Reliever roll-up

For teams around the league, change is afloat in the ninth inning. There is much to wonder about with several closer situations in flux.

We'll run through the many developments from the past seven days, while also checking in on some other noteworthy storylines, in our rundown of the week that was:

 In Seattle, Edwin Diaz suffered one of his worst meltdowns of the season on Wednesday, entering with a three-run lead and allowing two runs to come across on three walks and two hit batsmen before Mark Rzepczynski came in and mercifully got the final out to seal a narrow victory. The brutal outing came less than a week after a similar one against the Angels in which Diaz yielded three runs on three walks and took a loss.

The electric young right-hander has battled control issues all summer, and lost his closer job for a spell in May, although he'd mostly been effective over the past couple of months. The recent flare-up might compel manager Scott Servais to move away from Diaz again, as the Mariners are in a fierce battle for wild-card positioning and can ill-afford these kinds of hiccups in the ninth. David Phelps, acquired from Miami in July, has been on the shelf since early August with an elbow impingement but could be back as soon as next week and is definitely a name to watch.

 Speaking of Miami, the Marlins might be on the verge of making their own closer switch. Brad Ziegler has been holding down the gig since AJ Ramos was dealt to the Mets at the deadline, and while he's converted all four of his save chances he hasn't been especially impressive this year. Kyle Barraclough, viewed by many as Miami's closer of the future, was activated from the DL on Tuesday and could be in line for an audition down the stretch. The 27-year-old has big stuff (12.2 career K/9) coupled with shaky command. Owned in just 12% of Yahoo leagues, he's worth adding if you're needy for saves.

 The Cardinals also are looking at a switch in the ninth, due to more unfortunate circumstances. Trevor Rosenthal had rattled off saves in seven straight appearances, and came out to extend the streak to eight in Boston on Wednesday, but he struggled while showing reduced velocity before being pulled without getting an out.

Rosenthal was placed on the DL shortly thereafter, and it sounds like there is concern about his elbow ligament, meaning Tommy John surgery is in play. It'd be a terrible break for the 27-year-old, and would likely cost him the entire 2018 season.

With Rosenthal out of the picture, at least for now, Seung Hwan Oh reclaims the closer role. He has pitched well lately and should be a reliable bet going forward. He's available in about 25% of Yahoo leagues so grab him if you're able.

 Rosenthal isn't the only longtime Cardinals hurler with elbow concerns. Adam Wainwright hasn't looked quite right lately; he didn't strike out a single batter against Atlanta last week and had failed to do so again in Pittsburgh on Thursday before being pulled after three innings.

He received a PRP injection and will be shut down for the next two weeks. His outlook for the remainder of the year is dubious. 

With Wainwright out, Luke Weaver steps into the Cards rotation and will be greeted by an extremely favorable matchup at home against the Padres on Wednesday. With more than 90% availability, he's a great streaming add and could hold a fair amount of value the rest of the way.

 In Minnesota, Glen Perkins made his first appearance since April of 2016 on Thursday, but it didn't go well: he faced six batters and recorded only one out, allowing two hits and a walk while also hitting two batters. The rust wasn't surprising after the long layoff but the three-time All Star's velocity is nowhere near where it was in his prime, and it's a stretch to think he'll reclaim his customary closer role this year. For now, that billing still belongs to Matt Belisle, although rookie sidearm-er Trevor Hildenberger is a sneaky factor and came through with a four-out save on Sunday.

 The wave of closer health woes hasn't avoided San Francisco, where Mark Melancon said on Friday he's considering surgery. He was vague in describing the issue, but said it wasn't for his ligament, so hopefully it wouldn't sideline him into 2018. The veteran returned from a six-week DL stint last weekend, and has looked fine in three appearances, but with the Giants out of the running it he might just try to get a jump on off-season rehab.  

Sam Dyson has looked like his old reliable self while filling in for Melancon, and now his owners may keep getting saves from him the rest of the way.

 Could Aroldis Chapman's hold on the ninth for the Yankees be in peril? He has been experiencing uncharacteristic turmoil, with seven runs allowed in his past four appearances, and Friday night's outing was filled with mental lapses that irked manager Joe Girardi. Every game matters for the Yanks, who are holding onto a thin lead in the wild-card race, so the leash for Chapman may not be long with both Dellin Betances and David Robertson on hand.

The best team in baseball just got even better. On Friday night, the Dodgers swung a deal with the Mets to add Curtis Granderson. Bringing in the veteran outfielder to replace scuffling Joc Pederson, who was optioned to Triple-A, addresses one of the few weaknesses in a stacked lineup. Granderson has been crushing the ball this month (six homers in 14 games) and if he stays on a roll he can make a major immediate impact. Grandy is batting fifth in his LA debut on Saturday.

 Panic spread through the north side of Chicago when early reports arose that Jon Lester could miss the rest of the season due to a lat injury that forced him out of Thursday's start, but luckily it appears those reports were misguided. The left-hander did land on the disabled list, diagnosed with "left shoulder fatigue," but there's a sense he may only miss a start or two. 

Bullet dodged, hopefully. Still, this is something to keep an eye on. Lester was a complete mess before exiting his start against the Reds, coughing up seven earned runs on seven hits and a walk while recording only five outs.

 The Nationals are dealing with their own potential ace crisis, just as they're on the verge of getting back Stephen Strasburg. Max Scherzer was scratched from his start Friday night due to neck inflammation, and quickly placed on the DL. As you'll recall, he pulled himself after one inning on August 1st due to similar issues. However, he also sandwiched two terrific outings in between, so hopefully this truly is minor and precautionary as the Nats suggest.

All three division leaders in the National League are without their horses at present. All eyes are watching the precarious health situations of Scherzer, Lester and Clayton Kershaw.

 The Orioles were hoping for a boost at shortstop when they acquired Tim Beckham from Tampa to replace scuffling Ruben Tejada, who'd been filling in for JJ Hardy. They hardly could have dreamed of the tremendous impact Beckham has delivered.

The former first overall pick was having a solid enough season with the Rays, but has found a new gear in Baltimore, where he's raking to the tune of .479/.500/.845 in 17 games since coming aboard. This week his bat stayed hot with two more homers, pushing his season total to 17. He had previously gone deep 14 times in 151 career games, with a .720 OPS, so this has been a breakout of epic proportions.

Obviously Beckham will cool off at some point, but it's hard to envision Hardy getting his job upon returning, which should happen within the next couple of weeks.

 Andrew Heaney made his first start in nearly 14 months on Friday night. Prior to his return, Rotoworld's blurb advised that despite his sterling numbers while rehabbing, "it would probably still be wise for fantasy owners to see how he looks for a start or two before activating him, especially considering the tough first match-up."

Hopefully you heeded that advice, because the young southpaw's return was a rocky one. Baltimore took him deep four times while scoring five runs in his five innings. We still like Heaney's overall potential down the stretch and it's a good sign that he generally showed sharp command, striking out five with no walks on 70% strikes.