2016 Reliever Rankings

Time for some All-Star break fun: here are my very, very preliminary 2016 player rankings. I’ve done my best to list players where they’ll be eligible next year, and the free agents-to-be are listed without teams. Players with options for next year are still listed with their current teams if those options are likely to be exercised.

Along with the position rankings is a top 300 list for 2016. Click to see other preliminary 2016 rankings:

Top 300 | SP | RP | OF | 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | C | DH

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2016 Relief pitcher Rankings

Relievers

o The Royals will have to decide again this winter whether to keep their bullpen together. Holland and Davis are making $15.25 million combined this season. Next year, that’ll jump by about 25 percent. Holland is due $11 million-$12 million in arbitration, and Davis’s contract includes an $8 million option that’s likely to be exercised (Kelvin Herrera is locked in at $2.55 million). The Royals will shed the salaries of Jeremy Guthrie and Alex Rios (Alex Gordon is also a FA), so they’ll have the money to keep both Holland and Davis. It’ll just come down to whether it makes sense to do so when they could get a prospect or two for Holland and free up a bunch of money at the same time. The guess here is that they stay the course.

o Papelbon is listed with the Phillies because his 2016 option will almost surely vest, but I’m assuming he’ll be moved in the coming weeks and Giles will be the team’s closer next year.

o I was rather tempted to place Fields ahead of Gregerson in the Astros pen. He’s showed enough this year to suggest that he can be a long-term closer. It also doesn’t hurt that one of the other obvious possibilities there, Lance McCullers Jr., has dismissed all talk about his future being in the pen.

o For the Blue Jays, I have Osuna listed here with the relievers and Miguel Castro ranked with the starters. I’m not sure what route they’ll go, though my preference would be to see both compete for rotation spots next spring. Since Osuna has been so effective in his relief role, he’d seem to be the more likely of the two to occupy a key bullpen role to begin 2016. There’s also Aaron Sanchez to factor in; I still think there’s a good chance he ends up in the closer mix when all is said and done, but he’s listed with the starters.