Let's say that Adams, Koji, and Lowe all sign elsewhere. This leaves a pretty big void in our bullpen. I look at the bullpens of the Giants and Cardinals and I really see a conscious effort to reload in a big way in the bullpen every year. What bullpen help should we go after? Should it be a high priority? It's not the most glamorous topic of the offseason but the impact of the bullpen cannot be understated.

Lowe is gone, there is no doubt in my mind. I think they try and resign one of Koji and Adams, the find out in the first half of next season whether Scheppers and/or Font can handle late game high leverage situations. Sign or trade for a lefty (Affedlt et al) and start the season.

I'd bet they go pretty hard for Affeldt since we really need another lefty and go with whoever takes the lowest contract between Uehara/Adams. I'd prefer Adams since he's less homer prone, but I'm not picky. I agree with Joseph that Scheppers and Font will be up here. It wouldn't surprise me if Font takes another step forward in ST. I'd also keep an eye on Broxton if he doesn't get a closer job.

Nathan
Adams/Uehara
Affeldt/Broxton
Ross
Scheppers
Font
Vet FA or Trade
Vet FA or Trade

The market is pretty flush with relievers so we should be fine. I see no reason why they won't be dominant again.

For some reason i'm really excited to see what Font can do this year, but that may just be because his name is Wilmer...

One interesting reliever on the FA market is former Ranger, Jason Grilli.

Grilli seems to have found himself in Pittsburgh, posting pretty impressive numbers in each of the past two seasons.

@Son of Jurick

I am also excited about Font contributing to the team. I think he is going to have a good year in 13 as well as Ross getting stronger in the BP.

I agree with you guys on Affeldt, Broxton, and Grilli. I'd probably add Mike Gonzalez, and Sean Burnett to the list. We need another good lefty...Kirkman pisses me off.

JP Howell?

How about Ryan Madson? This year's version of Joe Nathan? Coming off TJ surgery..

I'll bet Madson goes somewhere he can be the closer. AT least I'd be surprised if he didn't

@JKolar

I agree with you on Madson. Probably not a possibility here in Texas.

@Brian

I actually don't mind thinking about JP Howell. He's a gritty lefty with AL experience.

I still think Joakim Soria is an interesting guy on the market. If he would be willing to set up for Joe Nathan, he would be a great guy to add.

There are plenty of other cookie cutter bullpen guys out there but there are a few that are always mentioned at the top (Affeldt, Broxton, Adams, and so on).

I'd like to resign one of either Koji or Adams (honestly I'd prefer Koji for his versatility, durability, and cost), take a hard look at Soria, look into adding on a bullpen piece in an offseason trade (more of a supplemental piece to a bigger trade), and then fill the rest from within, whether that be putting Perez in the pen or going with Font or Kirkman. Who knows, maybe someone like Cody Buckel or Roman Mendez or Barrett Loux has a Robbie Ross-esque spring and ascends to the big club

@Notorious
I like all of the idea's that have been mentioned. I think if there's anything to take from all of this is that there is a huge market for relievers. We'll be fine. We have the youngsters that can fill roles and there are a ton of veteran options out there. Did anyone think Ross would make the team last year? No way. The Maddox brothers will turn out great talent every year.

Think as we did last year in Uehara and Adams we definitely need veteran relievers who aren't strangers to pressure to fill the 7th/8th-spots. I'd also prefer hard-throwers who can get the crucial K. Matt Lindstrom had a 2.13 ERA in the 8th inning last year and a 1.54 ERA in the 7th, plus he has closing experience. He throws hard and can get the K, and only made $3.6 mil last year. Uehara made $4 mil last year so he and Lindstrom are comparable both in performance and salary.

If Juan Carlos Oviedo doesn't land a closing job, I'd like to go after him. He wasn't dominant as a closer with FLO so maybe teams pass him over for that role. Throws hard and has 3 years of closing experience. Might be expensive for a mere setup guy though.

Also wonder if we can deal for one of KC's nice young hard-throwing RH setup guys, e.g. Kelvim Herrera, Aaron Crow, Lou Coleman, Felipe Paulino. It'd be nice to have a guy in the pen who's young but also has a track record of success unlike Scheppers, Font, etc.

Let's bring back Kameron Loe!

@Kristen W.

I like the idea of looking at one of KC's relievers. Crow is one that I would love to have.

"K. Matt Lindstrom" sounds like a high-powered attorney.