Who has the best bullpen in the NL West?

Who has the best bullpen in the NL West?

February 11th, 2020

It seems fitting that we would finish up our Around the Horn series by looking at the position that wraps up most games -- the bullpen.

Here’s an early look at how the five bullpens in the National League West stand right now:

The best: Padres
The Padres had already built a lockdown bullpen before this past weekend. Then they landed Emilio Pagán from Tampa Bay on Saturday night. Suddenly, San Diego is a serious contender for the best bullpen in baseball, much less the NL West. Closer is coming off a season in which he posted a 1.19 ERA with an absolutely ridiculous 15 strikeouts per nine innings. The Padres added an excellent right/left complement of setup men in front of Yates, too, in Pagán and -- who signed a four-year deal this winter. But the true strength of the San Diego 'pen is its depth. , , and could all fill important roles. Plus, a deep group of big-time arms in the Minors should protect against injuries and the usual bullpen volatility.

D-backs
The D-backs will open the year with a different closer for the fourth consecutive season. Right-hander will get the nod after being the primary setup man in each of the previous three seasons. Bradley essentially filled the closer’s role in the final few months of 2019, though manager Torey Lovullo stayed away from officially proclaiming him as such. The club added a pair of right-handed free agents -- and -- to help get the ball to Bradley. , who pitched well after making his big league debut in the second half last year, figures to get big outs in the bullpen as well. returns as the team’s primary left-hander. , who has shown flashes of dominating stuff over the past two seasons, returns, and and could also force their way onto the roster at some point. If doesn’t make the rotation, he could be the long man, and if is not in the rotation, he could be kept as a second lefty in the pen if he’s not optioned to Triple-A Reno as starting pitching depth.

Dodgers
is the closer, and Dodgers fans better hope that doesn’t change, because if it does, it means trouble. Jansen dedicated the offseason to regaining his All-Star form, and there really is no obvious alternative, considering ’s inconsistency and reclamation project 's 4.91 ERA last year. One intriguing but long-shot option would be moving top pitching prospect to late-inning relief, which would hold down his innings for rotation use later in the season. Kelly and are right-handed setup men, and is the primary lefty. , and provide depth if they don’t make the rotation. , , and will be among those fighting for a spot. One intriguing name to keep an eye on is flame-thrower , whom the Dodgers picked up from the Twins in exchange for Kenta Maeda.

Giants
The Giants will enter Spring Training with plenty of spots up for grabs in their bullpen, which lost All-Star closer Will Smith to free agency this offseason. Veteran left-hander will return and likely be the front-runner to begin the regular season as the closer, though San Francisco has a few youngsters who also profile as potential back-end options, including , and . , and showed flashes of promise last season and will have the opportunity to compete for relief jobs this spring, along with hard-throwing right-hander , who was selected by the Giants in the Rule 5 Draft in December. , and will come into camp as starters, though they could end up carving out roles in the bullpen as long relievers or swingmen. Non-roster invitee could also be an intriguing candidate to watch, but the new three-batter minimum rule will create a new challenge for the 36-year-old veteran, who has made a career as a lefty specialist.

Rockies
The Rockies are looking at the intersection of two plans: They spent $106 million on closer , righty setup man and lefty setup man three years ago, in contracts due to end after this season. The plan was for them to lead the 'pen and transition smoothly to less expensive relievers by 2021. Well, last year got messy. But because of the money spent, the Rockies have to stick with the original plan. The good news is that righty is coming off a career year, showed the velocity and poise long predicted of him and began harnessing his control. The Rockies have quietly acquired relievers with attributes -- starting with righty in 2015; righties and and lefties and last year; and righty (waiver claim from the Marlins) and lefty (a standout with the Royals a few years back) this winter. They’ve developed righty and highly ranked lefty prospect . Will this collection meld into gold or crumble to dust?