Pen on Paper: Mapping the 2016 Cardinals Bullpen

Closer

Just one little tweak in that elbow, and poof!

Trevor Rosenthal

‘s trade value is all gone. Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Closers make me nervous, you guys. They are volatile assets. One day, they’re throwing in the upper 90s and piling up saves, the next they’re losing the strike zone and blowing enough saves to earn a demotion to double-A. I’m looking at you Steve Cishek. The velocity of Trevor Rosenthal’s signature pitch, his blazing four-seamer, hasn’t dropped off in the three years he’s been a full-time big leaguer. Nothing suggests it will next year, either. But Rosenthal is human. And he has an agent who likes to chirp to the media about his clients. And closers tend to be overvalued by teams that feel they need one. Look at what the Philadelphia Phillies paid Jonathan Papelbon a few years ago. Look at what the Padres gave up for Craig Kimbrel. The Cardinals could get a great return for Rosenthal, then move Walden, Siegrist or even Reyes into the closer role. Let the angry comments begin, but this would definitely be a sell high situation.