If you own former Kansas City Royals closer Kelvin Herrera, it might be time to shop him. Herrera was traded from the Royals to the Washington Nationals on Monday night for three prospects.
The trade was far from a surprise as it has been rumored for a while that Herrera would eventually be dealt. The hope was that Herrera would be dealt to a team that would use him in the closer role. The Nationals will not.
Sean Doolittle is currently the closer in D.C. Doolittle has converted 18 of 19 save opportunities thus far. He is firmly entrenched as the closer so Herrera will likely pitch the eighth inning as the set up man.
Nationals manager Dave Martinez said after last night’s loss to the Yankees that Herrera would be used in “high leverage” situations. While there is value in that role from a fantasy standpoint, it is hard to tell when Herrera will pitch. At least when he was closing, you knew he was going to pitch three to possibly four times a week. It will be harder to gauge what Herrera’s usage will be in D.C now.
For that reason, I am shopping Herrera in the two leagues I own him. You should do the same. Sell high while you can. I don’t buy this high leverage nonsense. Sure, Herrera could be used in a similar fashion to Josh Hader of the Brewers and if he produces like Hader, great. However, if you are counting on Herrera to close games, it’s time to move on. He is not going to do that in D.C unless Sean Doolittle implodes.