While Watson closed for the Pirates after the Melancon trade, he looked somewhat shaky (he was kind of off all of 2016 so it likely was not the closer role that was bad for him). Rivero has long been speculated to be the next Pirates' brilliant find for closer. Hudson we talked about, and Nicasio could also close. Basically, the Pirates don't have one guy that is an elite closer, but rather many guys who are very capable of doing such and each brings with them a different thing to the table for a lofty role. So, in the end, who gets the closer's job? Well, what if I told you it could, in fact, be all of them? Yes, I am eluding to the concept of a "closer by committee" situation, and I think for the Pirates, it would be the perfect move.
Firstly, we start with what each player brings to the table for the job. Watson brings some experience having closed last year for a good amount of time, and it has seemed his whole Pirates career he's been stuck behind someone and has not been able to lock down the closer role (Hanrahan, Grilli, and Melancon all came from out of the organization to get the closer job over Watson). Next, Rivero brings the obvious skill set that you would want as a closer, despite not having the experience. After that, Hudson has minimal closing experience in Arizona but does bring the closer's skill set you want as well. Nicasio also brings such a skill set with a great deal of backend bullpen experience under his belt. So, overall all these guys have something to offer and two are lefties and two are righties, so between these four, I think they can cover just about anything.
But why go closer by committee? Well, I think it's the best thing for the Pirates current situation. I look at this team, and I don't see a definitive closer that I'd want to send out there to close every single time regardless of matchups. However, I do see four guys I trust a lot to handle the role given to them on any given night, whether it be the 4th inning or the 18th inning. And while I wouldn't give one the ball to close every single time, I'd definitely let any of them close out any given game, if that makes sense.
Another reason to go with this concept is to play the matchups. Playing the matchups is becoming as popular as ever in baseball. The Pirates and others have been putting more faith in analytics in order to put their players in the greatest situation possible, even if a move is seen as unpopular. In turn, the Pirates could certainly just see the 9th inning as "just another inning" in this case and look at matchups and pick which pitcher they have left that is the best for the situation at hand. Giving themselves four potential options would give them maximum flexibility for who goes in the 9th, even if one or two of the four potential guys that can close are used that night in previous situations (it helps to have two lefties and two righties for this too).
This sort of approach not only gives the Pirates matchup flexibility, but it gives them a chance to control the game when the bullpen gets in there knowing they don't need to save a specific reliever to close. Therefore, they can then afford to use one of the four in the 6th inning where you wouldn't traditionally see them because they know they have don't have a reliever sitting out there designated for the closer's role. They can use a closer-type guy in the 6th or 7th and not worry about it because they essentially have four of those types.
Overall, I don't see one guy the Pirates should turn to every single time to close out games. I instead see four guys that are all potentially adequate for the role and each deserving of the shot to do so. This puts the Pirates in a unique position but a good position nonetheless. Having a closer by committee for this dinstinct Pirates bullpen would probably be the best decision the team can make, and it seems like the bullpen has been designed for such an idea to take hold and become reality.
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