RELIEVERS: Dodging the Bullet

This week, we look at some closers (or quasi-closers) with not-so-stellar BPIs and begin to think about how to dodge the bullet—that is, to sell high before they lose their job or drop in value and retain premium value for them. There are nine such BPI-challenged closers. So far, we are talking about only a handful of innings, but decisions to switch out closers have been made on far less. The key is whether these closers can pitch toward their projections, or whether their current skill sets will cause them to lose their jobs. If nothing else, it helps to identify who may be at risk in the coming months. Here is the list with their BPIs:

                   IP    ERA WHIP   Dom  Cmd HR/9 xERA  G/F  BPV  pxERA pBPV
=================...

More From Relief Pitchers