Before the 2015 season has even begun, the Oakland A’s have been struck with some bad news. Their closer, Sean Doolittle, has sustained an injury. It has been reported that Doolittle has a minor rotator-cuff tear, which will not require surgery. Even though management is categorizing this injury as “slight”, Doolittle will miss the start of the 2015 season. So, who will be chosen to replace Doolittle while he recovers from this injury?
Tyler Clippard
The Oakland A’s have many options when it comes to potential substitute closers. First there is the newest addition to their bullpen – Tyler Clippard. Even though Clippard is not usually a closer, he does have the experience and the talent. In 2012, Clippard did close numerous games for the Washington Nationals and had 32 saves that season. Additionally, he has been extremely successful as an eighth inning set-up man in both 2013 and 2014. With seven years of MLB experience under his belt, Clippard could easily fill in for Doolittle.
Then there is righty Dan Otero. Even though he has only been pitching in the majors for two years, he has a lot of experience as a closer from his time in the minor leagues. Throughout Otero’s time in the minors, he saved 101 games out of 112 save opportunities. Additionally, last season with the Oakland A’s, he had a 2.28 ERA and only allowed four home runs in 86.2 innings pitched.
Ryan Cook is another viable option for closer since he was the Oakland A’s closer for the first half of 2012 and had 14 saves. Cook dealt with a minor injury early last season but went on to earn a 3.42 ERA with a 1.08 WHIP. Even though his pitching success has been slowly declining since 2012, perhaps Cook can prove that he still has power and accuracy during spring training to earn the closer position.
There has also been some talk that left handed pitcher Eric O’Flaherty could be considered for this position. Even though O’Flaherty was recovering from Tommy John surgery for the first half of the 2014 season, he is expected to be 100% for 2015. However, he really does not have any experience closing, so one would wonder how he would handle the pressure.
In all likelihood, the Oakland A’s will employ the “closer-by-committee approach” for the start of the season. They used this approach when Jim Johnson crashed and burned in 2014, and it seemed to work well for the Athletics until they finally appointed Doolittle as their closer. Unless Doolittle will be out for more than a month, it does not make too much sense to appoint a closer when there is so much talent in the bullpen. It may be best to feel out the situation during spring training and the first month of the season before a single player is appointed as their substitute closer.
This article Oakland A’s: Who are the potential substitute closers? appeared first on isportsweb by Sam Riley