Who knows what to make of the Pirates bullpen now that closer Matt Capps hit the disabled list with a sore shoulder. There are three good candidates to take his vacated ninth-inning duties and a fourth wild card that could complicate things further. At this point, it’s up to each interested fantasy owner to hedge one way or another, going with Damaso Marte, Tyler Yates, John Grabow or Romulo Sanchez.

Our favorite is Marte because he does have previous closing experience, including one save this season, and he can make hitters swing and miss. He’s having a solid year with a 3.54 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 4-1 record and 44 strikeouts in 40.1 innings. With that strikeout rate, he’s the candidate most owners should be pulling for, as he has the potential to dominate.

Sanchez picked up his first career save in the 11th inning of the Pirates’ win on Tuesday, cleaning up a mess after Capps’ blew a lead in the 10th. He’s made 17 appearances in his big league career and just one in 2008, pitching to a 5.21 ERA and 1.42 WHIP. His numbers at Triple-A Indianapolis were solid (4-0, 2.85 ERA, 4 saves), but he was just a little too hittable with a .260 opponents batting average. Read more »