL Central:

Chicago Cubs – Rowan Wick (RP – CHC)

Cincinnati Reds – Hunter Strickland (RP – CIN)

Milwaukee Brewers – Josh Hader (RP – MIL)

Pittsburgh Pirates – David Bednar (RP – PIT)

St. Louis Cardinals – Giovanny Gallegos (RP – STL)

Overview:

Hader is by far the safest option in this division. The Pirates are going the committee approach between Bednar and Chris Stratton (RP – PIT), so you will want to roster them both. The Cubs’ closer situation is a bit of an unknown between Wick, David Robertson (RP – CHC), and Mychal Givens (RP – CHC). The Reds situation is a bit up in the air as well between Strickland and Luis Cessa (RP – CIN), while Gallegos appears to be the favorite in save situations in the Cardinals bullpen.

NL West:

Arizona Diamondbacks – Mark Melancon (RP – ARI)

Colorado Rockies – Alex Colome (RP – COL)

Los Angeles Dodgers – Craig Kimbrel (RP – LAD)

San Diego Padres – Emilio Pagan (RP – SD)

San Francisco Giants – Jake McGee (RP – SF)

Overview:

With Kenley Jansen leaving Los Angeles for Atlanta this offseason, the Dodgers made a splash Friday morning, sending AJ Pollock (OF – CWS) to the White Sox in exchange for Kimbrel, who will take over the closer role for the Dodgers this season. Melancon is another very safe closer in this division. The Rockies’ closer situation remains up in the air, but manager Bud Black stated he wants to make this decision before Opening Day. It will likely be Colome or Daniel Bard (RP – COL) to open the season. McGee’s role in the Giants bullpen is somewhat safe, while the Padres closer situation is also up in the air between Pagan, Robert Suarez (RP – SD), and potentially some other names in the mix as well.

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Ari Koslow is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Ari, check out his archive.