White Cleat Beat
Fansided

A 2017 Oakland A’s bullpen preview: Closer by Committee?

By Jennifer Rainwater

Jul 27, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher Stephen Vogt (21) and relief pitcher Ryan Madson (44) celebrate the victory against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Jul 27, 2016; Arlington, TX, USA; Oakland Athletics catcher Stephen Vogt (21) and relief pitcher Ryan Madson (44) celebrate the victory against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 7
Next
Oakland Athletics
Apr 17, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Athletics relief pitcher Ryan Madson (44) pitches against the Kansas City Royals during the ninth inning at the Oakland Coliseum. The Athletics won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports /

The A’s bullpen is full of talent.

The Oakland Athletics‘ bullpen was the problem in 2015 and the brightspot of 2016 when the rotation faltered, so we are taking a break from position players and focusing on the bullpen.

The players who are pretty much guaranteed to be in the bullpen are Ryan Dull, Sean Doolittle, John Axford, Ryan Madson and Santiago Casilla.

Out of those five guys, each one could be the closer and each one could be used as a LOOGY or in a matchup. However, it’s important to remember that Doolittle is the lone lefty in the A’s bullpen.

It appears that the A’s are going to go by “closer by committee,” which should work out just fine.

Madson will likely get the nod first, as the veteran of the staff but, when you look at Ryan Dull’s numbers and record from last season you’ll know that he never lets inherited runners score so using the kid in his sophomore season could be an option as well.

Doolittle, Casilla and Axford all have closing experience so it’s likely that it will be a day to day decision by A’s manager Bob Melvin.

If there is a sixth member of the bullpen it will likely be the left-hander Daniel Coulombe, but that remains to be seen.

If one thing is going to go well for Oakland this season it’s going to be the pitching (And hopefully, Khris Davis hits another 42 bombs!), assuming that Sonny Gray returns to his dominant form and Sean Manaea improves on the potential he exhibited last season.

The same goes for Kendall Graveman and Jharel Cotton. However, we are talking about the bullpen today so here are the pitcher who will make up the Oakland Athletics’ bullpen in 2017. Each could be a potential closer.