Breaking down AL West bullpens for '21

In a year that saw a few of their top hitters go through down years on offense, the A’s run to a 2020 American League West title and ALDS appearance was heavily aided by a strong bullpen.

Led by a dominant back-end trio of closer Liam Hendriks, left-hander Jake Diekman and right-hander Joakim Soria, the A’s relief corps routinely shortened ballgames, leading the Majors with a combined 2.76 bullpen ERA.

But just like the other clubs in the division, the A’s enter 2021 with some new faces in the bullpen. Here’s a closer look at each bullpen in the AL West:

Angels

The known: The Angels acquired closer Raisel Iglesias in a trade with the Reds this offseason to anchor their bullpen. He joins primary setup relievers Ty Buttrey and Mike Mayers, while the Angels also signed lefty Alex Claudio to a one-year deal. Felíx Peña is coming off a solid year as well. The club also selected right-hander Jose Alberto Rivera in the Rule 5 Draft and he’ll get a long look this spring.

The unknown: The Angels are remaking their bullpen after non-tendering Justin Anderson, Matt Andriese, Keynan Middleton, Hansel Robles and Hoby Milner in the offseason. Jaime Barria will be in the bullpen if he remains out of options but his status, as to whether he will receive another year of Minor League options, is pending. Non-roster reliever Junior Guerra appears likely to make the team but must prove it this spring. Jake Faria has mostly been a starter but looks solid this spring and could be a multi-inning reliever.

-- Rhett Bollinger

Astros

The known: The Astros’ bullpen underwent somewhat of a transformation in the offseason with veterans Roberto Osuna, Chris Devenski and Brad Peacock departing and the signings of Pedro Báez, Ryne Stanek and Steve Cishek (Minor League deal). The club also welcomed the return of veteran Joe Smith, who elected not to play last season. Ryan Pressly, an All-Star setup man in ’19, returns as perhaps their most accomplished high-leverage reliever and will play a big role. The Astros got surprising contributions last year from rookies Enoli Paredes and Blake Taylor and saw lefty Brooks Raley establish himself as an effective weapon.

The unknown: Pressly appears to be the closer entering the season. He stepped in and did a solid job as closer last year after Osuna blew out his elbow early in the season. The Astros made a bid to sign Liam Hendriks and Trevor Rosenthal, but couldn’t bring in an experienced closer other than Cishek, who has 132 career saves but is battling to make the club at this point. Stanek is looking for a bounce-back season after a miserable 2020, and the Astros can only hope the solid rookie campaigns by Paredes and Taylor weren’t a fluke. Will Austin Pruitt (hairline fracture in elbow) and Josh James (labral tear in his left hip) be able to contribute at some point post-surgery?

-- Brian McTaggart

Athletics

The known: The names might be different in the A’s bullpen, but the high expectations remain. Oakland managed to replace Hendriks with arguably the top available reliever on the free-agent market in Trevor Rosenthal. The losses of Joakim Soria and left-hander T.J. McFarland were also addressed with the additions of right-hander Sergio Romo and left-hander Adam Kolarek. Yusmeiro Petit, A’s manager Bob Melvin’s top option for tough situations, was also re-signed to a one-year deal. Between Jake Diekman, Romo and Petit, the A’s should have a strong bridge to Rosenthal in the ninth. Other returning relievers like J.B. Wendelken and Lou Trivino have proven to be effective multi-inning weapons.

The unknown: The list of relievers who will occupy the A’s bullpen is pretty much set. What is yet to be determined is how Melvin will decide to utilize the many arms at his disposal. The A’s will have the luxury of throwing many different angles at opposing offenses, whether it’s a side-arming Kolarek from the left side or a righty flamethrower like Rosenthal. At this point, there don’t appear to be any set roles in the bullpen outside of closer, and the A’s might just be better off that way, instead opting to play the favorable matchups on a certain day.

-- Martín Gallegos

Mariners

The known: Rafael Montero, Keynan Middleton and Kendall Graveman will take a bulk of Seattle’s highest leverage innings, and all were acquired via trades or free agency in an effort by general manager Jerry Dipoto to bolster a bullpen that posted an American League-worst 5.92 ERA last year. All three also possess some legitimate gas, which is another big plus for Seattle, specifically after it averaged the second-slowest fastball velocity among relievers last season. Of that group, Montero has the clearest path to the ninth inning, though the Mariners haven’t officially labeled him the closer.

The unknown: Beyond Montero, Middleton and Graveman, the competition in Spring Training is pretty wide open. The Mariners have 44 arms in camp, many of which are relievers with Minor League options, so there could be quite a bit of fluidity there throughout the year. Anthony Misiewicz and Yohan Ramirez were pleasant surprises last year and will receive strong consideration for the Opening Day roster. Roenis Elias, his third stint with Seattle, has looked sharp in camp, as has Casey Sadler. But the scope of the bullpen won’t come into clearer shape until the final two weeks of spring.

-- Daniel Kramer

Rangers

The known: The Rangers don’t have many proven options out of the bullpen, but it is pretty solid. José Leclerc will likely be used in a closer role for the Rangers, just as he did in 2019 when he posted a 4.33 ERA through 68 2/3 innings. He has 23 career saves and the role is pretty much his for the taking. His ‘20 season was cut short due to injuries, but he’s been vocal about getting back to form. Lefty Wes Benjamin has proven himself to be a fairly reliable arm out of the bullpen so far this spring and is more than capable of throwing strikes for multiple innings.

The unknown: The Rangers have a lot of arms, but who they can rely on down the stretch is a question mark. Jordan Lyles has the capacity to pitch a ton of innings when necessary but posted a 7.02 ERA in 2020. Hyeon-jong Yang, the Rangers signing from Korea, will need to adjust to Major League hitting on the fly. But the biggest question lies with Jonathan Hernandez’s UCL injury, which the club announced on Tuesday. He was the team Reliever of the Year as voted on by the DFW BBWAA and was poised to pitch a lot of innings in the back end of the bullpen this year. His injury opens a lot of doors and opportunities for multiple pitchers, like NRIs Ian Kennedy and Yang.

“There's no perfect scenario to this, but losing Jonathan hurts,” Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. “There's no way to put it. He's an eighth-, ninth-inning guy that we can pitch if we wanted to. We don't have that option with some of our other guys so how we replace them, it's just somebody else who is going to have to step up in his place.”

-- Kennedi Landry